Faculty

Ceramics

Ben Ahlvers

Ben teaches Intro to Ceramics, Tilemaking and Dinnerware at the Lawrence Arts Center. He has a BFA from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and an MFA from Ohio University. His work is exhibited as numerous galleries and museums in the U.S., London, Spain and China. Ben says "I use clay because of its ability to show evidence of the makers hand and mimic other materials. The work I make is primarily figurative. I am essentially asking questions of myself and I believe the work reflects this process."

Deena Amont
Deena Amont is a high school art teacher at Lawrence High School , where she teaches ceramics, jewelry, digital imaging, and other subjects. She received her Masters of Art Education and certification in Visual Art Education from the University of Kansas with a concentration in Ceramics. She also has a Bachelor of Science degree in Plant Science from Rutgers University . She is certified to teach grades K-12, and has taught many classes at the Lawrence Arts Center for both children and adults. When she’s not making art or teaching, she enjoys gardening and keeping bees.
Larry Brow
Larry Brow earned an MFA from the University of Iowa in 1989 and has operated Please Touch Pottery ever since. His thrown pots reside in collections as far away as Australia, Canada, and Norway. His handbuilt clay armchairs can be found throughout the United States and at Diane's Artisan Gallery here in Lawrence. He taught Advanced Ceramics at the Arts Center from 1992-96 and looks forward to helping students make "really good pots."
Hak kyun Kim

Hak kyun is a ceramics resident Artist here in Lawrence Arts center.

Hakkyun holds a B.F.A and M.A in ceramics from Seoul National University of Technology in Korea and holds M.F.A in ceramics from the University of Montana.

I have always returned to the vessel form. My continual fascination with the vessel stems from its literal and conceptual uses as something that preserves, beautifies offers, invites, holds, hides, and reveals. I create new forms and arrangements that explore these combinations and relationships. My work is set up in two metaphorical categories, “Before Serving” (how you might find items in your own cupboard or in a store) an! d “After Serving” series (how you might find after use). Just as these two categories respond to each other, so can the viewer to my table-landscape. I use various techniques to achieve this such as throwing off (double) center or dropping the form while it is still wet in order to make the pieces slightly asymmetrical. These alterations animate my work and subtly vary their lines.

Amy Lenharth

I began working in clay 12 years ago. My work from the beginning was heavily influenced by nature. I had received a degree in horticulture the first time I attended college and have worked as a landscape designer and floral designer.

I started as a functional potter, participating in art shows and exhibits. My work has been published in several books and national magazines. In 2004, I decided to pursue my art more seriously and entered the ceramic program at the Kansas City Art Institute. During my time there I switched from functional pottery to sculpture, still using nature as my influence. I graduated in May of 2007 with a double major in ceramics and art history, summa cum laude.

I am now pursuing my MFA in ceramics at the University of Kansas. Teaching, along with a strong studio practice, is my goal.

Hollie Rice

Hollie Rice teaches a variety of classes at the Arts Center including Family Pottery, Intro to Ceramics, children's classes, Pottery, Metalsmithing, and Intermediate Ceramics. She has a BFA in Ceramics and Art History from the University of Kansas, and is currently completing her Masters in Visual Arts Education. Her work can be seen at the Olive Gallery in Lawrence, and in numerous other exhibitions in and around Lawrence and Kansas City. Hollie employs a variety of materials in her work; she often uses clay alone, but is not afraid to use metal, wood, glass, or anything else that can help to communicate a particular idea successfully. She prefers to work in clay because of its flexible nature and endless array of possibilities. Her current body of work is a collection of low and high-fired ceramic birthday cakes. Her cakes reflect her playful sense of humor, as does most of her sculptural work.

Creative Writing

Laurie Martin-Frydman

Dance

Ric Averill

(Drama Program Director, Boys’ Dance Theatre) Artistic director and principal playwright, composer and director for the Lawrence Arts Center's Seem-To-Be Players professional children's theatre company since he and his wife, Jeanne, founded the company in 1973. Ric started taking ballet lessons in 2003.

