Faculty & Adjuncts
Our full-time and adjunct faculty are carefully selected based upon their knowledge of media to be taught, their ability as an instructor and their experience as a professional artist. Most have earned a BFA degree, with the majority also holding an MA or MFA degree. Faculty members are rated by their students each term, relative to their effectiveness as an instructor.
We also routinely bring in a number of visiting national and international artists to teach in our program.
SUMMER 2022
DAVID ALMAGUER is a full-time studio artist. He studied Art at the University of Texas at San Antonio and Our Lady of the Lake University. He has exhibited his work in and around San Antonio.
ROBERT BALFOUR is a graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary and the University of Georgia. He has been a woodworker for 14 years and is the owner and operator of Revival Woodcraft, a custom furniture and cabinetry business. He specializes in hand tool woodworking and antique reproduction. He has developed a makerspace with interest in the intersection of craft and community development.
ANDRE BALLY received a BS in Landscape Architecture/Design from Texas A&M University with further studies at Sam Houston State University. He has been working with clay for over 35 years and, having a specific interest in surface textures, has been utilizing sandblasting in his work in ceramics and glass for the past 20 years. Bally’s work can be found on exhibit in private collections in Canada, Europe, North Africa, and the United States.
MICHELLE BELTO is a multi-faceted artist and teacher, whose work as an artist, educator, and author spans more than thirty years, three continents, and thirteen publications. She holds degrees and certifications in Fine Art, Theater, and Expressive Arts. Belto is a CORE teacher for R&F Paints and her current teaching schedule includes instruction in her signature work with paper and wax and her life’s work developing an insightful process for deciphering meaning and purpose from the art we create. Belto’s work is in private, corporate, and museum collections.
STACY BERLFEIN has an MFA in Drawing from University of Texas at San Antonio and a BFA from the University of Texas at Austin. She currently teaches at San Antonio College and has exhibited her work at Blue Star Contemporary and Southwest School of Art.
KIM BISHOP Teen Studio Intensive Coordinator has an MA in Gifted and Talented Curriculum from Texas State University and a BFA in Commercial Art from Southwest Texas State University. She has been teaching and practicing art for more than 30 years. Bishop’s works involve personal thematic issues in a variety of medium and techniques.
LAUREL BODINUS is a sculptor and costume designer who has worked for the San Antonio Children’s Museum, Guadalupe Theatre and Magik Children’s Theatre. She has taught in Summer Art Studios since 1998.
JOHN BOGOVICH began his endeavor into ceramics in 1998 at The University of Hawaii, Honolulu and it has turned into a love affair. He has volunteered with and taught both adults and children at a few small studios in Portland, OR; San Antonio, TX; and at the Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis, MN. Alongside ceramics, Bogavich paints murals, creates furniture, and has worked as a carpenter.
SABRA BOOTH holds an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art and a BFA from the University of Houston. Booth was a Fulbright Scholar to Finland and has been awarded numerous grants. She has traveled and sketched extensively in Europe, Mexico, and Japan. Her studio practice offers interpretative observations of nature, often relevant to ecological concerns, in a variety of mediums. Booth has done free-lance illustrations for educational publications and special projects with the City of San Antonio Department of Arts and Culture and the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.
JERRY CABRERA has an MFA in Painting from the University of Texas at San Antonio and a BFA in Painting from Texas State University. He has received grants from the National Association for Latino Arts and Culture, The Texas Cultural Collaborative, and was nominated for the Joan Mitchell Foundation Artist Grant in 2011. Cabrera’s work is included in the Neiman-Marcus Collections in eight cities and seven states as well as the AT&T Center Collection.
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 SSA 2005 Award for Teaching.
EBONY COLEMAN is a graduate from The Southwest School of Art with an emphasis in Metals and Sculpture. She is pursuing certification to teach at the elementary level while aspiring to teach at the college level soon.
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.
SCOTT COOPER holds an MFA in Web Design and New Media and Illustration from Academy of Art University, and a BFA in Media Communications from School of Visual Arts. Both a painter and multi-talented graphic designer, he is currently a Graphic Design Professor at The Art Institute of San Antonio.
