We are incredibly proud of our instructors, including those who have earned recognition both as artists and as teachers. With such a diverse and professional group, your experience in an Art School class is sure to be successful.
 
ALEXIS HUNTER is an identity-based, multidisciplinary artist currently living and working in Austin, TX. She earned a BFA from Texas State University in Studio Art-Painting, graduating summa cum laude. Recent solo and group exhibitions include BINARY (Who Do You Belong To?); ICOSA Gallery, Austin (2021); Own it, examine it, and confront it head on, DORF Gallery, Austin (2021); Signs of Life, Texas State Galleries, San Marcos (2022); Alexis Hunter, at BRICK at Blue Star Arts Complex, San Antonio (2021). She has been selected for the third edition of Big Medium’s LINE Residency (2022) and vol. 2 of the George Washington Carver Museum's Small Black Museum Residency (2022). She is also the newest member of the ICOSA Collective. Alexis is the founder of Others, an ongoing publication project documenting the faces and stories of biracial individuals in central Texas. Her work explores self-image through racial identity, mental health, the female body, and the male gaze.

ALISSA NEAL is a sculptor, designer, extended media artist, and Masters in Fine Arts graduate from the University of Arizona. In 2012, she attended Savannah College of Art and Design where she received her Bachelors in Fine Arts in Graphic Design. Her work has been exhibited internationally in Hong Kong and Italy, and nationally in group shows such as “Deteriorating Preservation”, and “Human as Object”, in Tucson, Arizona, and “All or Nothing”, in Cincinnati, Ohio. She has also been published in Applied Arts Magazine in 2012 and Manifest Exhibition Annual in 2016.

ADRIENNE HODGE BFA in Visual Art Studies, University of Texas at Austin. Adrienne is an exhibiting contemporary artist and art educator who has been teaching in community arts programs, public schools, museums, and the corporate sector since 2010. Her art work explores the cinematic quality of life events, landscapes, and dreams. adriennehodge.com

ANNA TREVIÑO Ana Treviño (b. 1984) is a visual artist and educator living and working in Austin, TX. Her practice bends the rules of filmmaking and is informed by cultural histories. She uses a feminist lens to think about the concept of borders, whether visible, invisible, or blurred. Her connection to the U.S./Mexico border deeply influences her work and the stories she engages with. Through video installation and performance, she explores how she can reinvent subjugated narratives. Her most recent work involves deconstructing and analyzing the mother figure in media, literature, and art. She received her MFA in Studio Art with a concentration in Art and Technology from the University of Florida and a BS in Television and Film Production from Florida International University.

ARIANA ZAIA is an open, approachable, encouraging, and creative art educator living in Austin, TX where she was born and raised. Her interests include ceramic arts, fiber arts, making (of all kinds in any medium), gardening, hiking, and dancing. She earned her Bachelor of Arts at Macalester College in St. Paul, MN, where she graduated with a major in Studio Art and a minor in Psychology. She has a decade of experience teaching art in a variety of settings including summer camps, community art studios, private lessons, youth shelters, and schools. She will be graduating with her master's degree in Art Education from the University of Texas in Austin in May 2022. Ariana aspires to work as a full-time art teacher in a K-12 classroom while maintaining her own studio practice in her free time.

ARIEL SPIEGELMAN BFA in Print Making, The University of Connecticut; MA in Art Education, The University of Texas at Austin. Ariel makes art to organize and restructure her surroundings in a charming and thoughtful way. She utilizes the structured yet random process of printmaking to escape from the chaos and reality of the world, while simultaneously creating her own curated version of it. arielspiegelman.com

ARIEL WOOD MFA in Sculpture from the University of Texas at Austin, and BFA in printmaking and drawing from The University of Wisconsin at Madison. Ariel is a sculpture artist and Art Educator whose artistic practice explores the way plumbing and drainage can elicit notions of interconnectedness, liminality, and queerness. Ariel picks and parses out those aspects of the larger system that appear strange, silly, or sentimental. They have exhibited their work nationally and internationally in Wisconsin, Illinois, Texas, New York, and Florence, Italy. ariel-wood-art.com

BELLA LEGOSI has been making pots for 9 years, mainly focusing on wheel-thrown pieces. Bella loves the technical side of pottery and glaze making, and strives to run a safe space for students to learn, explore, and have fun playing in the mud.