Candi Baker

(Dance Program Director, Dance/Art Exploratorium) Candi holds a M.A. in Dance from Mills College. She has over 40 years of teaching, performing, choreographing experience. She was founder and artistic director of Prairie Wind Dancers (1987-2004) and originated the Pistachio, Popcorn, Pretzel and Peanut Cos. Candi was also the recipient of a 1998 Lawrence Phoenix Award. One of the LAC studio is named for her in recognition for her contributions to dance in Lawrence and the surrounding region.

Blue Barrand and Christie Curtis

(Ballroom, Latin) This delightful father/ daughter team have been teaching ballroom together for many years. They have both danced competitively for numerous years and received many awards in ballroom dance. They are also both long time Lawrence residents.

Deborah Bettinger

(Ballet Program Coordinator, Ballet, Yoga-lates, Stretch and Tone) Debby has extensive classical ballet training, teaching experience and professional performance/choreography experience. She is the former director of the Lawrence School of Ballet and former member of Prairie Wind Dancers and Kaw Valley Dance Co. She is the artistic director of Lawrence Ballet Ensemble, Lawrence Youth Ballet Company, A Kansas Nutcracker and Snow Queen.

Paige Comparato

(Ballet, Ballet-lates, Dance Program Coordinator) Paige has extensive training in Pilates, yoga and classical ballet, including Barbara’s Conservatory of Ballet in Topeka and Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, TX. She also performed numerous principal roles for Ballet Midwest.

Cynthia Crews

(Ballet, Variations) Cindy holds a BFA in Dance Pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma. She performed as a soloist and principal with the Tulsa Ballet Theatre, and also with Tampa Ballet, Tulsa Opera and numerous other companies and shows. She has studied at Harkness Ballet and American Ballet Theatre in NYC. Cindy has over thirty years of teaching experience.

Hannah Cromwell

(Iyengar Yoga) Hannah has been studying Iyengar yoga for over 20 years. As a certified instructor, she has attended numerous senior training and teaching workshops throughout the country including India where she studied with the Iyengar family. Shannon (Non) Edwards (Modern, Intro to Ballet) Non graduated from Grinnell College in Iowa. She is currently a professional dancer with the 940 dance company. Non also studied extensively with Zenon Dance Company in Minneapolis.

Molly Gordon

(Jazz, Tap, Diverse Dance) Molly hails from Topeka where she studied at Barbara’s Conservatory of Ballet and trained and taught in Los Angeles. She danced professionally with Celebrity Cruise Line, Six Flags and Disneyland and has frequently returned to L.A. for projects. Molly teaches in both Topeka and Lawrence. She recently became certified to teach Bikram Yoga.

Janice Griffin

(Child Parent Movement & Music) Janice holds a Bachelor of Music Education from KU. In addition to teaching at the arts center, Janice also teaches piano, violin and viola lessons. She plays with a local musical group also at her church with her daughter. Cindi Kroll Hauptli (Dancing Fairytales, Curious George) Cindi was trained in Grandview, MO, Wichita and the University of Kansas. She holds degrees in Journalism and English. She also owned Liberty Dance in Lawrence from 1995-2000 and has been a Lawrence Arts Center teacher for several years.

Danielle Lawrence

(Irish Step Dance) Danielle is graduate of the University of Kansas with B.F. in Dance and B.A. in Psychology. She has been dancing for 20 years, mainly at the Newton Dance Center, Newton, KS, and is new to the Lawrence Arts Center Dance faculty.

Betsy McCafferty

(Prep Ballet) Betsy has been dancing for over 15 years, with extensive study in ballet. She has created roles for Lawrence Ballet Ensemble and was a guest dancer with Prairie Wind Dancers.

Maria Thompson

(Prep Ballet, Tap) Maria is a graduate from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA with a B.F.A. in Dance Education. She has trained at Broadway Dance Center, Phil Black Studio, The Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance and The Alvin Ailey American Dance Center. Maria is an accomplished dancer in tap, ballet, jazz and modern dance and is an experienced teacher for all ages and levels.