MICHAEL CORNEY received his MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art and his BA from Cal State University Fullerton. Raised in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, he was influenced by the bright colors of nature and the vibrant cultures that surrounded him. He has taught workshops at Anderson Ranch, Penland School of Crafts, and Santa Fe Clay. In addition to numerous exhibitions, his work can be found in permanent collections at The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, The Ceramic Research Center at Arizona State University Museum, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, the Racine Museum of Art, and the Boise Museum of Art.
ELIZABETH-ANN DAVILA has a BFA from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and an Associate Degree in Sequential Arts. She is an animator and sequential artist as well as an illustration artist, painter, costume craftswoman, and linguist.
AMANDA DOMINGUEZ owns and operates Digital Pro Lab, a full-service photo lab located in San Antonio, specializing in image archiving and printing. Dominguez has a BA in History from the University of the Incarnate Word. With over 15+ years of experience teaching printing, photo editing, and image archiving, she is dedicated to helping photo takers of all levels document the world and their point of view through photography.
NORMAN ENGEL has an MFA from Florida Atlantic University in Computer Animation and a BA in Fine Art from Morehead State University. He has been a medical illustrator and photographer, has done animation work on many national and international video productions, and is currently a Lead Instructor at The Art Institute of San Antonio. Engel is a painter, and his work is in many private collections and galleries worldwide.
ED ESCOBEDO holds a BFA from the University of Texas at San Antonio with a concentration in ceramics and sculpture. His studio practice includes working with ceramics, found objects, and mixed media which he incorporates into sculptural and utilitarian vessels addressing themes of humor and absurdity. He has exhibited work in numerous group shows locally and nationally, including the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts 2018 in Pittsburgh, PA.
TODD FICHTER earned his BFA in photography from Southwest Missouri State University. Fichter is a full-time graphic designer. He and his wife, Kellie, are the primary creative force behind Fishead Design Studio & Microgallery.
MIKE FISHER received his Master of Communication Arts degree from the University of the Incarnate Word and his BA degree at the University of South Carolina. Galacticfish Productions is Fisher’s one-man cartooning, illustration, and animation studio, and he has been a cartoonist for the former Starlog magazine, as well as Animation Magazine, Modeler's Resource, and other publications. His independent animation shorts have won several awards at film festivals.
SARAH FOX earned her MFA from the University of Texas at San Antonio and her BA from Southwestern University in Georgetown. Raised in Houston, Fox currently lives and works in San Antonio where she is the co-director of the innovative community art space Clamp Light Studios and Gallery, the creator and co-director for the Brick Gallery in the Blue Star Arts Complex, and serves as board chair of Contemporary Art Month. She works in a variety of media from drawing, collage, cyanotypes, and animation.
CASEY GALLOWAY Fibers Department Coordinator 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.
NICOLE GEARY earned an MFA in printmaking from the University of South Dakota and a BFA in printmaking from the University of Florida. Geary was a resident in the Artist Lab at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center and has been awarded a grant from the Artist Foundation of San Antonio. She exhibits nationally and internationally.
JENNY GIUFFRIDA received a BA from the University of the Incarnate Word with a focus in photography, and holds a State Certification Art EC-12. She has been an artist-teacher for SSA's Mobile Arts Program since 2005.
LAUREN GONZALEZ launched Socorro Society in 2015 as a vintage resale business. She quickly started up-cycling and reworking vintage clothing as well. Socorro Society has become known for their hand-embroidered vintage clothing. Lauren began teaching embroidery workshops in 2017 and has since taught a variety of embroidery workshops in San Antonio, Austin, and New Braunfels. Her mission is to teach others to embroider and mend their clothing in the hopes to up-cycle and give new life into the items they already own.
MARIA GOULD holds an MFA in Ceramics from the University of Colorado and a BFA in Ceramics from Alfred University. She has been a studio artist passionately making art encompassing a variety of media, a program director of arts, and an educator, currently at East Central ISD, for over 35 years.
