INSTRUCTORS

Adult Education - Winter 2006 - Instructors
                              
                                                                David Gluck
David has studied painting and drawing extensively at both the Angel Academy of Art in Florence and the NALL foundation in France and with Kevin Gorges, a former instructor of the Florence Academy. He is currently studying to become an art educator at Penn State. His work has been published in the Toronto Art Tableau and is held in private collections throughout the world. He is currently doing a portrait commission of Bill Welsh, mayor of State College.

                                                                Elli Groninger
Elli graduated from the Pennsylvania Governor's School of the Arts and Carnegie-Mellon University. Her company, Nittany Sculpture Works, is the culmination of her career as a toy designer/sculptor for projects like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a welder/blacksmith creation from found objects and materials. She has also developed "Elli Putty" for Penn State's Center for Innovative Sintered Projects Lab.

                                                                Chuck Hall
A professional painter, Chuck has an MFA from the University of Chicago. He has taught art at Penn State, the University of South Dakota Extension, and Bucknell University; has conducted summer art workshops for ten years; and served as director of Pike Art Workshop in Philipsburg for five years. He has exhibited widely and has works in private collections throughout the U.S. and in Europe and Japan. 

                                                            Jennifer Kane
Jennifer, a native of Southern Illinois, holds a BFA in Painting and 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.

                                                        Laura Winn Kane
Laura holds a BA in Drawing and Painting from the State University of New York College at Plattsburgh, NY, and a MFA in Painting from Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY. She has lived and created art in Centre County since 1995. Laura's drawings and paintings have been exhibited and won awards nationally. Examples of her work can be seen at www.winnkaneart.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 30 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.

                                                            Ray Noll
Ray received his bachelors degree in Art from Penn State University and a Masters in Art Education from Millersville University. He did graduate fieldwork in sculpture and ceramics in Nigeria and served as an art director for various publications and organizations in the Washington, D.C., area. Ray has exhibited his paintings and drawings for over 23 years in New York, D.C., Maryland, and Central PA. He currently teaches graphic arts and studio arts at Penn State Altoona and adult and children's classes at the Art Alliance.

                                                        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 world wide and seen in numerous public and private places locally.

                                                    Sarah Pollock
A local artist, Sarah works in soft pastel and specializes in landscapes and cityscapes. She has exhibited and won awards at both national juried exhibitions and regional shows. Sarah graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in art and has worked in color on animated films for Walt Disney Feature Animation.

                                                Linda Schimmel
Linda studied art and interior design at Florida State University, pastels at the Grena Studios, and oil portraiture at the Gosnel Studios. She works as a portrait artist in either pastel or oil. Her subjects are primarily people, but occasionally she has requests for animal portraits. Her award-winning pastels and oils are included in private collections on the East Coast and in California. Linda also serves as a docent at the Palmer Museum.