Susan Rieger

(940 Dance Company Artistic Director, Modern) Now in her second year as artistic director, Susan continues to be major influence in the world of modern dance. Rieger holds a Bachelors of Art in Dance from the University of Iowa and holds a Master of Social Welfare from the University of Kansas. She directed aha! dance theatre for 14 years and was awarded the Kennedy Center Award for Choreography in 2004. Susan has toured throughout the Midwest, presenting residences, workshops and performances to a variety of audiences.

Todd Wyant

(Ashtanga Yoga) Todd has extensive training in the various disciplines of Yoga. He is a gifted teacher and has been teaching for many years. He holds additional yoga classes at the Be Moved Studio.

Digital Arts

Darren Moore

Darren teaches Photoshop Fundamentals and Digital Scrapbooking. He has been working in Photoshop since it's introduction in 1990 ? the same year he received a B.F.A. in design from Fort Hays State University. Since 1996, he has designed for local and national clients in his studio, Titus d, Co. studio.

Drama

Jeanne Averill

Jeanne Averill has been teaching and directing for over 25 years. Jeanne was the 2000 recipient of the American Alliance for Theatre in Education John C. Barner Teacher of the Year Award. Nationally recognized as the innovative creator of the outstanding Experimental and Issue Theatre Program at Lawrence High School, Jeanne's program has featured residencies of some of the top playwrights in the field of theatre for youth, including Laurie Brooks, Sandy Asher, Ric Averill and Max Bush.

In addition to her work as a teacher, Jeanne is a professional actress performing in film, commercials and on stage. Jeanne teaches Acting for the Camera, Audition Workshops, and Improvisation and Issue theatre for the Drama Program.

Ric Averill

Ric Averill has been the Artistic Director and principal playwright for the Seem-To-Be Players professional children's theatre company since he and his wife, Jeanne, founded the company in 1973.

Ric writes both plays and music, with degrees in both Music Composition and Children's Theatre from the University of Kansas. Ric has received numerous Playwrighting Fellowships and been selected for five professional play development symposiums including the Kennedy Center's New Visions/New Voices, the Indianapolis Bonderman Youth Theatre Playwrighting Symposium and the Grand Valley Shakespeare Festival of New Plays.

Ric's plays, published by Dramatic Publishing, include The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor, Bird Woman: the Story of Sacagawea, The Princess and the Pea & other short plays, Alex and the Shrink World and T-Money and Wolf (with Kevin Willmott.)

Chris Blunk

Chris Blunk is a local filmmaker who, with partner Jeremy Osbern, started Through A Glass Productions, a small production company devoted to making short and feature-length narrative films in addition to commercial work. He lives in Lawrence with his lovely wife, T.J.

Christie Dobson

Christie Dobson received her BA in Theatre from KU in 1992 and worked as a professional actor, singer and teacher in Seattle for many years before returning to Lawrence with her husband and their 2 little boys. Christie is now pursuing a Master's Degree in Theatre with training in Drama Therapy at Kansas State University.

Jennifer Glenn

Jennifer Glenn is a long-time member of the Seem-To-Be Players and teaches many of the drama classes at the Arts Center, including Lil'Bees, Soon-To-Be Players, and the Seem-To-Be Apprentices. Jennifer also teaches in the Lawrence Arts Center's Arts-Based Preschool. She has a degree in Theater from Southern Methodist University in Dallas and is also an accomplished costumer.

Danny Rogovein

After graduating from the University of Kansas with a BFA in Theatre Design, Danny Rogovein spent a year at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, Georgia before returning to his adopted home of Lawrence. Shortly after his return he found a home as the Touring Stage Manager for the Arts Center’s Seem-To-Be Players for four years before joining the Arts Center staff full time as Assistant Technical Director. Danny is pleased to be sharing his love of the behind-the-scenes action of live performance with the students of the Tech Theatre program for junior and senior high school students. Each summer Danny serves a Technical Director for Summer Youth Theatre. He also is the Stage Manager and Set Builder for many of the productions at the Lawrence Arts Center.

