Meet Faculty Member, Mary Jo O'Gara
Mary Jo O'Gara is North Shore Art League's teacher for the Gouache Painting class that meets on Thursday afternoons. Gouache is an opaque watercolor medium and is quite versatile. It's easy to handle, and works well in combination with other media.
When asked "what or who influenced her decisions to become an artist", she answered "It's funny how things turn out. I worked in retail for many years, thinking I wanted to own my own shop. But after taking my first art class in 1990, I know I had found my life's calling. I'm proof that you can follow your dreams at any point in life."
When asked to describe the focus of her own work, she stated, "Currently, I'm working on some large landscapes in oils, but I love painting the figure and still lifes as well. I constantly strive for freshness and spontaneity in my work, regardless of the subject matter, or medium. And painting in the studio with other artists (Tree Studio in Hubbard Woods), gives me the support and networking that all artists should have."
You might want to give Mary Jo's class a try sometime.
Nancy Behles, MA, BFA, Art Education, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Teaching experience includes elementary, high school, college and adult levels. Award-winning merchandise display artist. Work held in private collections. To view, please visit nancybehles.blogspot.com
Paula Campbell, MA, University of Illinois at Chicago. Graduate of the American Academy of Art. Studied etching and lithography under Audrey Niffenegger. Printmaker for 21 years. www.paulacampbellart.com
Lisa Cinelli, MA in Illustration, Syracuse University; BFA, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Painter, children’s book author/ illustrator. Adjunct Faculty/Instructor for Children’s Book Illustration at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago since 1994. Teacher, Marwen Institute, a Chicago based arts program serving the underserved for Grades 6-12. Clients include: Cricket Magazine Group; Holiday House; Bee Bop Books; Harcourt Brace Publishers; Scott, Foresman Publishers and World Book Publishers. Member: Society of Illustrators, New York: CBIG; The Children’s Book Illustrators Group, New York; SCBWI, Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators; www.PictureBookArtists.org; www.lisacinelli.com
Eileen Collins, BA, Marquette University, studied sculpture and ceramics for the past 20 years beginning in high school in her mother's art class and at Lill Street Studio, Chisel and Palette, Evanston Art Center, and The Art Center in Highland Park. Exhibits locally. Art work held in private collections.
David D’Arcy, BA, University of Iowa. Instructor, North Carolina Arts Council. Educator for over 20 years. Exhibits in Chicago galleries and has work in corporate and private collections including the State of Illinois’ Collection.
Lisa de Pinto, Attended the School of the Visual Arts, NYC; New York Academy of Art; The Art Student League, NYC; American Academy of Art, Chicago. A professional figurative, portrait, and mural artist. Exhibits locally and in private collections. Organized and participated in a portraiture, fifteen month project working up to a two women exhibition, February of 2007. Exhibited in "The 300 Heads Show".
Jessica Feith, MFA, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. BS in Art/French, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison. Additional study, Univ.of Washington-Seattle, Southern Connecticut State Univ., and Univ. d’Aix-en-Provence, France. Teaching experience: Evanston Art Center, Anchor Graphics, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Graphic artist. Exhibits widely and is in collections across the U.S.
Judith Hladik-Voss, BA, Studio Art, Knox College. Printmaker, painter and fabric/construction artist for over 25 years. Her work is held in museum, corporate and private collections in the U.S. and Great Britain. Exhibits nationally.
Bruce Iverson, Specialized in Chinese Brush painting (Sumi-e in Japan) since 1972 with master Chinese brush painters Jean Shen, Ning Yeh, and I-Hsiung Ju. Exhibited in group and juried shows throughout the United States. Bruce has had several one-man shows in New England. Traveled to China for a deeper understanding of the context of brush painting. He is a juried member of the New Hampshire Art Association. His work is grounded in a 3000 year old tradition in which the tools, techniques and philosophy of this Asian Art form have had a lifelong resonance. www.iversonarts.com
Sarah Larson, BA, Harvard University, Undergraduate and graduate coursework at Kansas City Art Institute, Illinois Institute of Technology and MA in Art Education (Type 10 Certification) from North Park University; Teaching experience includes North Shore Country Day School, Chicago Public Schools, Archdiocese of Chicago, Latin School of Chicago, Mather High School, St. Hillary's School, Chicago and the American School in Switzerland; Professional Graphic Designer 1984-2007; Printmaker, exhibits locally; published children's book writer and illustrator.