BETH BLAIR BFA in Painting, Indiana University; MFA in Painting, Pratt Institute. Blair has exhibited in group shows in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Atlanta.

CANDACE BRICENO BFA in Visual Arts Education, The University of Texas at Austin; MFA in Drawing and Painting, School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Briceno was selected as one of the Austin Museum of Art’s “22 to Watch” in 2005. Her work has appeared in solo and group exhibitions in California, Florida, Texas, and Chicago. She has been part of the Art School faculty since 1998.

CAROLYN BROOKS BFA, University of North Texas; MFA, The University of Texas at Austin. Currently a school counselor in Eanes ISD, Brooks is a ceramic artist who works with fiber and paper and teaches creative self-exploration.

CASSANDRA WEYANDT BS in Photography and Fine Art, East Texas State University. Weyandt has experience as a photographer at the Kimbell Art Museum and as a printmaker at the Photographic Archives Gallery in Dallas.

CHRISTIAN CHASE BFA in Sculpture, Rhode Island School of Design. Chase has been working with metal for over 30 years. In addition to sculpture, he has received commissions for furniture and lighting and has taught at the Austin Sculpture Academy.

CLAIR GASTON MFA, University of Houston. Gaston has taught at The Glassell Junior School and served as gallery teacher at the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston. She has been a teaching fellow at UH. clairgaston.com

DAVID THORNBERRY BFA and MFA in Painting, Kent State University. Thornberry has over twenty-seven years of experience teaching art in community programs across the country. His work has appeared in galleries throughout Austin.

DIANNE SONNENBERG is an internationally recognized mosaic and sculptural artist. She is a member of the Society of American Mosaic Artists, and is a board member of the Texas Society of Sculptors and the Austin Mosaic Guild. She exhibits internationally, and was awarded the 2010 “Best Architectural Mosaic” at Mosaic Arts International in Chicago, IL. A sought-after instructor across the US and Canada, she has been an Art School faculty member since 2007. See her work at diannesonnenberg.com.

ERIN SERRANO BFA in studio art, Texas State University; K-12 teaching certificate in art education. Serrano is a current elementary art teacher in Georgetown ISD. She has taught for various art programs such as sculpture for Totally Cool Totally Art and online art courses with ArtSpace. Her students have also exhibited work at the Mexic-Arte museum. Besides being an art teacher Serrano is also a painter and sculptor selling her work at markets and taking commissions.

ERIN SCHWINN is a teaching artist who currently lives and works in Delaware. She has a BFA in Painting from Virginia Commonwealth University and a MFA in Painting from the University of Texas at Austin. She teaches online art classes that cover painting, drawing and a variety of specialty approaches to picture making. In her own work she uses painting and drawing and everything in-between. Her pieces are covered in patterns and bold colors with wonky and distorted figures. "I want my pieces to surprise me, or make me laugh and so I create the misshapen and unusual."

GIVEN MCCLURE DE SANCHEZ is an Austin based artist and installation technician. Given studied ceramics under Stan Irvin at St. Edward’s where he worked as a studio assistant before transferring to the University of North Texas, where he received his BFA in studio-art ceramics. During this time, Given exhibited works in both student and local exhibitions, receiving numerous awards as well as a Windgate Scholarship from Penland School of Crafts to attend a wood-fire workshop led by Chris Gustin. While in Denton, Given managed a local gallery that focused on the exhibition of contemporary art for a few more years before returning to Austin. https://www.instagram.com/given.luz/

HR WRIGHT is a Austin-based potter, originally from Western New York. After studying Art Therapy in undergrad, she went on to work in disaster relief nonprofits before returning to the wheel. Her experience working in disaster zones, seeing the amount of loss and abundance of unnecessary items in a home, has influenced her own work by emphasizing the mantra “pottery with a purpose.

