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BETSY DOLLAR
Printmaking, Paper Making & Book Arts Betsy has both a BFA & MFA in printmaking and paper making from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She made her first block print when she was seven and has been exploring the medium ever since. She has taught art at every level from preschool through the University and to every age and ability level. Her work been shown internationally and is in private collections across the county. She has been the Executive Director at the SAA since fall of 2009. |
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JANE HUGHES-JACKSON
Textiles Jane learned to knit in 4-H as a 10 yr old. She really enjoys the combinations of stitches and patterns today. Lace, brioche, double knitting and all types of color work. She has taught for Lincoln Land and for the Heritage Knitting Program, "Stitches in Time." She has been with SAA as an instructor since 2016. |
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SHERI RAMSEY
Pastels Sheri Ramsey has been teaching at the Springfield Art Association since 1975, when she taught oil painting. She now teaches Intermediate pastel. Sheri graduated from Indiana University, Bloomington, with a BS in Art Education with a concentration in drawing and painting. Her website is SheriRamsey.com |
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GINGER LUKAS
Ceramics Ginger has a Bachelors of Fine Arts from MICA in Baltimore, MD and her Master's (Fine Arts) from UW-Madison. Beginning with her arrival in Springfield in October 2017, she was our first year-long resident artist in the Enos Park Residency Program. She is from Milwaukee, but has lived all over the country; her last residency was in Philadelphia at The Clay Studio. Website: http://gingerlukas.com |
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TARA STARLING
Steel/Plaster + Youth Instructor Tara graduated with her BFA in Art Education from Eastern Illinois University. She has worked at the SAA for three wonderful years and loves the age range she gets to teach. She also works at Springfield High School as an art teacher, and recently has been getting in to small scale metals and jewelry. |
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BARBIE LAFRANCE
Ceramics + Sculpture Barbie has a Bachelor’s degree in Art with a concentration in Ceramics from the University of Illinois at Springfield. During her undergrad, she curated the Access Gallery on UIS campus as well as assistant teaching in intermediate to advanced ceramics. Her personal artwork reflects the minor she obtained in Women and Gender Studies with sensual objects most often glazed in purposeful binary color palettes. In addition, she uses wheel throwing as an avenue to non functional sculpture in an effort to create contrast from its original intent of functional pottery. Barbie also joined our SAA Staff in October of 2018 as the Administrative Assistant and Librarian and also works at the SAA Collective as the Gallery Manager. |
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ASHLYNN FREY
Painting Ashlynn Frey was born and raised in Highland, Illinois and recently moved to the Springfield area. Ashlynn attended Eastern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a minor in 2-D Studio Art. She continued her education at Eastern Illinois University to pursue a Master of Arts degree in Studio Art, specializing in Painting. Currently, Ashlynn is an instructor at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Illinois and teaches 2-D foundations, Drawing I and II. She also teaches a Mommy & Me class and an Introduction to Painting class at Jacoby Arts Center in Alton, Illinois. When Ashlynn’s not teaching art, she is teaching at a preschool and creating art on the side. This is Ashlynn’s first year teaching at SAA. You can check out her website ashlynnfrey.com |
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JOHN McCLAREY
Bronze Sculpture Mr. McClarey specializes in the thought and form of Abraham Lincoln and other historical figures. His works are found in fifteen Illinois sites, in three foreign countries, and in many private and public collections and film. He holds a B.A. from Millikin University, and a M.S. from Illinois State University, where he was inducted in the Hall of Fame in the College of Arts and Sciences. He also received the Order of Lincoln from The Lincoln Academy of Illinois and for the past five years has taught at the Springfield Art Association. |
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JOE CIACCIO
Oil Painting Joe Ciaccio is a figural narrative painter and draftsman. His paintings and drawings focus on open and widely applicable narrative structures. He has exhibited nationally in such venues as the Fort Wayne Museum of Art and the Prince Street Gallery in New York. Joe received his Master of Fine Arts degree from Bowling Green State University in 2007. He resides with his family in Springfield, IL, where he teaches Drawing, Painting, Graphic Design, and Art History. |
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SUE SCAIFE
Pastel After nearly twenty-seven years of painting in pastel, Sue continues to learn more about this beautiful medium. Her landscape paintings are rich in color and create a feeling of place and time. Sue has been a member of the SAA for nearly 50 years, taking classes and facilitating open studios on Mondays for over ten years. She is a member of the Illinois Prairie Pastel Society and is currently president. |
