Listed below are permanent and part-time SSAC faculty.

RADCLIFFE BAILEY was born in 1968 in New Jersey and now lives and works in Atlanta. He earned a BFA from Atlanta College of Art. His work is in numerous permanent collections including The Corcoran Gallery of Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Smithsonian Institution. He seeks to understand the present by massaging the past experiences of his forebears.

KAREN ZELANKA BAKER received a BFA from Wayne State University and an MFA from Southern Methodist University with an emphasis in printmaking, drawing and painting. She is currently Associate Registrar of Loans and Exhibitions at the San Antonio Museum of Art.

SYLVIA BENITEZ is a nationally known installation artist whose work has begun to explore landscape painting within the context of a site-specific agenda. She is the recipient of two Pollock- Krasner awards, an AICA award, and two National Endowment for the Arts Visiting Artist Awards. Benitez has conducted over 60 community based mural workshops along the eastern seaboard.

TERI BLOND studied at California College of Arts and Crafts, Penland School of Crafts and SSAC. Her work is featured in the permanent collections of the Dorsky Museum, New Paltz, NY, and the Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI, as well as in several books.

JUAN CARLOS CABALLERO-PEREZ, a native of Mexico City, Mexico, came to the US in 1986. He received his MFA and BFA at Rochester Institute of Technology School for American Crafts where he is currently an Associate Professor in the Metals Department. Caballero-Perez was winner of the 2006 NICHE Award for jewelry, and his work has been included in many publications and two recent Lark Books: 500 Bracelets, and 500 Pendants, among others.

NATE CASSIE obtained his BA from Hope College in Holland, MI in Studio Art and his MFA from the University of Texas at San Antonio. He is a past fellow in the ArtPace Artist-in-Residence Program and the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts’ FIVA residency program in Miami.

ROBERT BEDE CLARK holds a MFA from the University of Iowa, Iowa City, and a BA from Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL. He has taught at the University of Missouri-Columbia since 1992. His work was included in the 2007 NCECA Clay National Biennial Exhibition and is also in the collection of Ichon World Ceramic Center, Korea; the Taipei County Yingko Ceramics Museum, Taiwan; and the Tainan National College of the Arts, Taiwan, among numerous others.

JAMES COBB, largely self-taught, worked as a "mail artist", enjoying the networking and global exchange of art and ideas before turning to painting in oils. Cobb veered away from painting to explore digital imagery, as well as musical/audio works created in a digital format. He currently teaches Computer Arts at Our Lady of the Lake University.

LIZA COLLINS, born in London, trained as a painter at Northeast London Polytechnic, and later in tapestry at the Royal College of Art. Her tapestries are in many public collections, including the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Contemporary Art Society of London.

MIGUEL CORTINAS received a BFA degree from Texas A&M University and an MFA from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Cortinas is an adjunct faculty member at Palo Alto College and Texas State University-San Marcos. His work is included in the SBC Collection of 20th Century American Art.

MARGARET CRAIG • PAINTING, DRAWING & PRINTMAKING DEPARTMENT CHAIR received a degree in Biology Secondary Education from the University of Wisconsin as well as a BS in Art, followed by an MA with an emphasis in watercolor painting. Craig received an MFA in Printmaking from the University of Texas at San Antonio. She has exhibited locally and nationally.

CATHY CUNNINGHAM is a full-time studio artist working in stained glass, lamp glass, fused glass and neon. She was a multiple scholarship student at Pilchuck Glass School and has studied with well-known glass artists Narcissus Quagliata, Dale Chihuly, Stephen Paul Day, Sally Prasch, and Bandu Scott Dunham.
JESSICA DECUIR has an MFA from the University of Texas at San Antonio and a BFA from Webster University. She teaches adults, teens, and kids at the SSAC and is adjunct faculty San Antonio College. DeCuir is a working artists and musician.

NICOLE DESCHAMPS-BENKE received an MFA from the University of Michigan. A jeweler and metalsmith, she has taught at several institutions, including the University of Michigan, Bowling Green State University and Texas State University. DesChamps-Benke has been active as a lecturer, author and exhibiting artist. Her work has been featured in several hardcover and periodical publications.

LINDA DRAPER received a BS in Biology from Arizona State University and an MBA from Our Lady of the Lake University. She has studied art in Arizona, Massachusetts and Texas. Her work has been exhibited nationally and is represented in galleries in Arizona and Texas.