INGA MARIE CARMEL BA, The University of California, Berkeley; additional coursework at Sätergläntan in Sweden. Carmel serves on the board of the Weavers and Spinners Society of Austin and received a Certificate of Excellence in Handweaving through the Handweavers Guild of America in 2016. In 2009, her article about weaving with wire appeared in the August issue of Weavezine. Since 1994, Carmel has at various times taught garden design, knitting, weaving, and eTextiles at the Art School. You can see her work at ingamariecarmel.com and Weavolution.

JAN HEATON's contemporary watercolors reach for a sense of calm and tranquility. Art dealers in Austin, San Antonio, Marble Falls, and San Francisco represent her work. janheaton.com Instagram: @janheatonwatercolors

JEAN LEIDER has a BFA in Art in Visual Arts Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. She worked as an Art Educator for seventeen years in Austin ISD. Jean has taught art out of the country in Bangkok, Thailand and in Canada where she worked as both a Gallery Educator and as administrator of a school visits printmaking program. Jean integrates collage, printmaking and book arts in her art practice. Jean contributed animation to the Rick Linklater film “Waking Life” and performs and releases music under the name Jean Caffeine.

JENNETTE SAUNDERS holds a BSA in chemistry from the University of Texas at Austin and is a skilled educator with 5 years of experience working with students from preschool to college age. Her love for the magic of chemistry morphed into a love for the magic of ceramics in 2019 when she took her first ceramics class. Since then she has earned her Texas Teaching certificate in Art and has devoted herself to her personal art practice.

JENNIE TUDOR GRAY BFA and All Level Teaching Certification, Texas State University–San Marcos. Gray is a multimedia artist and arts educator with over twenty years experience exhibiting her work and is passionate about community arts education as a method of social change. She has taught for various schools in Austin ISD, Round Rock ISD, Del Valle ISD, and was nominated Teacher of the Year by her peers in Pflugerville ISD. She has also taught with various community and cultural arts centers such as the City of Austin's Dougherty Arts School, Mexican American Cultural Center, and the Elisabet Ney Museum. Presently an art faculty member at St. Stephen's Episcopal School, Gray worked for the Austin Museum of Art from 2003 to 2008 and has been a faculty member at Laguna Gloria since 2013.

JENNY GRANBERRY has a BFA in Painting from Midwestern State University. She is a member of Golden's Working Artist Program where she educates Central Texas artists on new products and techniques. Granberry's personal work focuses on portraiture and the human figure in watercolor. jennygranberry.com

JOANNA VAUGHN BFA Dayton (Ohio) Art Institute; M.Ed, The University of Texas at Austin. Vaughn has over 30 years teaching experience, including at the Austin Waldorf School, as an art specialist in Austin ISD, and recently with senior citizens in the Mobile Art program.

JONAS CRISCOE BFA, School of Visual Arts, New York; MFA, Rhode Island School of Design. A native of Austin, Criscoe is an interdisciplinary visual artist whose work has been exhibited throughout the US, most notably at the International Print Center in New York and the Minnesota Museum of American Art. Criscoe has been featured in various publications including Art Lies and New American Painting. Recently, he was a Jerome Fellow at the Highpoint Center for Printmaking and a West Prize acquisition recipient. Criscoe is an art editor jonascriscoe.com

KATHERINE AMMAN VELLARD MA in Art Education, Louisiana Tech University; MFA in Painting/Drawing, Louisiana Tech University. Katherine is a native Louisiana artist and former professor of art at Louisiana Tech University. She has exhibited in 80 national and international exhibitions and has had 13 solo shows including an exhibition at Centre D’Arts Plastiques Albert Chanot in Clamart, France and “The Holy Mysteries” exhibition at St. John the Divine in New York City. In 2003, she was awarded the Artist Fellowship Award by the Louisiana Division of the Arts. katherineamman.com

