Faculty for Fall 2011
Miguel Abugattas is a native of Peru who began working with ceramics when he moved to San Antonio and took classes and earned a Certificate in ceramics at the Southwest School of Art. His work has been exhibited in numerous shows throughout the country; in 2010 he was awarded Best of Show at the San Angelo National Ceramic Competition. His work can be seen in 500 Cups by Lark Books.
Lorena Angulo is a Mexican artist who works in metal, including metal clay, and mixed media. Her passion for her culture and its traditions plays a big role in her designs. Her work has been included in Metal Clay Beads by Lark Books, PMC Guild annual exhibition Exceptional Work in Metal Clay 2008 and 2009, Fusion Magazine (Journal of the International PMC guild) and featured at the Metal Clay Guru site.
Ilze Aviks has a BFA from the University of Kansas and an MFA from Colorado State University. Her tapestries and stitched cloth are included in numerous public and private collections. Aviks has contributed essays and reviews to Fiberarts and Surface Design Journal and her work has been shown in American Craft Magazine, as well as those publications and included in two Fiberarts Design Books.
Karen 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.
Michelle Belto is a multi-faceted artist and teacher. She holds a BA in Education with certifications in Art and Theater, and an MA in Fine Arts and Consciousness from John F. Kennedy University. Her work as a performer, educator and visual artist spans more than thirty years, three continents and thirteen publications. She divides her time between her two passions — teaching encaustics and studio art, with an emphasis on hand-made paper and wax.
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 led over 60 community-based mural workshops along the eastern seaboard.
Sabra Booth holds a BFA from the University of Houston and an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art. She is a nationally and internationally exhibiting artist with recent shows in New York and Germany. Booth also was a Fulbright Scholar to Finland and has been awarded grants by Artpace, and by the Brooklyn Arts Council.
Brad Braune received his BA in Architecture from Texas Tech University. He taught watercolor from 1975-77 as part of the original faculty of the Southwest School of Art; he also teaches watercolor at other local arts institutions. He shows locally and nationally.
Roberta Buckles is an MFA graduate from University of Texas at San Antonio with an emphasis in painting. Her oil paintings ride the border between realism and abstraction, and she has national presence including exhibitions in Texas, Illinois, Florida, and California. Buckles has been promoted by American Artist Magazine and was showcased in Artist’s Magazine.
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.
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–Kingsville and an MFA degree from The University of Texas at San Antonio. He is an Associate Professor of Art at the University of the Incarnate Word where he teaches drawing, painting, and printmaking. Miguel’s work is in numerous collections throughout the U.S., including The University of Texas at San Antonio and the AT&T Collection of 20th Century American Art.
Margaret Craig · PAINTING, DRAWING & PRINTMAKING DEPARTMENT CHAIR received a BS in Biology, BS in Art and an MA with an emphasis in watercolor painting from the University of Wisconsin. Her MFA in Printmaking is from the University of Texas at San Antonio. A leader in non-toxic printmaking technology, she has demonstrated at national conferences. Craig was selected to represent the U.S. in China as part of the Sanbao International Printmaking project.
John Davis received a BFA in printmaking from the University of Massachusetts–Amherst and a MA in painting from the University of New Orleans. His work explores suburban psychology, commodities and privileges and how these elements are a false substitution for sense of self. Davis has exhibited his paintings in New Orleans, New York and Chicago and abroad in Italy, Austria and England.
Jennifer Datchuk graduated from the University of Massachusetts–Dartmouth with an MFA in Artisanry. While in school she studied abroad at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana, West Africa and at the Sanbao Ceramic Institute in Jingdezhen, China.
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.
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 SSA and is also a musician in the band Hyperbubble.
Carol Dotin has been a ceramic artist for over 25 years but became interested in polymer clay as a versatile medium about 10 years ago. Her broad knowledge of techniques and applications extends to both jewelry and ceramics.
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.
Jil Ewing graduated from the Community Leadership Institute and is currently attending Texas State University. She has over 15 years experience working with children and has taught anime classes at the SSA for 8 years, at Summer Art Camp and Mobile Arts Program. Ewing also teaches at Fort Sam, The Winston School, The Circle School, San Antonio Museum of Art and McNay Museum of Art.
Todd Fichter earned his BFA in photography from Southwest Missouri State University. Fichter is a full-time graphic designer and along with his wife Kellie, they are the primary creative force behind Fishead Design Studio & Microgallery.
Mike Fisher received his BA degree at the University of South Carolina and is currently pursuing his MA in Communication Arts at the University of the Incarnate Word. He has had cartoons and illustrations published in Starlog, Scary Monsters Magazine and Animation Magazine among others. Fisher creates award-winning independent short films which utilize both 2-D and 3-D animation, as well as video and motion-comic technique.