NANCY HENEGHAN holds a BFA in Fibers from the University of Wisconsin–River Falls. She previously was the Studio Programs Coordinator at Southwest School of Art. Heneghan has taught art to adults and children in a variety of settings, including SSA’s Mobile Arts Program.
NINA “SAM” HIBLER holds a BS from Stephen F. Austin State University. She was introduced to flame working when creating glass laboratory tools. Her background in science adds a wealth of knowledge to the nuances of glass art. Hibler is owner of Dream Fire Glass and specializes in the creation of one-of-a kind beads.
GREGORY ALAN JOHNSON received his MFA in Printmaking and Drawing at Texas Tech University and his BFA with a concentration in printmaking at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. He also studied art at San Jacinto Junior College before earning a degree in business at Texas State University.
JO ETTA JUPE has been a papermaker for over 30 years and continues to explore new techniques with the medium. She has taught workshops on making paper from botanical plants as well as workshops in wet collage and basic papermaking. Jupe has shown her work throughout Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Washington, DC. She holds a degree in computer science from the University of Texas at San Antonio.
MARY LUSTRI is a master art teacher and artist with 32 years of professional experience in Houston and San Antonio. She prides herself in teaching the process and techniques of learning, and the elements and principals of design to students in various mediums. She is inspired by watching them create their own masterpiece!
HOLLIE LYKO grew up northwest of Philadelphia in the small suburb of Hatfield, Pennsylvania. She earned her MFA in Studio Arts from Syracuse University and her BFA in Ceramics from the University of Hartford. She lives and works in San Antonio.
JEANNETTE MACDOUGALL is a studio artist in mixed media and encaustic painting. She has worked as an art educator for over 30 years. Currently, she is the curator and gallery owner of studio | COMFORT TEXAS in Comfort, TX. MacDougall is a former Resident Director at Moulin a Nef, an arts residency program in Auvillar, France and lives in the Texas Hill Country.
MELISSA MASCHKE lives and works in San Antonio, Texas. Maschke is currently attending the Master of Fine Arts program at UTSA. She is a proud single parent, a responsible global citizen and an art initiator engaged in action/life/reflection.
LENORA MCQUEEN is a craftsperson, art educator, and doll and puppet maker. McQueen teaches in SSA’s Mobile Arts Program and in the KIDS: Architecture in the Schools program.
LACEY MILLS received her MFA in Printmaking from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia and her BFA in Painting and Drawing from The University of Texas at El Paso. Her work deals with social and gender roles, using printmaking as a basis for her large-scale pieces. She has exhibited in Mexico, Italy, and throughout the United States.
THERESA NEWSOME holds a Masters in Photography and Art History from Texas Woman’s University. Her current work explores themes of racial identity, history, gender, and the construction of contemporary black culture. Her work has been exhibited in multiple venues throughout the country.
LISA NIGRO holds an MFA in Sculpture from the University of Texas at Austin and a BFA in Painting from University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Nigro is an interdisciplinary, multi-media artist working in painting, sculpture, and interactive installation art. She has produced large scale sculptures and installations for Burning Man and other festivals, including the Houston Art Car Parade.
SUSAN OAKS is a recognized artist in basketry, as well as a long-time artist-teacher in SSA’s Young Artist Programs. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Texas at Austin and has an all-level certification in Art Education.
ROMEO PEREZ attends San Antonio College with plans to transfer to the Architecture Program at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He has worked with Southwest School of Art since 2012 in the Kids Initiating Design Solutions (KIDS) Architecture in Schools Program mentoring SAISD students along-side professional engineers, architects, artists, and educators.
ALEJANDRA SALINAS PÉREZ is a metalsmith and emerging curator, born in the United States and raised in Mexico. Standing between two cultures, she combines her personal history with a contemporary perspective, translating her experiences into metal objects and jewelry. Her work explores boundaries, both physical and conceptual, as she attempts to materialize a sense of resilience and hope. Salinas is a previous SSA metals artist-in-residence.
JOSHUA PÉREZ has a BFA from University of Texas at San Antonio. He documents life as it happens, focusing on culture and ritual and the human experience. Pérez is able to explore these elements by looking to the street and everyday life for inspiration. Pérez develops his own black and white film and prints in his personal darkroom.