KATHERINE K. BRUPBACHER (she, her) BFA, Baylor University, Secondary Art Teaching Certification. Brupbacher has held a painting practice for over 20 years and exhibits her work throughout Central Texas. She finds refuge in both painting and nature. Her work is influenced by the Texas landscape, flora, and fauna. Brupbacher is a former high school art teacher and has been with The Contemporary Austin since 2019. In the classroom, she strives to facilitate a love of creating with her students. katherinekbrupbacher.com

KATIE CHANCE is an artist with a BFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design. With a keen eye for detail and a love for watercolor, gouache, and ink, she has mastered a range of styles from bold and vibrant to soft and ethereal. Katie's artwork has been featured in solo and group exhibitions across the United States, including galleries in Provence, Atlanta, and Austin. Her work has also been recognized by respected publications such as Juxtapoz and Anthropologie, as well as the Austin Studio Tour.
Beyond her 10-year career as an artist, Katie is dedicated to sharing her knowledge and passion with others. She has a genuine interest in helping aspiring artists develop their skills and explore their creativity. Katie maintains a studio practice in South Austin. www.kdchance.com

KELLY CHAMBLISS BA, emphasis in Art History from Texas State University. Kelly Chambliss is an Austin based paper maker and certified art educator. With a background in art education in public schools and community art school settings, she currently specializes in eco-friendly handmade papers. She loves to explore new materials and more sustainable art practices with students.

LAURA GREEN BFA, University of North Texas. Green is certified as a Generalist and Special Ed educator. She is a teacher with AISD and has previous teaching experience at the Amon Carter museum, among other schools and institutions. She is the former Program Director at Art Center Waco.

LAUREL DANIEL BA, Wheaton College. With a graphic design background, Daniel is a professional painter represented by Davis Gallery in Austin as well as other galleries in Georgia and Montana. laureldaniel.com

LAURIE CARSWELL B.A. Theatrical Design, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Laurie is a former Art Educator who has opened her own studio in Austin where she cuts and tears papers to build dynamic art pieces rich with color and hidden visual treasures and stories. She strives for intricacy and movement in her work using scissors, glue and paper pieces cut from magazines, calendars and books. She loves sharing her unique "painting with paper" process with students of all ages and backgrounds. www.lauriecarswell.com @laurie_carswellstudio

LINDA MONTIGNANI MFA in Painting, American University. Montignani has taught at Maryland College of Art and Design and St. Edward’s University and is a founder of the Creative Arts Society in Austin. Her mixed media and collage paintings are exhibited both nationally and internationally.

LORIN BRYCE is an artist, teacher and photographer. She holds a BA in Ceramics and English from the University of Colorado and has taught art in the Austin area at the elementary and high school levels. She specializes in wheel-thrown functional pottery. www.lorinbryce.com Instagram: @lrbclay at the poetry and art journal Dialogist.

MAGGIE EXNER BFA in Studio Art, Rhodes College; MA in Art Education, The University of Texas at Austin. Maggie is a visual artist, educator, and musician originally from Memphis, TN. She currently teaches art at Pflugerville HS, and has previously worked as an educator at the Austin School for the Performing and Visual Arts, UT Austin, Mother Falcon Music Lab, the Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum, and Creative Action. She has taught youth and adult classes at the Contemporary Art school for several years. In her teaching, Exner values contemporary art practices, student choice, and collaboration. In her studio practice, Exner specializes in mixed media illustration that blurs the lines between abstraction and representation. She likes to dabble in many mediums including drawing, painting, collage, printmaking, murals, and digital art.