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POPPY VINCENT
Metals Poppy Vincent received her Associates Degree in Art from Lincoln Land Community College in 1976. It was there that she was introduced to lost wax casting and metalsmithing. In 1988 she took over the jewelry classes at the SAA along with starting her own jewelry business doing custom work along with designing and producing her own line of jewelry. In 1996 Poppy received a grant through the Il Arts Council to attend an enameling class at The Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, TN. Since then she has become a member of the Enamelist Society and has taken classes and workshops from world renown enamelists and jewelers from around the world and continues to improve her skills. Poppy Vincent is considered an expert in the field of jewelry making. She is experienced in soldering, stone setting, etching, metal clay, enameling, keum-boo, lost wax casting and fabrication and has sold her work internationally. www.jewelrybypoppy.com |
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ANNE LOGUE
Ceramics Anne has taught art on a graduate level at both ISU and SIU-C graduate programs in addition to clay instruction at the Art Association. She also was a guest installation artist for Lincoln Memorial Garden utilizing willow for portals and feminine imagery. Being passionate about nature, most of her classes call to us to tap into the soul of creatures and the beauty they live in. |
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TRACEY MARAS
Pastel A passion for pastels and for teaching drives Tracey's work. With over 20 years of experience painting with pastels, she brings to her students the strength of the essentials as well as innovative techniques. She is a juried member of the Pastel Society of America, the Illinois Prairie Pastel Society and is a founding member of the Heartland Art Club. traceymaras.com |
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MARIO CLARKE
Glass Blower Mario Clarke received his bachelors in graphic design and photography at Illinois State University in 2017. He returned to ISU as a Grad at Large to further his passion for glass blowing. His work consists of large scale figurative and abstract bodies of work. Mario is now the first glass blowing instructor at SAA. |
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MARIANNE STREMSTERFER
2D Marianne Stremsterfer has been an art educator for over forty years, currently conducting research for the SAA Art Outreach portfolios, teaching SAA classes in acrylic painting and facilitating art projects in the OMA (Opening Minds through Art) program with SAA and SIU. During her career in the arts, she has conducted art workshops for teachers and students in New Hampshire, Minnesota, Tennessee and Louisiana, as well as teaching for Springfield College, Benedictine and Quincy Universities, St. Aloysius School, and of course, the SAA. Her favorite mediums are pen and ink and experimentation with acrylic paints, but she enjoys the exploration of any art form. |
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CORIE DECKER
2D | Ceramics + Metals Corie Decker graduated from Illinois State University with Bachelor of Science degree in Art Education with a focus in Painting, and a second Bachelor's degree in Ceramics. Corie has been teaching art to youth ages 4-18 for 14 years. Her portfolio consists of many 2D and 3D art media, including painting (watercolor, acrylic, and oil), pencil, ink, pastels, ceramics, metals, and textiles. Corie believes that everyone is an artist, and it is her privilege and passion to help her students discover where in the art world their identity resides. |
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ANNA WALKINGTON
Ceramics Anna has a Bachelor of Arts from MacMurray College in Jacksonville, IL. She fell in love with ceramics in 2011 and began teaching ceramics at the Springfield Art Association in 2018. Her passion for pottery is contagious and she enjoys teaching classes of all levels and ages. |
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KATE WORMAN-BECKER
Watercolor Kate received a Fine Arts degree from Western Illinois University in 1991 with an emphasis on design, drawing and printmaking. In 2008, she decided it was time to pursue at full-time and began painting in watercolor. Since then she has earned signature memberships in the Illinois and Missouri Watercolor Societies. Her award winning paintings has been selected in numerous national and international exhibitions throughout the central United States. She has been an instructor of watercolor painting at the SAA since 2015. |
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WILL NORRIS
Drawing Will is life-long fan of comic books and all things comic book related. He's been drawing comics for as long he can remember and jumped at the chance to teach and share his love for comics with students at SAA. It doesn't matter what style, genre, period or format, Will is always reading and drawing. He strongly encourage students to create their own characters and stories because that's where all great comics start. |