Teachers
Shelly Ayende
Shelly Ayende works in colored pencils and acrylics and is inspired by organic forms such as the human body and nature. A former elementary art teacher, she enjoys working with children, watching their imaginations soar as they discover new mediums and ideas.
Joanna Chalson
Joanna Chalson is a watercolorist and print maker who makes original designs with linoleum and woodcuts. Along with teaching classes in watercolor and drawing, she instructs students in creating paste papers with acrylics and starch.
Diane Dean
Award winning artist, Diane Dean, works in watercolor, acrylic and mixed media/collage. Diane also creates customized reproductions of her artwork in tile and stone, using digital technology.
Janet Dent
Janet Dent is a watercolorist who paints landscape and florals in an impressionistic style. She teaches the importance of good composition and elements of design in her watercolor classes.
Jerry Griffin
Author, teacher and winner of 250 awards in International Photo competition, Jerry has been the Kodak Photographer in several National Parks and on cruise ships. He teaches Advanced Digital Photography at the Academy concentrating on composition, use of light and techniques to create images with more impact.
Evy has been teaching "One Stroke Painting" for over 11 years. She wants students to have fun and not stress over painting. It is not "tole painting" but decorative - charming and easy to learn. Some of her students have gone on to take "fine" art at the academy after taking her classes.
Gabriele Hoffmann
Gabriele Hoffmann teaches Art History with a focus on Modernism. Her lectures start with the brief movement of Realism leading to Impressionism, then following the first half of the 20th century from figurative Expressionism to Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism, ending with Andy Warhol's Brillo Box in the 60s, and on to the present.
Barry Honowitz
Barry Honowitz, renowned for his sports lithographs and paintings, also paints images ranging from waterfowl to landscapes. In addition to teaching watercolor classes, he runs a watercolor and design firm and produces limited editions for golf and tennis tournaments. His Academy classes teach students to paint at more advanced levels with emphasis on composition.
Fran Hubbell
Photographer Fran Hubbell captures the color and beauty of nature in her hand-printed images. Her classes help students realize the full capability of their camera equipment while improving the composition of their images.
Rosemary Hurkamp
Rosemary Hurkamp works in acrylics and oils, and occasionally in watercolor and clay with miniatures a specialty. She teaches naive folk art in classes for adults and children at the Academy.
Donna Ireton
Donna Ireton creates unique freeform baskets and sculptures from local driftwood, manzanita, redwood, cedar and gourds in designs that enhance the grain, texture and coloration of these natural materials. She teaches pine needle basketry and gourd decorating for the Academy.
Ted Jordan
Ted Jordan holds a B.F.A, an M.A., and an M.F.A. in Fine Art which more than prepared him for working in many areas of the art world from teaching at several universities, living as a painter in New York, and enjoying a long career as an artist with Hallmark Cards. His versatility with most media is extensive from oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, and all drawing media.
Vickie Jourdan
Abstract Artist, Vickie Jourdan is know for her experimental paintings of bold colors and textures. She encourages her students to think outside the box, creating paintings on canvas using big brushes, acrylics, gesso and gel mediums.
Sherry Kahle
Painter, Sculptor, Potter, and Art Teacher, Sherry Kahle has a Master of Arts in Education and a Bachelor’s of Science in Art Therapy. Her teaching methods emphasize on mastering the different clay techniques to create functional pottery.
Mary Kelly
Mary Kelly works in oils, acrylics and watercolor and is also a weaver and spinner. She likes to challenge students to create the paintings and art of their imaginations.
Jamie Kirkell
Jamie Kirkell paints vibrant orchids on silk which are shown at botanical gardens throughout the United States. Jamie, who has studied in Java under Indonesia master Batik artists, welcomes beginners as well as experienced painters in his silk painting and design classes.
Rose Metz
Award winning artist Rose Metz work covers a large span: landscapes, florals, still life, figures and collage. Her paintings hang in private, corporate and public collections throughout the United States and Europe. Over the years she has given workshops throughout the state and is currently teaching watercolor painting for the Art Academy.
Ken Meyer
Ken Meyer Jr. has worked for over 30 years as an artist, having done comic book work, portraits, illustrations and design for magazines, books, posters, cds, calendars, online games and more. He works primarily in watercolor, but when needed, also produces art using acrylic, ink, oil, pastel and anything else he can get his hands on, including the computer. His website is www.kenmeyerjr.com/port
Nancy Mitchell
Nancy Mitchell has created murals, commissioned paintings, faux finishes, as well as hand-painted furniture and montage prints of Hilton Head and Savannah, in a career that has spanned the last Twenty years on Hilton Head Island. Nancy teaches how to work quickly and accurately in oils, while staying loose and in the moment.