MAI GUITERREZ is a multi-disciplinary architect and artist living in Austin, TX. She earned her BFA and Masters in Architecture from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2010. As a native of Monterrey, Mexico, she draws inspiration from nature in her work, incorporating elements such as stone, wood, and metal to create an architectural aesthetic. Gutierrez's work has been exhibited in the United States and Mexico. Her current practice consists of architectural and interior design services as well as sculpture and public art. www.studiosinfin.com

MAI SNOW is a painter and sometimes writer. Snow received their MFA from University of Texas at Austin in 2020 and their BFA from Maine College of Art in 2013. Snow's work celebrates the complexities of queer sexuality, gender, and the non-binary body. They deeply care about language and its ability to shape time, physicality, and openness. Snow has shown their paintings throughout Texas, New England, and in various parts of the Midwest.

MARK MENJÍVAR Mark Menjívar is a San Antonio based artist and Associate Professor in the School of Art and Design at Texas State University. His art practice primarily consists of creating participatory projects while being rooted in photography, oral history, archives, and social action. He attended McLennan Community College, holds a BA in Social Work from Baylor University and an MFA in Social Practice from Portland State University.

MARK MITCHELL Studied at The University of Texas at Austin. Mitchell has illustrated twenty-five books for younger readers and his illustrations appear in such children’s magazines as Cricket, Cobblestone, Calliope, and Pockets. He is a contributing editor for the magazine Watercolor. View his work on his website howtobeachildrensbookillustrator.com or on Facebook.

MONIDEEPA DAS MA in Visual Communication Design, Purdue University; MA in Art History, Stella Maris College, India. Monideepa has over twelve years of experience in advertising, graphic design, illustration, and art education.

NICK FRANCEL BFA in Printmaking, Washington University in St. Louis; MFA in Printmaking, The University of Texas at Austin. Francel worked at Tom Huck’s Evil Prints as a press assistant printing screen prints, etchings, and large-scale woodcuts.

PAT FALCONER BFA and BA, The University of Texas at Austin; MFA in Studio Art, Hoffberger School of Painting at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Pat has shown work locally as well as internationally, and has also worked as a film animator. Pat has taught at the Art School for over 20 years and was a student here before deciding to major in art. She also taught art for UT informal classes. Recently Pat was awarded an Art Sparks Award for 2022.

PETER ABRAMI Peter Abrami is an artist working primarily in painting and drawing with an interest in exploring the connections between human perception, abstraction and cognitive recognition. He holds an MFA from the University of Texas at Austin (2015) and a BFA in painting from The University of South Florida (2010). Peter’s paintings and drawings have been exhibited in group and solo shows both nationally and internationally. His extensive teaching experiences include teaching a variety of courses at the highschool, pre-college and university level. Peter currently lives and works in Austin Texas.

PHILLIP WADE BFA, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts; MFA, The University of Texas at Austin. Wade has been an exhibiting and teaching artist for twenty years. phillipwade.net

RYAN SANDISON MONTGOMERY holds a BFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He is a painter, awarded the People’s Choice Award by Mayor Adler, and has more than a decade of experience in window dressing and design. Montgomery has also studied at Ox-Bow School of Art and Artist’s Residency in Michigan and interned with the Guggenheim’s teaching artists program. In addition to being a visual artist, he is a writer, musician, and filmmaker. sandisonmontgomery.com

SEBASTIAN J. STODDART BFA in Sculpture, SUNY Potsdam New York, MFA in Sculpture, Texas A&M Corpus Christi. Sebastian is a visual artist who teaches a variety of ages and is the Sculpture Technician at Texas State University. His most recent body of work “Manic Architectonics” explores themes involving psychology and architecture with a focus on interpersonal relationships. His artwork has been exhibited nationally and his large scale installations are in permanent collections in Florida, Texas, and New York.

SHELLEY WOOD has work in private and public collections. She has received two Cultural Contracts from the City of Austin as well as a Partners in the Arts and Humanities award. She continues to create and exhibit work while sharing her love for photography through teaching. Shelley teaches many avenues of photography at a variety of schools in Austin and privately. Her work has been published nationally and internationally. She has served as the Director of the DarkRoom Co-op since 1994. View Shelly's work at shelleywood.net.