Michael Latala, BA of Arts, American Academy of Art; Palette and Chisel Academy of Fine Arts, Chicago, Additional studies with Richard Schmid, Romel de la Torre, Dan Gerhartz and Diane Rath. Commercial illustrator for 30 years in addition to teaching painting and portrait commission work. Awards include works shown in the Chicago Pastel Painters, Cedarburg Landscape competition, Sierra Pastel Society, Skokie Art Guild and Wilmette Art Guild. www.latalaart.com
Lea Basile-Lazarus, MFA, Printmaking, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago; BA, Art Education, Trenton State College of New Jersey. Teaching Experience: Skokie School in Winnetka, Romona School, Wilmette, St. Joan of Arc, Evanston. Awarded Teacher Fulbright in 2003.
Christina Lovering, BFA, Art Education and Art History, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Full-time art instructor, working artist. Exhibiting printmaker.
Peggy Macnamara, MA, Art History, University of Chicago. Artist in Residence as well as associate of the Zoology Department at the Field Museum. Adjunct Associate Professor at the School of the Art Institute. Author (with Marlene Hill Donnelly) of Wildlife in Watercolor, Illinois Insects and Spiders, and Architecture by Birds and Insects. Represented by Packer Schopf Gallery, Chicago. www.peggymacnamara.com
Victoria Nelson, MA, BFA, Art Education, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Currently teaching in Chicago, Tory’s experience includes elementary, high school, and post-secondary level as well as the Winnetka Public Schools, Winnetka Park District and NSAL.
Audrey Niffenegger, MFA, Northwestern University, BFA, School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Printmaker for 23 years. Full time professor in the MFA program in interdisciplinary Book & Paper Arts, Columbia College. Represented by Printworks Gallery and collected by the National Museum for Women in the Arts, the Newberry Library, the Houghton Library, the Library of Congress, and private collectors.
Andra Nyman, Ed.D. in Art Education, M.A.ED in Education, BFA, Ceramics, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Faculty member, Art Education, University of Georgia at Athens, 1984-2001; Arts Education Manager, North Shore Art League, 2007-present; instructor for Art at University High School, Urbana-Illinois; Artwork exhibited locally and regionally. Publications include numerous articles, book chapters, and edited anthologies about art education.
Mary Jo O'Gara, Contributing artist at Treetop Studios in Hubbard Woods. Received awards for her work with the Barnsite Studio in Kewaunee, Wisconsin, and at Art on the Plaza, Wilmette, IL. Her work can currently be seen at In vitro Gallery, in the Flatiron Arts Center in Chicago.
Olivia Petrides, MFA in Painting, School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Adjunct Associate Professor in the Painting & Drawing Department and the Visual Communications Design Department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Work included in the collections of the Illinois State Museum, Smithsonian Institutions, Washington, D.C., Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, and others. Illustrator: Peterson Field Guide to Western Trees, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1995.
Rita Price, BFA, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Brooklyn College, N.Y. Instructor, the School of the Art Institute and Oxbow workshops. Her work is in the Carter Museum, corporate and private collections.
David Roth, Associate Degree in Optical Theory from American Academy of Art. David is a fine art photographer and professional graphic designer. He has taught numerous photographic workshops and seminars and has been a teacher and lecturer for Leica Camera, Canon Camera, and Nikon Camera. He was the first fine art photographer to exhibit at the Merrill Chase Gallery and today, his work is found in private, national, and international collections.
Beth Shadur, MFA, University of Illinois, Chicago; AB with honors, Brown University, Painter and mural artist. Adjunct professor at Carthage College, Kenosha, WI; has taught extensively at colleges, universities and various art centers and museums in the U.S. Shown extensively by national and international galleries and museums. Her work is owned in many private and public collections.
Brian Sindler, studied at The American Academy of Art and The School of Representational Art (a French-Atelier Program in Chicago). Painter and etcher of figurative and landscape art. Teaching experience: North Shore art League and The School of Representational Art. Winner of the 2007 Utrecht Award of Excellence. Work held in private and public collections.
Nina Weiss, BFA, Tyler School of Art; University of Wisconsin-Madison, K-12 Art certification; additional studies at the Rhode Island School of Design and the Art Student League of New York. Instructor for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Columbia College Chicago, and the Evanston Art Center. Teaches workshops throughout the Midwest, at Corea, ME, and in Europe, where she conducts her Europeon Landscape Workshops. Her art work is held in private and corporate collections. Her landscape paintings and drawings can be seen in two major motion pictures: Just visiting (Johns Highs) and Ice Harvest (Harold Ramis). Artist Residencies include Ragdale, Vermont Studio Center, and Artist in Residence at Acadia National Park. www.ninaweiss.com
Judy Zeddies, MFA, Northern Illinois University. BFA, Quincy University; Additional study, Skidmore College, NY and Oxbow, MI. Represented by the Bindley Collection, Middleton, WI. Numerous corporate and private collections. www.judyzeddies.com
Giedre Zumbakis, MFA, Northwestern University, BA, St. Xavier College. Graduate teaching assistant. Working artist. Exhibits nationally. Her work is in many corporate collections. www.virtualmuseums.us