Casey Galloway received a BFA in Fibers from the University of North Texas in Denton. A 2007 Kuhlman Foundation scholarship allowed her to travel and research Scandinavian weaving; she is an installation artist as well as a traditional weaver.
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 SSA 2006 Award for Teaching.
Arthur Hash received his MFA in metalsmithing and jewelry design from Indiana University following his BFA in Crafts/Material Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University. He is a full time instructional support technician for the State University of New York at New Paltz Metal Program and Digital Fabrication Lab. Hash’s work can be seen in such publications as Metalsmith, American Craft, Domino and Niche Magazine. His recent work incorporates digital fabrication technologies such as waterjet cutting, 3D scanning, CNC routing and rapid prototyping to make one-off art jewelry pieces, large archival ink-jet prints and vinyl sticker installations.
James Helm holds a BA from Texas Tech University. Previously a high school English teacher, he has over 10 years experience as a blacksmith, an occupation he’s pursued full-time since 2008.
Nina “Sam” Hibler holds a BS from Stephen F. Austin State University. She was introduced to flame working creating glass laboratories tools; that background in science adds a wealth of knowledge to the nuances of glass arts. Hibler is owner of Dream Fire Glass and specializes in the creation of one-of-a kind beads.
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.
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.
Sherri Warner Hunter is full time studio artist who creates public, private and community based commissions as well as fine art. Her degrees are in sculpture and drawing from the Kansas City Art Institute and Claremont Graduate Universities, but her training in mosaic and concrete has been through more than two decades of self-exploration. Hunter teaches sculpture, concrete and mosaic workshops around the country and at her studio. She has authored two books: Making Concrete Garden Ornaments and Creative Concrete Ornaments for the Garden.
Gregory Alan Johnson – FACULTY & STUDIO DEPARTMENT 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.
Lisa Kerpoe is a fiber artist, primarily self-taught. After working as a corporate trainer and management consultant, Kerpoe 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 currently owns and operates Kersey Architectural Ceramics, which specializes in custom architectural ceramics, reproductions and unique clay planters. Kersey received the SSA 2010 Award for Teaching.
Nadia Khan has been a silk painter since the 1980s and continues to study new techniques and explore different styles of painting. Her designs are used for fabrics, scarves and paintings. She teaches at various institutions, including the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, and presents workshops for groups and guilds.
Julia Landois earned a BFA from the University of Texas at San Antonio and an MFA from the University of Pennsylvania. Her performance work and installations have been shown throughout the U.S. and abroad. In 2009, she was awarded residencies at the Santa Fe Art Institute and Lademoen Kunstnerverksteder in Norway, as well as a grant from the Artist Foundation of San Antonio.
Eléonore Lee is a printmaker and book artist. She began her studies in the UK prior to attending The Art Institute of Chicago on exchange, where she first discovered her love for books and print. After training at the Tamarind Institute, she went to the University of Iowa to pursue an MFA and a Book Arts Certificate.
Cathy Cunningham-Little 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.
Jeanette MacDougall is a studio artist and arts consultant. She has worked as an art educator for over 20 years for the San Antonio Art Institute, San Antonio Children’s Museum and SSA. MacDougall was Resident Director at Moulin a Nef, an arts residency program in Auvillar, France, from 2007 – 2008.
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; and recently was co-author of a book on creativity, New World Kids.
Michele Monseau earned her BFA from Youngstown State University and her MFA from the University of Texas at San Antonio. She is founder/operator of Three Walls Gallery in the Blue Star Arts Complex.
Dale Neese graduated in 1973 from Middle Tennessee State University majoring in Ceramics and has maintained a studio in San Antonio since 1980. Known for his quality-crafted stoneware, he has served as President of the San Antonio Potters’ Guild and as board member of several other local art organizations.
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.
Jillian Palone, a Kansas native, received her BFA in Jewelry Design and Metals from Pittsburg State University and earned her MFA from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville. She allows a variety of materials such as metal, resin, paper-clay, wood, rubber and paints to inform her creative process. Her current work consists of wearable objects and small sculptures to adorn the body that challenge the way traditional jewelry is worn.
Mike Pecen is a landscape designer, designing urban, suburban and rural projects for public and private use. He earned a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from the University of Texas at Austin, and he is accredited in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
Cat Quintanilla has a BFA from the University of Texas at 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. Quintianilla 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 SSA’s Teen Intensive Studio, Mobile Arts Program and for Summer Art Camp. Rainey received the SSA 2008 Award for Teaching.
Phil Reede received a BA with a concentration in metals from Penn State University. He has a decade of professional experience working as a jewelry designer, bench jeweler, and stone setter. Reede is currently a Master Model Maker for James Avery.
