Instructors

Brian Oberlin

Most of the instructors at the Glenn and Viola Cultural Arts Center are listed below along with the types of classes they teach and a brief biography.  Get comfortable with your instructor and their qualifications before you begin your class by selecting your instructor at the left and reading about them.  A sample of the instructor's artwork is also included, if applicable.

Constance Lee Adams

 

Youth & Adult Ceramics/Sculpture & Drawing

Constance Lee Adams is a multi-disciplined artist who focuses on sculpture and has exhibited her work in the greater Portland area since 1987. She has been teaching children and adults at the Cultural Arts Center since it opened in 2004. Before teaching here, Constance was an Assistant Art Instructor and Artist Assistant at the Leon and Bornowski Studios, Portland. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture from Pacific Northest College of Art and an Associate of Arts in Humanities from Portland Community College. Her desire in teaching art is to help people envision their creative abilities and see their lives enriched by their pursuits. Constance Adams' Sculpture

Bonnie Burbidge

Adult Painting (Watercolor & Oils)

Bonnie Burbidge has a fascination for light and color. She is dedicated to the direct observation of nature and paints on location, studying the constant shifting patterns of light and color. She returns often to the same location at different times of day and different seasons, looking for newness, as well as the familiar. She is continually inspired by the subtle beauty of the back roads of the Northwest and the people, history, and power of nature. Bonnie Burbidge

Jen Champlin:

Youth & Adult Ceramics

Jennifer Champlin has a masters degree in ceramics from Syracuse University. She has taught art to all age levels from kindergarten through college. Jen married her high school sweetheart Glen and has two "works in progress," Brett and Geneva Rose. www.jenchamplin.com/index.htm
Jen Champlin

Guerry Dean

Youth & Adult Cartooning & Illustration

My boyhood heroes: Walt Disney and Superman. One was a renowned cartoonist; the other, a famous cartoon character. Cartoons are everywhere. On TV, in movies, magazines and newspapers, and on countless products. Though I never became world-famous or acquired super powers, my passion for cartoon art continues unabated. I also enjoy sharing my knowledge and experience for this art form with others, whether they be newcomers or longtime comics art enthusiasts. Find online examples of my recent work at www.sketchguypdx.com. Guerry Dean

Jessica Gardner

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Youth & Adult Ceramics, Painting, Drawing & Mixed Media

Jessica Gardner's 13 years in the ceramics field have included numerous exhibitions and educational pursuits. She received her Masters of Fine Arts at Georgia State University, her Bachelor's Degree at Alfred University and was a Post-Baccalaureate student in ceramic arts at the University of Florida. In 2012 Jessica's work was exhibited at the Bellevue Arts Museum in Bellevue, WA and The Clay Studio in Philadelphia, PA, as well as local venues. She was invited to hold a solo exhibition and give a visiting artist lecture at Pittsburg State University in March 2012, and was awarded an Oregon Arts Commission grant for this undertaking. She will be published in "Humor and Craft," a book scheduled to print in May, 2012, and her work can also be seen in collections including the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute Collection in China, and the Porter Price Collection in Columbia, South Carolina. Jessica Gardner

Alice Hill

Youth Drawing, Painting & Mixed Media

Alice Hill holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from Marylhurst College and an Associate of Science in Scientific Illustration from Cuyamaca in San Diego, CA. Before moving to Oregon, she worked as a medical illustrator. In Oregon, she has taught for the Oregon College of Arts and Crafts, the Multnomah Arts Center and the Portland Art Museum, working with students of all ages. She was also awarded an artist-in-residency from the U.S. National Parks Service at Crater Lake. Also also teaches at the Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve, the Pacific Northwest College of Art and in the Right Brain Initiative Program. Her passions are divided between teaching children and creating her own art, which is in private collections and publications. Alice Hill

Debbie Lamedman

Youth Theater & Adult Playwriting

Debbie Lamedman is a playwright, author and editor of eight acting books published by Smith & Kraus, Inc. Debbie's produced plays include phat girls, Triangle Logic, Eating in the Dark, and Out with the Old. phat girls is also featured in the Smith & Kraus anthology, New Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2003.Debbie is a teaching artist for the Visions and Voices program at Portland Center Stage, as well as an acting coach for students and professionals. she received her Master of Fine Arts in Theater from Brandeis University and is a proud member of the Dramatist guide and Actors' Equity Association. Learn more about her projects and experience online at www.debbielamedman.com. Debbie Lamedman

Melissa Meszaros

Youth Creative Writing

Melissa received her Bachelor of Arts in English from Concordia University in Portland in 2008, and is currently enrolled in Antoich University's distinguished Creative Writing MFA Program, where she has worked with authors Tobias Wolff and Rick Moody. she has written and self-published five novels, including A Toast to Never (2005), The Lost Art of Murder: Stories (2008) and Aya: A Memoir of Loss (2013). She has written articles for Women's Health, Nylon, and Teen Vogue.  

