Teacher Biographies

CAMP AND CLASS INSTRUCTORS

James Adkins has been exhibiting figure drawings and paintings nationally for over 25 years. He's won many prizes including three Maryland Artist Fellowship Grants and has been featured in articles in American Artist publications four times in the last 15 years. He is the Director of Visual Arts at Howard Community College and is a resident at HCCA. He teaches drawing and color at HCC. Website.

David Ashman is a fine art photographer residing in Annapolis. He captures images of abstraction, life, uninhabited landscapes & unique portraits exclusively on black and white film using a vintage medium format camera. David has studied with master photographers John Sexton, Chip Forelli, Tom Worlff, and John Goodman. His hand crafted black and white prints are part of numerous private and public collections including the DC Art Bank. He has exhibited at various solo & juried exhibitions, and has received numerous awards. Website

Amanda Barrett is a candidate for a BS in Art Education from Towson University in 2008. Her student teaching expereince has been at Laurel Woods Elementary and Dunloggin Middle Schools and Cedar land School where she continues to work with art teacher Gina Luoma in developing adaptive skills for students in special education.

Dana Bowles is a graduate of New York University where she earned her B.F.A. in Drama. Dana recently received her Master's degree in Secondary Education, and is currently teaching theatre at Milford Mill Academy in Baltimore  County. Additionally she is an ensemble member and educational coordinator for the touring company, ProgressTheatre. Dana is interested in theatre that encourages awareness and change.

Shyami Codippily Murphy's, education has been at two diversely different ends of the world, in Sri Lanka and the United States. She believes in staying connected to the earth by painting landscapes and sculpting in marble and quartz. She has been recognized  nationally and internationally, and her work is collected widely. Shyami is the author of Farms Never To Be Forgotten. Visit www.shyami.com for information about her and The Gallery at Miracle Manor. 

Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, founded in 2002, is an arts organization in residence at HCCA. CSC strives to produce energetic productions of Shakespeare and other classics, and to challenge the notion that such works are boring, dated, or inaccessible. Their lively and creative work has earned praise and awards from throughout the regional theatre community. Website.

Downey Dress recieved her BA from the College of Notre Dame and her M.Ed. from Towson University and is an accomplished watercolorist. She has worked as an art teacher throughtout the United States, including over twenty years experience in public and private schools in the Baltimore region, and currently teaches art at Hampton Elementary School.

Meghan Fugate recieved her BFA in photography and MA in teaching from the Maryland Institute College of Art. She also studied at the Pratt Institute in New York and has exhibited and taught throughout the Baltimore region. Meghan teaches art at the Garrison Forest school in Baltimore.

Ilene Gold is a widely published photographer and graphic designer. She holds a degree in advertising and design from the University of Maryland and has studied at Maryland Institute College of Art. She also studied at the Pratt Institute in New York and has exhibited and taught throughout the Baltimore region.

Karen Graff is a fine artist with experience in traditional plein aire painting and mixed media, as well as fashion design. She has taught middle and high school art, including AP Studio Art and Art History. Karen teaches at Annapolis High School, working with advanced students through studio courses and the National Art Honor Society. She recieved her BA in Art Education from Millerville University and completed graduate work there and at Towson University.

Caryl Henry-Alexander is a teaching artist who is actively involved in community art projects, working with schools and organizations to explore creativity through murals, banners, masks, and site-specific visual art projects. She believes that art is a pwerful tool for education, enlightenment, and change. Caryl recently returned from an extended trip to Ghana, where she learned about traditional culture and arts.

Howard County Ballet- Kathi Ferguson has been the director and owner of Aesthetics and the Howard County Ballet  for over 16 years and was a recipient of the 2003 Award for Excellence , Maryland State Art Council for choreography. She received her training a the National Ballet of Washington and Butler University. Having formerly danced with several professional dance groups, she is currently a dance instructor at Goucher College and Howard Community College. See our Summer Camp listing for HCCA classes taught by Howard County Ballet, June 23-August 15. Website

Mark Lee Keats received his M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of Maryland where he was an honorable mention in 2006 and 2005 for the Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Fiction and second place winner in the Litfest fiction prize in 2004. He is currently working on his first novel tentatively titled, "The Greener Pastures."

Myung Sook Kim is a Maryland artist who received her MA in studio art from the Cleveland Institute of Art in Ohio. She recently had a solo exhibit of her paintings at the Columbia Art Center in Columbia, MD, and has exhibited internationally at LaMer Gallery in Seoul, Korea; Degar Gallery in Virginia; Muse Gallery in Philadelphia; the Towson Commons Gallery in Baltimore and Maryland Hall in Annapolis.

Diana Marta earned an MFA in Studio Painting at Towson University after relocating to Maryland in 1984. She is currently an adjuct faculty a The Institute of Art, Design and Interactive Media, Community College of Baltimore County, in addition to teaching classes in her studio a the Howard County Center for the Arts.

Judith McConnell has over 20 years of classroom experience and is currently a Pre-K teacher at Owings Mills Elementary. She received her MS in Education from Johns Hopkins University and is certified in early childhood education. Judith also served in the Peace Corps, working in Costa Rica.

Elaine Newhall performs with the Columbia Orchestra and Raphael Flute and Strings. She has maintained a private flute studio in Howard County since 1980. She earned her B.S. in Music Education Cum laude from College of St. Rose, Albany, NY, and M.M. in Music Education from SUNY Potsdam, NY, Crane School of Music. Ms. Newhall has studied with Eleanor Barnes, Mary Jean Simpson, and Laurie Sokoloff, and attended a masterclass with Alexa Still. She was honored with the Howard County Arts Council Howie Award, Outstanding Artist, 2001.

Cheryl Teter received her BA in Art and Heritage Arts from Salem College in West Virginia and a MFA in sculpture from Towson University. She currently teaches art at West Friendship Elementary School and has been offering summer camp classes at HCCA for many years.

Oksana Trent is an artist, illustrator and art educator. Trained at the Kiev School of Art and Design, Kiev Ukraine, she works in many media and her specialties include caricatures and humorous illustrations, icons, logos and portraits.

Janet B. Waters grew up in a family filled with creativity and was making clothes by the age of seven. After leaving the arts in the 1970s to pursue a sales and marketing career she started painting and weaving again in 1991. Janet exhibits and sells her quilts in area galleries, museums, and art festivals; was published in an art quilt book, Spirit of the Cloth; and was featured in a Maryland Public Television special on Maryland Quilters. She currently teaches arts programs for children and adults throughout the region.

David Zuccarini  David Zuccarini's paintings are in many private collections and have received numerous awards. His work has shown at the National Portrait Gallery, Washington DC, the Salmagundi Club, New York, and the Butler Institute of American Art, Ohio. Website.