Marcia Roberts holds a BS in Secondary Education and Spanish and a MA in English. She most recently studied Poetics at New College of California. Marcia is the author of five poetry books, including Open Eye by Skanky Possum Press and Autumn’s Slant and In the Bird’s Breath by Effing Press. Her latest book, What She Knows, was published by BlazeVox Books in 2010, and its cover is a collagraph she made in a printmaking class at SSA.
Kimberly Rumfelt received her BFA from Texas Tech University and her MFA in Studio Art from East Carolina University where she was Instructor of Record, Studio Technician, and a Teaching Assistant of Design. In 2008 she was a Studio Assistant at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Maine.
Ramin Samandari has been a fine art photographer for the past 20 years. He has owned and operated his studio, Magical Realism, since 1998. His work has been in numerous solo and group exhibitions and is in the permanent collection of San Antonio Museum of Art and University of Texas at San Antonio.
Regina Sanders - ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, YOUNG ARTISTS PROGRAMS, holds Associate Degrees in Fine Arts and Illustration/Fashion from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. She is a former fine arts instructor at a magnet school in Houston and coordinates the SSA 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. Sauter received the SSA 2011 Award for Teaching.
Gary Schott - METALS DEPARTMENT CHAIR received his MFA in Metal/Jewelry Design from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a BFA from the University of Wisconsin-Stout. Schott’s work explores human interaction through both sculptural mechanical forms and interactive wearable jewelry. His work is included in 500 Pendants and Lockets and 500 Metal Vessels, both by Lark Books.
Dolores Schultz is a professional calligrapher and teacher with more than 25 years experience. Her work has been exhibited and published nationally.
Laura Schultz is a visual artist who works in cut paper creating delicate, architectural-scale installations as well as works of a more intimate size. Schultz earned a MFA in fiber and mixed media from John F. Kennedy University and a BFA from the University of Texas at Austin. A native of San Antonio, she has traveled widely in Latin America, Europe, and the U.S. returning to San Antonio in 2001, where she maintains a studio.
April Smith earned her bachelor’s degree from Knox College in 1994 with a double major in chemistry and music. After college she worked for four seasons with an archaeological team in Macedonia, Israel and France and through this experience became interested in conservation. She graduated from the Preservation and Conservation Studies Program at the University of Texas in 2002, after which she worked as an assistant paper conservator at the Harry Ransom Center in Austin, Texas until 2004. She currently runs her own private practice in book conservation.
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.
Gail Stouffer holds a BFA from C.W. Post/Long Island University. She is owner and principal artist of Wired Designs. Stouffer maintains a studio for kiln-formed glasswork specializing in functional glassware production, custom architectural glass installations, and one-of-a-kind sculptural glass pieces. She has received numerous commissions and her work is shown in galleries throughout the U.S. She is the founding President of the San Antonio Art Glass Guild, and remains active as their current Treasurer.
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 – FACULTY AND STUDIO MANAGER holds an MFA in ceramics from Kent State University and a BFA from University of Hawaii. He previously was the Artist-in-Residence/Studio Manager for the University of Massachusetts – Dartmouth. Takaba has also taught at Mudflat Studios and Kent State.
John Tilton was a graduate student working toward his PhD in Mathematics at the University of Florida when he was introduced to clay as an artistic medium in 1968. He subsequently took up ceramics as a profession, earning his MFA in Ceramics from the University of South Florida. He has taught ceramics at Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, FL and has been a self-supporting studio artist since 1972. His work has been published in Ceramics Monthly, American Craft and the Studio Potter magazines, as well as The Ceramic Design Book, Crystalline Glazes and Wheel Thrown Ceramics.
Vincent Valdez received his BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. He has had one-person exhibitions at the Southwest School of Art, McNay Art Museum, San Antonio Museum of Art and the Museo Alameda. He has also exhibited his work at The Parsons School of Design in Paris, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Museum, The Seattle Museum of Art and the Mexican Museum in Chicago.
Larry West owns and operates Dragonfire Hot Glass Studio. 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. Whitehead has taught papermaking workshops at Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Pyramid Atlantic, Haystack, and at national conferences. She is also on Hand Papermaking’s Board of Directors.
Laura Wood received her BFA in Jewelry and Metalsmithing from the University of Georgia in 2007 and her MFA in Metal Design from East Carolina University. She will be an artist-in-resident in the Wilson Metals and Picante Paper Studios this fall. Wood has participated in numerous exhibitions around the country and solo exhibitions in North Carolina.
Lyn Woods received a Certificate in ceramics from the Southwest School of Art in 2007. She also has studied ceramics at Anderson Ranch. Woods Also teaches in Summer Art Camp and has previously taught ceramic classes for The Firehouse in Del Rio, Texas.