JOAN FABIAN received her BFA from the Art Institute of Chicago and MFA from the University of Texas at San Antonio. She has exhibited in the National College of Arts, Pakistan; Parsons Paris School of Design Gallery, France; Artoteek Scheidam Museum, the Netherlands; and the McNay Art Museum. Fabian has won grants and honorariums, including a Fulbright Scholar Award to Pakistan and a Pollock Krasner Award in 2005.

SUE FOSS is a batik and shibori artist with over 20 years experience teaching fiber art. A teacher at the University of Texas, Foss has exhibited nationally and was awarded the Purchase Prize at the 34th annual Texas Watercolor Society National Exhibition.

KARL FREY is an editorial cartoonist whose work is currently published weekly and bi-weekly in Los Angeles and Boston newspapers. He also has published his own comics and childrens’ books and teaches comics and figurative illustration. Karl has a BFA in Illustration from the Art Center College of Design, Pasedena, CA and an MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA.

CHERYL GALLAGHER holds a BFA in Furniture Design from California College of the Arts. She designs and produces furniture and mosaics, including community mural projects, and has worked with concrete as an art medium for over 20 years.

NANCY CAVENDER GARCIA earned her BFA and MFA degrees in photography at the University of New Mexico. She has extensive experience in non-silver processes, hand coloring photographs and pinhole photography. Cavender received the SSAC 2005 Award for Teaching.

LAUREL GIBSON is a working artist who recently attended a residency at The Vermont Studio Center. She received a B.F.A. in ceramics and graduated with honors at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona and her M.F.A at the University of Texas San Antonio. Laurels artwork has received numerous awards and is shown internationally.

HOLLY GOECKLER holds a BFA from the Philadelphia College of Art, and an MFA in Metalsmithing from Southern Illinois University. Goeckler is the Visual Resource Curator in the Department of Art and Art History at Trinity University.

ROSE HARMS has been drawing and painting for 30 years and exhibiting since 1985. She received an MFA in Printmaking from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Harms received the SSAC 2006 Award for Teaching.

DEBORAH HARRISON has been weaving rugs and interior accessories since 1986. Her award-winning work has been exhibited nationally and featured in several publications, including Handwoven and the Best of Weaver’s series.

NINA “SAM” HIBLER holds a Bachelor of Science from Stephen F. Austin State University and was introduced to flame working glass in the laboratories where she worked creating glass tools. As a full time glass artist who specializes in the creation of one-of-a kind beads, Sam’s background in science adds a wealth of knowledge to the nuances of glass arts.

ROBERT HILS • FIBER DEPARTMENT CHAIR first gained interest in fiber as an undergraduate working toward a BS in Art Education at the University of Edinboro, PA. He studied Historic Preservation at the University of Vermont and received a Master Weaver certificate through the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland. Hils’ main area of concentration is weft-faced tapestry weaving.

CLAIRE HOLLIDAY • METALS DEPARTMENT CHAIR received an MFA degree in Gold and Silversmithing from the State University of New York at New Paltz. Holliday’s work is usually fabricated, but recent pieces reflect her interest in and exploration of the new medium of metal clay. She has received her instructor’s certification from the Precious Metal Clay Guild.

GIOVANNA IMPERIA has been braiding for 15 years and learned the ancient art of kumihimo in Japan. Her work has been exhibited at juried and invitational shows in the United States as well as internationally. Imperia has also been published in jewelry magazines and kumihimo books.

PHUONG-THAO HUA received a BFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of Texas at San Antonio and an MFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of Tennessee, where she was the recipient of several awards.

BARBARA JACKSON is a professional artist whose works are held in private, corporate and public arts collections in the U.S and in Europe. She received her MFA from the University of Hawaii and post-graduate training in Florence, Italy. Jackson has taught studio arts for over twenty years and as a Golden Acrylic Artist Representative has conducted workshops throughout the U.S.

CRAIG JENSEN has previously worked as Library Conservator at Brigham Young University's Harold B. Lee Library, Book Conservator at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center and Interned at the Library of Congress. In 1984 Jensen Bindery, later incorporated as BookLab, Inc., specializing in limited edition binding, box making and the production of high quality facsimiles of out-of-print brittle library books. Jensen now owns and operates BookLab II in San Marcos, and specializes in fine limited edition binding and box making.

DALE JENSSEN has been a full-time studio artist for over 20 years. As a metal worker she is self-taught and has been making sconces, lamps, chandeliers and illuminated sculptures since 1996. Her work is sold nationally through www.Guild.com and can be seen in resorts, restaurants and motels throughout West Texas.

