About Our Instructors

                                                       Bob Baumbach
    A retired high school art teacher from State College, Bob taught many mediums and
 started the high school photography program over twenty years ago. He has seen the
 photo program at State High through the digital revolution. He has taught crafts, drawing
 and painting and has taught adult education watercolor classes for the State College
 Community Education Program. Bob is also active with Italian Street Painting at the Arts
 Festival and has been a guest artists at other Festivals. You can review Bob’s
 photography and art at his website at www.rbaumbach.com. 

                                                       David Charriere
    David graduated from Youngstown State University with a B.A. majoring in Art with a minor in
 Art History. He trained at Studio Incamminati in Philadelphia. His work has been exhibited at
 the Student Show at the Butler Institute of American Art and the Jewish Community Center in
 Canton, Ohio. Last year one of his pieces earned an Honorable Mention at the Art Alliance's
 "Go Figure" show.

                                                      Jake Johnson
    Jake is an accomplished ceramicist and a patient instructor. He has a Master's Degree
 from Penn State and has taught at the university..

                                                     Jennifer Kane
    Jennifer, a native of Southern Illinois, holds a BFA in painting and an MFA in Costume
 Design for Theatre from the University of Illinois Champaign/Urbana. She has
 participated and won prizes in many regional juried art shows, including Art of the State
 in Harrisburg and the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. She has a successful
 business selling her own work, which she started in 1999. Examples of her work can be
 seen at www.jenniferkaneart.com

                                                     Ruth Kempner
    Ruth, a New York native, holds a fine arts degree from Cooper Union. She has studied
 at NYU, Yale, PSU and the Rhode Island School of Design. She lived in Clearfield for
 almost thirty years before moving to State College. Her paintings have won awards in
 many juried shows throughout Pennsylvania, including the prestigious CPFA “Images.”
 Ruth has also served as a juror for a number of Central Pennsylvania shows. 

                                                      Isabel Kumerz
    Isabel is a Spanish painter returning to State College, PA. She holds a BA degree in
 graphic Design from the Kunstschule Alsterdam, Hamburg, Germany and a MFA from Indiana
 University of PA. Before relocating to State College, she owned and operated Win & Ken
 Graphic Design Studios in Barcelona, Spain for twelve years. Isabel has taught art at
 Penn State, the Art Alliance of Central PA, and Indiana University since 2001. Her work has
 received awards and has been exhibited internationally

                                                   Karl Eric Leitzel
    Karl Eric Leitzel grew up in the Penns Valley region of Centre County and still lives there.
 He is a self-taught artist working primarily in oil and acrylic. In recent years, he has been
 able to make the jump to full time art as a profession, with gallery representation in South
 Carolina and New Jersey as well as several Pennsylvania cities. Karl is the founder and
 director of Landscape Artists International (http://l-a-i.com), as well as a member of Oil
 Painters of America and a signature member of International Plein Air Painters. Locally,
 he is a member and current president of Farmland Preservation Artists of Central PA.
 You can learn more about Karl and see his latest work at http://keleitzel.com.

                                                   Sandy McBride
    Alexander (Sandy) McBride has been teaching painting and drawing at the college
 level since 1964.  He studied at the Rhode Island School of Design (BFA, 1962) and
 Cornell University (MFA, 1964). His teaching career has taken him form teaching six
 years in New England to Pennsylvania (1970-present) and, in addition, England, France,
 Germany and China. In addition to painting, McBride works professionally in three
 additional media: drawing, photography and computer imaging (Computer Art and
 Digital Photography). For more information and to see more of his work, visit his website
 at www.mcbstudio.com. 

                                                       Ken Plattner
    Ken is a stained glass artist who has worked in the area since 1977. He started producing
 stained glass to help pay for his engineering studies at Penn State, but decided that
 glasswork was what he really wanted to do. Ken has taught in the area for many years. His
 business, Abbey Stained Glass, is located on Main Street in Boalsburg. His works are
 installed worldwide and seen in numerous public and private places locally.

                                                        Ellie Reddy
    Ellie earned a B.S. in Art Education from Penn State and an M.Ed from Tyler School of Art
 She has been an art educator for 36 years teaching elementary through high school levels and
 has taught drawing, watercolor and ceramic workshops at C. Barton McCann School of Art.
 

                                                     Michele Rivera
    Michele is the founder of Artistic Horizon Art Center and the Bears That Care program.
 She is originally from Brooklyn, N.Y. but left the city to raise her children in Happy Valley.
 She graduated from The School of Visual Arts at Penn State and Kingsborough
 Community College in New York. Michele works in ceramics, metals, and watercolors.  

                                                   Linda Schimmel
    Linda has a degree in fine art and interior design from Florida State University. She
 studied oil painting and portraiture at the Fair Haven Gosnel Studios and increased her
 skills in pastel at the prestigious Grenna Studios. Her award-winning pastels and oils are
 included in private collections on the east coast and in Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas, and
 California. She recently had a solo exhibit in the galleries of National Penn Investors Trust
 Company. Linda enjoys the challenge of commissions for portraits and other subjects.
 She also serves as a docent at the Palmer Museum. Examples of her work can be seen
 at her website www.lindaschimmel.com.

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