LAURA QUIÑONES received a BFA in Metals and Graphic Design from the University of Texas at El Paso. She has also studied with master metalsmiths in San Miguel de Allende, Oaxaca, Taxco, Mexico City, and San Antonio. Quiñones grew up in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and has been an independent studio jewelry designer since 1992.
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 has also taught in SSA’s Teen Intensive Studio, Mobile Arts Program, and Summer Art Studios. Rainey received the SSA 2008 Award for Teaching. She is a private painting instructor and former gallery owner.
ANDREI RENTERÍA is an artist and vagabond, working in drawing, painting, lithography, sculpture, and assemblage. Born in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, his work reflects his strong and longstanding interest in socio-political issues along the U.S./Mexico border. Rentería received his BFA from Sul Ross State University and his MFA from the University of Texas at San Antonio.
SARAH T. ROBERTS received her MFA in Jewelry Design and Metalsmithing from Texas Tech University with a secondary emphasis in digital photography. Her work explores the relationship between art and the human form through the creation of sculpture, photography, and video, and has been selected for many national exhibitions. She is co-director of Clamp Light Artist Studios and Gallery.
MARC ROSENTHAL is a graduate of the University of St. Thomas Fine Arts Program and has a Lifetime Teacher Certification from the University of Houston. A sculptor and potter, Rosenthal has created works that range from small scale pieces six-inches high to public artwork 85 feet in length. He studied pottery and kiln building with Paul Soldner at Anderson Ranch. Marc is a co-founder of Clay Arts Vegas, a thriving ceramic studio in downtown Las Vegas.
REGINA SANDERS Young Artist Programs Art Education Specialist holds Associate Degrees in Fine Arts and Illustration/Fashion from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.
SARA SHORE is a certified art teacher EC-12 with a Masters in Curriculum with an emphasis in technology. She has worked for Northside ISD since 1993 and has been a ceramic artist for the last 10 years.
JILLIAN SORTORE holds an MFA with metalsmithing emphasis from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville and a BFA in jewelry design and metals from Pittsburg State University. A variety of materials inform her work, which ranges from lightweight and bright earrings to wearable sculptural adornment. Her work can be found in publications such as 500 Rings, The Art of Jewelry; Plastic and Resin, and Art Jewelry magazine.
KATE TERRELL received her MFA from the University of Texas at San Antonio and her BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University. She teaches a variety of art-related subjects, including creative dance and lectures about art for adult education.
JAVI VALDES is photographer who has been shooting the city of San Antonio over the last five years. Originally from Midland, TX, Valdes moved to San Antonio in 2017 to complete his BBA in Marketing degree from The University of Texas at San Antonio. While he enjoys all facets and styles of photography, he has a particular affinity for street photography and documenting the moments that so quietly slip by us all on the day to day. In his spare time, you’ll probably find him around town with a camera in hand, or in his apartment darkroom spending long nights making prints.
SAM VELASQUEZ holds a BFA from the University of Texas at San Antonio. He attended Palo Alto College where he discovered his love for painting before transferring to UTSA. He has also been invited to participate in numerous group exhibitions, including at Blue Star Contemporary Art Museum and, most recently, at Texas A&M University-San Antonio’s Educational and Cultural Arts Center.
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. He is an art teacher for the Northside Independent School District.
LYN WOODS received a certificate in ceramics from Southwest School of Art in 2007. She has also studied ceramics at Anderson Ranch. Woods has previously taught ceramic classes for The Firehouse in Del Rio, Texas.
ANAHITA YOUNESI born in Isfahan, Iran, she gravitated towards the arts in childhood and inspired by an artistic atmosphere filled with monuments and handicrafts. Younesi has a BFA and MFA in Painting and is completing an MFA at University of Texas at San Antonio. She has been an art educator for more than a decade.
SARA ZAPATA holds a BA in Government, Urban Planning & Architecture from the University of Texas at Austin and a MA from the University of Texas at San Antonio and an M. ED from Trinity University. She has taught students from kindergarten to 12th grade.