GREGORY JOHNSON • INTERDEPARTMENTAL STUDIO MANAGER studied art at San Jacinto Junior College before earning a degree in business at Southwest Texas State University. He earned his BFA with a concentration in Printmaking at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi and an MFA in Printmaking and Drawing at Texas Tech University.

JO ETTA JUPE received a BS degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Jupe has worked with handmade and decorated paper in various forms. She has exhibited her work locally and at the Harold Washington Library in Chicago.

ROSANNE KELLER earned her BS at Texas Woman’s University, Denton; an MA in English from Arizona State University; and an MA in Theology from St. John’s University. She works in both Ceramic and Bronze figurative sculptural forms and explains her work as ‘Art as Meditation’. Commissions include Texas Woman’s University; His Holiness, the Dalai Lama; and St. Cloud Battered Women’s Shelter.

LISA KERPOE is a fiber artist, primarily self-taught. After working as a corporate trainer and management consultant, Lisa left the corporate world in 1998 to pursue her art full-time. Her main area of focus is art cloth yardage and wall hangings.

DIANA KERSEY received a BFA, magna cum laude from Texas Tech University and an MFA in Ceramics from Washington State University. She served as SSAC’s Ceramic Department Studio Manager from 1997 – 2005. Kersey currently owns and operates Kersey Architectural Ceramics, which specializes in custom architectural ceramics, reproductions and unique clay planters.

RICHARD KLINE • PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO MANAGER earned his MA in Photography at the University of Wisconsin. He started a photography program with the Housing Authority of Superior, WI, working with at-risk youth, and taught drawing and painting to teenagers through a program developed at the University of Wisconsin–Superior. His own work is based in color photography and mixed media.

RONALD KOLODZIE studied fashion design at Parsons School of Design. He has taught at the Fashion Institute of Technology, Syracuse University, and Parsons School of Design. He is a recipient of the prestigious Coty Award.

JEANNETTE MACDOUGALL is a studio artist and arts consultant dividing her time between Texas, California and France. She has worked as an art educator for over 20 years for the San Antonio Art Institute, San Antonio Children’s Museum and SSAC. MacDougall is Resident Director of the Moulin a Nef; the VCCA residency program in Auvillar, France.

DENISE MARTIN received her training in ceramics from Sam Houston State University, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, and the Southwest School of Art & Craft. Martin has been working in clay since 1975 and is currently employed with the City of San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department teaching a wide range of art classes.

ENRIQUE MARTINEZ received his BFA from Texas State University and his MFA from University of Texas San Antonio. He teaches at Palo Alto College and is shown locally in the south Texas region including Sala Diaz and the Institute of Texan Cultures.

LISA MITTLER received her MFA from Baylor University and currently works as an artist and a high school art teacher. Lisa creates metal sculpture, photography and fiber wall hangings, jewelry and wearable art.

SUSIE MONDAY has a Fine Arts degree from Trinity University and works as a consultant, writer, teacher and fabric and exhibit designer. She produces and sells one-of-a-kind and custom table linens, art cloth yardage and wall hangings. She also teaches at the University of the Incarnate Word.

MICHELE MONSEAU earned her BFA from Youngstown State University and her MFA from the University of Texas at San Antonio. She is an instructor at Palo Alto College and is founder/operator of Three Walls Gallery in the Blue Star Arts Complex.

EDDIE MUÑOZ received his BFA from The University of Texas at San Antonio with an emphasis in photography. His current body of work uses alternative photographic processes such as liquid light, van dyke and cyanotype to coat surfaces that are not traditional to the photographic process.

SARA PAGONA received her BA from Trinity University with an emphasis in Photography. She is currently a working artist and an art teacher at Ronald Reagan High School in San Antonio.

VICTOR PAGONA • PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT CHAIR earned his MFA in Photography and Sculpture at the University of South Carolina and his MA in Art History at the University of Wisconsin. His most recent body of work was created using a combination of digital and silver-based media along with other materials.

KIM PAXSON received a BFA from the University of North Texas with a concentration in Drawing and Painting. Paxson is a signature member of the National Watercolor Society.

CAT QUINTANILLA has a BFA from the University of Texas-Austin and has studied stone carving at the Austin Museum of Art. She has previously taught at The Sculpture Academy in Austin and is a member of the Texas Society of Sculpture. Quintinilla owned and operated a graphic design and marketing business for over 24 years.