Drawing

Lora Jost

Lora Jost teaches Mixed-Media Collage, Sketchbook-Journaling, and other classes, at the Lawrence Arts Center. Jost is an artist with a studio in Lawrence, Kansas. She exhibits her art, teaches, illustrates, writes, and works with community groups. In one of her favorite projects, titled The Experience of Farmers, Jost incorporated text from interviews with farmers into claybaord drawings and collage images. She co-authored, with Dave Loewenstein, Kansas Murals: A Traveler's Guide (2006, University Press of Kansas), recognized as a Kansas Notable Book 2007 by the Kansas Center for the Book. She currently serve on the board of the Lawrence Arts Commission.

Jost grew up in North Newton, Kansas. She has also lived in Washington DC, Madison, Wisconsin, and Bloomington, Indiana. She received an M.F.A. in 1992, with an emphasis in Nonstatic Forms, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She received a B.A. in 1988 from Bethel College (N. Newton, Kansas), with additional college at The American University (Washington, DC) and the University of Kansas (Lawrence). She has lived and worked in Lawrence since 1996. She is married and has a son.

Gwen Kerth

Gwen Kerth is a freelance illustrator/graphic artist in the Midwest area and has won several national awards for her work. She receive a BA in Education from Fort Hays State University and went on to complete the Illustration /Graphic Arts program at the University of Kansas. There she became proficient at typography, visual design concepts, illustration, and Adobe Creative Suite programs. She also teaches fine art and graphics classes to women in detention centers and youth at risk programs. She believe that only fear holds one back from developing their blessed gifts.

Jeff Ridgway

Jeff Ridgway teaches Anatomy and Life Drawing, Portraiture and Oil Painting. He has a B.A. in Drawing from Truman State University and a B.F.A. and M.F.A. in Painting from KU. Jeff's work has been exhibited in Kansas City, Wichita, Denver, Las Vegas, Lawrence and Houston. His work is in collections throughout the United States, in London, Paris and Dusseldorf.

Jeff says, "I am a humanist. I believe in the value of that which binds us together as human beings, and I try to emulate that in my art."

Christa Dalien
 

Fiber Art

Constance Ehrlich

Constance Ehrlich teaches classes in the book arts. She studied bookmaking with Hedi Kyle at Anderson Ranch in Snowmass, CO. Constance has a B.F.A from Kansas State University in graphic design and a M.F.A. in painting from the University of Kansas. Constance is a full-time artist and has exhibited her work nationally. You can see her work at the Lawrence Arts Center Gallery Shop, the Strecker-Nelson Gallery, Manhattan, KS, and at her website.

Metalsmithing

Herb Friedson

Herb Friedson was born in Cleveland, Ohio and graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1958 with a BFA in Sculpture. He started enameling in high school. At the Cleveland Institute of Art, he was fortunate to study with renowned enamellists Kenneth Bate and John Paul Miller. He received an MFA in Design at the University of Kansas and was hired by KU to teach jewelry-silversmithing and basic design in the Design Department as well as introducing enameling into the curriculum. Mr. Friedson's work has been shown in more than one hundred twenty regional, national and international exhibitions including those at the Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York; Cleveland Museum of Art, Aaron Faber Gallery, New York; Long Beach Museum of Art, Nelson Gallery/Atkins Museum and the Biennale Internationale in Limoge, France.

Painting

Louis Copt

Louis Copt teaches watercolor, oil and figure painting classes . Louis holds a B.A. in Art from Emporia State University and he also studied at the Art Students League in New York. His work has been exhibited at many galleries and museums across the country, including the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, the Beach Museum in Manhattan and the Spencer Museum in Lawrence. To see Louis' most recent paintings and get information on current and upcoming exhibits, please visit his web page.

Paul Hotvedt

Paul Hotvedt teaches oil painting workshops for the Arts Center. He has a B.F.A. from the Tyler School of Art and an M.F.A. from the Maryland Institute College of Art. His paintings have been exhibited in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Tucson and Wichita.

Joan Parker

Joan teaches Painting the Natural Landscape classes at the Lawrence Arts Center. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with honors from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. She has been a freelance artist in the motion picture industry and as an original greeting card artist at Hallmark Cards. Her work has been exhibited at the Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in California; Gallery International, MD; Galleries in KS, MO, WY, IL CO, CT and CA. She has participated in twenty five group exhibitions, national juried shows and several one woman shows. Parker has been instrumental in establishing Plein Air painting events in both Kansas and Missouri. She has a passion for the immediacy of painting outdoors and enjoys sharing her love with others.