Don Nagel
Don Nagel is a strong believer in teaching the four essentials for making a great painting: drawing, composition, value and color. His pastel images range from landscapes to boats and shorescapes. He also teaches Pen & Ink techniques for sketching and finished art.
Joyce Nagel
Joyce Nagel is an enthusiastic and sensitive teacher who stresses drawing, value patterns and color perspective. Her award winning images, in both oil and pastel, range from Hilton Head landscapes and beach people to scenes from her travels to Provence and Tuscany.
Don Nelson
An award winning photographer, Don Nelson teaches image-editing software and printing. He likes to experiment in his digital darkroom, creating photographic images resembling oil and watercolors.
Uschi Niner
Having taught at the Art Academy and its predecessor (Creation Station) for more than ten years, Uschi Niner specializes in painting in locations around the island. She paints directly from nature en plein air rather than copying from photographs in a studio.
Addison Palmer
South Carolina native Addison Palmer is renowned for his wildlife and landscape paintings. He also does commissioned portraits of people and pets. He currently teaches fundamentals of drawing and painting for the Art Academy in addition to doing workshops for various galleries, organizations and cruise ship lines.
Lynda K Potter
Lynda K. Potter has had a professional career in making and teaching art for over 25 years. Lynda's favorite mediums are watercolor and acrylic, and she helps students to find more creative and soulful approaches to making art.
Betsy Rogers
Betsy Rogers works in silver, gold, copper, brass and semi precious stones, as well as the lost-wax technique. Her classes focus on techniques for working with Argentium Sterling Silver, as well as Precious Metal Clay to make chains, bracelets, earrings, pendants and slides.
Cora J. Rupp
Color is my first love and what my work is all about. Exploring the many attributes of color--its subtleties and richness, its related values, its variations is a pure pleasure. My interests in color and with floral motif, pattern and the decorative arts all come together in this recent work. No botanical accuracy here; botany takes whatever form is needed to express itself and vessels tip, handles attach randomly, only dictated by where they reside in the picture space. These are one-of-a-kind inventions painted on the monotype plate and intended to celebrate the riches of color.
Alex Sharma
A painter, print maker, sculptor, and art professor, Alexandra Sharma has a Master of Fine Arts and has studied at the Sorbonne, Paris, and Oxford University, England. Her teaching methods emphasize use of a loose technique to capture the essence of the scene and to create fresh, lively images.
Shea Szachara
Shea Szachara is an award-winning designer and teacher who has authored more than 20 books on decorative painting techniques. She has taught classes in color theory, color affects/effects and face reading throughout the world. In addition, she is a needlework artist. Her work is in the permanent collections of The Smithsonian and The Decorative Arts Collection museums.
g.a. Sheller
g.a. Sheller, an award winning artist, holds a BFA with additional art study at Yale. g.a. has been on the art faculty of the Studio School of the U. of Rochester, NY for 25 years and has been naned to Who's Who in American Art. She teaches classes and workshops in various US locations and overseas, instructing in collage and all painting and drawing media. She helps students to strengthen their own artistic ability with emphasis on painting techniques, color, composition and creativity.
Barbara Snow
A master of versatility, Barbara Snow works in many mediums including watercolor, pastels, oils, acrylics and clay. In addition she is a talented calligrapher who works on commission. Over the years she has lectured on art and taught calligraphy and matting and framing techniques for the Art Academy.
Sara Tiffany
Sara Tiffany has taught antique decoration in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New England. She has achieved master craftsman status in several disciplines, such as reverse glass painting, gilding on glass, wood and metal. She now serves as a judge with The Historical Society of Early American Decoration and has served on the board of trustees for nine years. Sara has a large portfolio of designs recorded from antique pieces.
Linda Wellenbach
Linda uses creative play and the arts to help kids explore, discover and embrace their unique, precious lives. An accredited interior designer and trained in hospice, bereavement, and teen mentoring, Linda has contributed to the fields of art and social service for more than two decades.
Julie West
Julie is an abstract acrylic and mixed media painter. She has enjoyed artistic adventures in photography, ceramics and graphic arts. While living in Ohio she has sold and shown her work in abstract acrylics and abstract photography and graphic arts.