RAINEY studied art at the University of Texas at San Antonio, and was the recipient of the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center Primer Paso Fellowship. She also teaches in SSAC’s Teen After-School Program, Mobile Arts Program and for Summer Art Camp. Rainey received the SSAC 2008 Award for Teaching.

MELANIE RUSH-DAVIS earned a BFA and MFA in Photography at the University of Texas at San Antonio and specializes in pinhole photography. Her work has appeared in Texas Monthly and Pinhole Journal. She is a freelance photographer.

ZOË SHEEHAN SALDAÑA is currently an Assistant Professor of Art at City University of New York/Baruch College. She holds a MFA from Rochester Institute of Technology and a BA from Oberlin College. Saldaña work explores the nature of photography and digital media in her work within the confines of other media — tapestry, cross stitching, sculpture — to comment on social issues such as of safety, mass distribution and consumption.

REGINA SAUNDERS • ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, YOUNG ARTISTS PROGRAMS, holds Associated Degrees in Fine Arts and Illustration/Fashion from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. She is a former fine arts instructor fo a magnet school in Houston and coordinated the SSAC Teen and SMD programs.

CHRIS SAUTER earned his BA from the University of the Incarnate Word and an MFA from the University of Texas at San Antonio. He was a 1999 Artpace Artist-in-Resident, and has exhibited both nationally and internationally.

DELORES SCHULTZ is a professional calligrapher and teacher with more than 25 years experience. Her work has been exhibit and published nationally.

DONNA SIMON is professional artist and art educator. She has an MA in Art Education from Hofstra University and a BFA from Tyler School of Art. Simon formerly taught fine art and art history at Brackenridge High School and St. Mary’s University. She founded SeeingArtSanAntonio in 2006.

DENNIS SMITH • CERAMICS DEPARTMENT CHAIR received a BFA in Ceramics from the Kansas City Art Institute and an MFA in Ceramics from the University of Montana, with postgraduate work at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. He has exhibited his work in both national and international exhibitions. Smith's work has been featured in Ceramics Monthly, Ceramics: Arts and Perception, and Clay Times.

BONNIE STAHLECKER uses the format of the book to tell a visual story. She uses time periods ordered by the sequential nature of bound pages to give abstractions of thought tangible form. Her work often contains hidden messages, layering of images, or a push towards the third dimension by utilizing the folded pop-up structures.

GAIL STOUFFER holds a BFA from C.W. Post/Long Island University. She is co-owner and principle artist of Wired Designs. Stouffer maintains a studio for kiln formed glasswork and has received numerous commissions. She is current President of the San Antonio Art Glass Guild.

MELANIE LONG STRYBOS received a BS from Texas Christian University. She freelances as a decorative painter, surface designer and mosaicist, and worked on the restoration of the Empire Theater. Strybos is a member of the Society of American Mosaic Artists.

RYAN TAKABA • CERAMICS STUDIO MANAGER holds an MFA in ceramics from Kent State University and a BFA from University of Hawai’i. He previously was the Artist-in-Residence/Studio Manager for the University of Massachusetts – Dartmouth where he also taught ceramics in their Continuing Education Program. Takaba has also taught at Mudflat Studios and Kent State.

ROBERT TIEMANN received his MFA from the University of Southern California in 1960 and taught in the Harvard Summer Program for five years in the 1980s. During the 35 years he taught at Trinity University in San Antonio, he was Chair of the Art Department for 6 years. Tiemann’s paintings are in the collections of American and European museums.

KEVIN VAN WINKLE received a BA in Art from the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater and both an MA and MFA in ceramics from the University of Iowa. He has taught ceramics at Odessa College, Midland College and the Shreveport Center for Art and Craft. Kevin has exhibited his work in raku and salt firing in numerous national exhibitions.

LARRY WEST owns and operates Dragonfire Hot Glass Studio in San Antonio. West has a BA in Art Education from Kent State University and has studied at the Pilchuck Glass School.

BECK WHITEHEAD • PAPER & BOOK ARTS DEPARTMENT CHAIR received a BA from Trinity University and an MFA from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Her work was included in the exhibition Contemporary American Paper Artists at the Center for Book and Paper Arts and in a solo exhibition at the Williams Paper Museum. Whitehead has taught papermaking workshops at Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Pyramid Atlantic, Haystack and at national conferences.

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