Jeff Ridgway

Jeff Ridgway teaches Anatomy and Life Drawing, Portraiture and Oil Painting. He has a B.A. in Drawing from Truman State University and a B.F.A. and M.F.A. in Painting from KU. Jeff's work has been exhibited in Kansas City, Wichita, Denver, Las Vegas, Lawrence and Houston. His work is in collections throughout the United States, in London, Paris and Dusseldorf.

Jeff says, "I am a humanist. I believe in the value of that which binds us together as human beings, and I try to emulate that in my art."

Photography

Daniel Coburn

Daniel Coburn's photographs have garnered national and international recognition, appearing in prestigious exhibitions across the United States. In 2007, he was a recipient of the Artist In Residence award at Rocky Mountain National Park. In 2008 he served as president of the Lawrence Photo Alliance, an organization dedicated to the proliferation of photography and photographic artists in the Midwest. Coburn is a recipient of the 2008 Kansas Mid-Career Artist Fellowship presented in part by the Kansas Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. His photography appears regularly in regional publications and his images have been featured in Camera Arts Magazine. Daniel is a graduate of Washburn University.

Ann Dean

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, I have been interested in the art of photography since the age of 15. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts in English at the University of Kansas, I went on to pursue a graduate certificate from the New York Institute of Photography and have studied under several different photographers in the Lawrence area. I have been teaching photography at the Lawrence Arts Center now for 3 years and also work as a freelance photographer.

Although I have done wedding, corporate and portrait work, my passion is travel photography. It is important for me to visit new places and experience different cultures around the world, and to promote education and understanding between people through my photographs.

I love photography because it gives me a chance to savor the fleeting moments in time that we all take for granted and that give our lives meaning.

Kit Leffler

Kit Leffler holds a BFA in Expanded Media from the University of Kansas. She works in various media including pastels, silkscreen, photography and video animation. Leffler teaches an array of children's classes at the Arts Center, in addition to an adult beginning darkroom class. Her work has recently been shown at the Wonder Fair Gallery, 803 Mass. St., and with the Rathaus print collective (www.therathaus.com).

Rachael Sudlow

Rachael graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design. Her Cowscapes series of photographs explored the use of texture & alternative landscapes that can be formed from livestock. Her jewelry work focuses on the natural world, transforming silver & gold into organic pieces such a peapods & flowers. She now runs Sudlow Jewelry, www.rachaelsudlow.com with over 20 locations selling her work worldwide.

Preschool

Miriam Cain

Miriam Cain began working at the Lawrence Arts Center Preschool as a parent volunteer when her children were in the preschool. Miriam has a degree in Music Education from KU, with an emphasis in both vocal and instrumental music for grades K-12. She completed additional coursework in Early Childhood Education with emphasis on the exceptional child.

Allison Haworth

Allison Haworth began working at the Lawrence Arts Center Preschool as a parent volunteer when her children were in the preschool. Allison has a degree in Elementary Education from KU and taught first grade in the Lawrence Public Schools for 11 years.

Megan Hay

Megan Hay has a degree in Early Childhood Education and graduate hours in Early Childhood Special Education from the University of Kansas. She has experience teaching in Lawrence and Kansas City, Missouri. Three of her four children attended preschool at the Lawrence Arts Center.

Ann Johnson

Ann Johnson started teaching Integrated Arts for Preschoolers at the Arts Center in the fall of 1991. Ann received her degree in Early Childhood Education from Kansas State University. She taught in early childhood centers in Overland Park and Pittsburgh, Kansas after she finished college and was the director of a Mother's Day Out program in Overland Park before moving to Lawrence.

Heather Smith Jones

Heather joined the preschool staff in January 2004. She has a BFA in drawing and painting from East Carolina University in Greenville, NC and a MFA in painting from Kansas University. Heather has taught both children's and adult art classes at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, TN; at Kansas University; and as a private instructor in drawing and painting. Her work has been exhibited extensively and is represented in several galleries.