Dany Oakes

Youth and Adult Music

Dany Oakes began teaching early in his career and has been playing guitar for 26 years. He majored in music at Niagara County Community College, Portland Community College and Portland State University. He has taught guitar, bass, ukulele, and mandolin full time at Five Star Guitars for nearly 15 years. He students have ranged from age 3 to 85! Dany has performed and recorded with bands on the east and west coasts. He currently writes music and performs as a solo artist and with: Bev and the Boys, 23 Window, Coolbeans, and Fire/Swamp. He also actively donates time to perform for local charitable organizations. Dany Oakes

Brian Oberlin

 

Guitar, Mandolin

Brian Oberlin is a crooning mandolinist originally from Michigan. He lives in Hillsboro and has been playing music professionally for 12 years. When he is not touring, he spends his time teaching kids and adults, both privately and in group classes, and playing concerts. Brian is the founder and director of the River of the West Mandolin Camp and the Oregon Mandolin Orchestra. He travels the world playing with his duo, bass+mandolin, as a soloist playing swing music, and with several bands and orchestras, including the world renowned Ger Mandolin Orchestra. www.mandoberlin.com Brian Oberlin

Tye Pemberton

Adult Creative Writing

Tye Pemberton is a graduate of Columbia University's Master of Fine Arts program in Writing. His fiction has been published internationally in the journal Versal and in San Francisco's Watchword. His nonfiction can be found on therumpus.net, which which he is a regular contributor. He is an associate editor of the journal We Still Like. Before pulling up stakes and hoofing it to Oregon, he spent his time toiling for the Janklow & Nesbit Literary Agency in New York. Tye Pemberton

Sue Anne Seckora

Adult Painting (Watercolor)

 

Sue Anne Seckora has enjoyed painting in watercolor since 1993. she values a step by step approach to discover the uniqueness and pleasure of painting in watercolor. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. She and her husband moved to Oregon in 1983. She enjoys hiking and traveling and her paintings reflect her delight in natural beauty. Sue Anne's lovely notecards are for sale in our gift shop! Sue Anne Seckora

Victoria Shaw

 

Adult Ceramics
A Pacific Northwest native, Victoria Shaw  received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Marylhurst before developing an interest in ceramics. After taking a class from Patrick Horsley, clay became a lifelong love, For years, she coiled vase forms on her kitchen table and at local craft centers. In 1980 she returned to the academic world, earning both a Bachelor and a Masters degree in Fine Arts at the University of Oregon. Her work derives inspiration from "the still, small voice within," and often her sculptures speak about a collective spiritual vision. Since 1986 she has been making totems of various forms. Victoria lives and works in Portland and her sculpture is collected throughout the U.S., as well as Israel and Japan. In addition, her work is featured in many publications. www.vshawsculpture.com. Victoria Shaw

Gerald Sticka

Adult Painting (Acrylics)

Gerald E. Sticka, a native Oregonian, grew up on a farm in the rural community of Gaston, and he could always be found wandering the wooded areas surrounding his boyhood home. His love of nature and desire to capture her grandeur prompted him to retire from a 30-year career as press foreman for The Oregonian Publishing Company in 1989 to pursue his interest in art. Gerald studied with Western artist Roberta St. Louis, and his vacation has blossomed. He has participated in art shows throughout the Pacific Northwest, with some of the top wildlife and western artists from the region. His work has been selected for an Oregon Wildlife Calendar published by the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife, as well as by European card company Marion Heath for its "American Artist" series. Gerald has been a gallery owner and and prior to teaching at the Cultural Arts Center, taught art out of his two galleries on the Oregon coast. Kingfisher
    * Instructor schedules vary by class session
     
     

 

 

 

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