STEEF CROMBACH (b. 1992) was born in Maastricht in the South of the Netherlands. Crombach earned her B.F.A from the Royal Academy of Arts in The Hague in 2014. Her work 'Piet' was nominated by the Dutch King Willem-Alexander for the Royal Painters Price, she curated and designed the massive floating exhibition; 'Dirty Daisies', during Art The Hague and she was the recipient of the renowned 'Contribution young talent' grant from the Mondriaan Fund in the Netherlands. With the help of these funds, she was able to research and invest in the Austin art scene which led her to organize and curate the nine-artist exhibition 'Expedition Batikback' at Co-Lab Projects. Since that time she has been visiting the United States for extended periods of time to curate, teach, exhibit, and research. In March 2018 Crombach officially relocated to Austin, she was the first recipient of Big Medium's Line Residency and continues to show her collection of ‘manifestations with cultural and local significance’ on International platforms, often in the form of patterns.

STEPHANIE PERRY BFA in Art History and BA in Art Education, The University of Texas at Austin; National Board Certified Art Teacher - Early and Middle Childhood. As an experienced art educator teaching in Austin ISD for 25+ years, Perry loves working with children, exploring a variety of artistic media, and showing her work occasionally in local galleries.

SUE KEMP MS in Education from the University of North Texas. She is a signature member of Texas Watercolor Society, Southwestern Watercolor Society and WFWS and has served as President of 2 art societies. Kemp has been a practicing award winning watercolor artist for over 35 years and her paintings have been published on posters and in seven books. She was the lead painting instructor on 5 trips to Europe. A native of Dallas, Sue taught briefly in public schools after graduation, then pursued other interests, including painting, and has been teaching at the Art School since 2002. suekemp.com

SUZIE GALLEHUGH Suzie Gallehugh has over twenty years design experience. Graduating from the University of Texas at Austin in 1999 with a BBA in Marketing, she also holds an Associate's Degree in Fashion Design from the NYC Fashion Institute of Technology. She is the owner and designer of Suzanna Dai, a collection of high end beaded and embroidered fashion jewelry. Suzie’s designs have been carried in luxury department stores and boutiques worldwide including Neiman Marcus and Anthropologie, have been worn by tastemakers such as Michelle Obama, and have been featured as one of Oprah’s Favorite Things. Before starting her line, Suzie honed her skills at various companies in NYC, including: couturier Ralph Rucci, Alexander Doll Company, Jones New York Dress, Kim Seybert, and LOFT.

SYDNEY YEAGER MFA, The University of Texas at Austin. An art educator since 1989, Yeager was a 1996 Mid-America Arts Alliance/National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship Recipient and has previously exhibited at Laguna Gloria in Art in Progress: Body/Language in 1997. Her works are widely exhibited in Texas and across the country.

TEEL FLEMING grew up around artists and potters which instilled a great love and deep appreciation of pottery. She started taking classes with and assisting ceramicist Eric Jackson over a decade ago right here at Laguna Gloria! Teel hopes to inspire the next generation of artists the way she was inspired at a young age!

TIMOTHY MCCOOL is an Austin, Texas-based artist and educator. Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, McCool received his Master’s of Fine Arts from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and Tufts University located in Boston and Medford, MA. McCool has exhibited his work at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Carroll & Sons Gallery, and Montserrat College of Art, among other locations. He has been the artist in residence at the Boston Center for the Arts, the Studios Program at MASS MoCA, and at the Arteles Creative Center in Finland. During his time in Boston, Timothy taught a variety of painting and drawing courses at Boston College, the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, and the Museum of Fine Arts. In Austin, Timothy co-founded the gallery Goodluckhavefun and regularly curates shows that highlight the work of local Austin artists.

TANYA ZAL is from upstate New York, where she completed her BFA in Studio Art. She has spent the last decade in Austin, TX building a ceramics practice and working as a creative in the nonprofit art community. Her work and play are driven by a curiosity about what makes us feel held, and the things that we hold close. Her ceramics are a celebratory investigation of the creative process, using color and personal iconography.