Leslie McCaffrey

Leslie Mccaffrey has degrees in Elementary Education and Public Health from Kansas University. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of several organizations which focus on children’s issues. Leslie’s children attended the preschool. Leslie is the art teacher in the 2007-2008 Pilot Pre-K Project in Douglas County.

Linda Reimond

Linda Reimond is the original director of the preschool program at the Arts Center and currently teaches in two classes. She taught kindergarten in Wichita and Tulsa before her daughter entered preschool. When that happened, Linda started preschool too, and she has never left. She has degrees in Elementary Education from Wichita State University and Early Childhood Education from Emporia State University. She is an adjunct instructor at Washburn University and has been part of an N.E.A. grant to train artists in early childhood arts education.

Printmaking

Christa Dalien
 
Donika Wiley

Donika Wiley was born in Lawrence Kansas on September 8, 1979. This freethinking, liberal oasis in the middle of the United States continues to be her home. She is an artist and a teacher, committed to her students and her craft. In 2004, Donika graduated with honors from The University of Kansas School of Fine Arts with a BFA focused on sculpture and printmaking. While at the University of Kansas, she completed two study abroad programs in Italy; Donika continues to embrace traveling and is dedicated to scholarship abroad. In 2005 & 2007 she spent time at The Fran Masereel Centre for Printmaking in Kasterlee, Belgium. Most recently, Donika has shown her prints, book arts and sculpture at The Holden Gallery, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, England, UK, The Supreme Trading Company, Brooklyn, NY, The Arts Incubator, Kansas City, MO and The Lawrence Arts Center, KS.

Tim O'Brien

Tim O’Brien has taught Letterpress Printing since the new Arts Center building opened. He loves typography, the manual labor of setting type, and sharing his enthusiasm for printing the old fashioned way. When he is not teaching, Tim gardens, builds houses with straw bales and clay, operates a sawmill and helps with farm chores.

Sculpture

Andrew Hadle

As a child, Andrew Hadle would occupy his time with cartoons and comic books. These mediums of entertainment have shaped his artistic methods in adulthood. In 2006 Andrew received a Bachelor of Fine Art with a concentration in sculpture, from the University of Kansas. While completing his undergraduate, Andrew wrote and illustrated a comic strip for the University Daily Kansan, entitled "Fancy Comics". During his senior year, Andrew received the prestigious "Outstanding Student Achievement Award in Contemporary Sculpture" from the International Sculpture Center. Andrew's accomplishments have been featured in Sculpture Magazine, the Lawrence Journal World, and KU Alumni Magazine. Andrew Hadle lives in beautiful north Lawrence and shows his art regularly in regional galleries as well as in Wyoming and Oregon.

Stained Glass and Mosaics

Shanna Wagner
 

Technical Theatre

Lee Saylor

Lee Saylor is the Lawrence Arts Center Technical Director/Facility Manager as well as Resident Lighting Designer for 940 dance company, LAC Drama and Dance Programs; Set and Lighting Designer for American Indian Repertory Theatre (AIRT), English Alternative Theatre (EAT)and HERstory Productions. His lighting design credits include The Second Hand Dance Company, nova convention revisited and PBS broadcasts. Lee also works with many local school programs. He joined the Lawrence Arts Center as Technical Director in 2001 after 16 years working as TD at Kansas University’s Lied Center of Kansas and Binghamton University’s Anderson Center. Lee also serves as Master Electrician for the American Heartland Theatre in Kansas City.

Danny Rogovein

After graduating from the University of Kansas with a BFA in Theatre Design, Danny Rogovein spent a year at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, Georgia before returning to his adopted home of Lawrence. Shortly after his return he found a home as the Touring Stage Manager for the Arts Center’s Seem-To-Be Players for four years before joining the Arts Center staff full time as Assistant Technical Director. Danny is pleased to be sharing his love of the behind-the-scenes action of live performance with the students of the Tech Theatre program for junior and senior high school students. Each summer Danny serves a Technical Director for Summer Youth Theatre. He also is the Stage Manager and Set Builder for many of the productions at the Lawrence Arts Center.