Art for Kids School Instructors 2009

Amy Chapman has loved art since she was old enough to grip a crayon.  During college at the University of Washington, she studied Art and Art History, focusing mainly in drawing and painting.  In 2007 she graduated with a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Visual Art.

After trying her hand at marketing production with a small Seattle advertising agency, Amy decided to travel through Europe for 3 months.  While there, Amy enjoyed sketching and touring many museums and art galleries.  She returned to the Seattle area in July with a renewed passion for doing and teaching art, and is thrilled to get to share that passion with kids through Art for Kids School.  This will be Amy’s first year with Art for Kids School; she will be teaching in the greater Eastside area.

Travis Conn has been a Maker of Things his entire life. He is a studio metalsmith specializing in raising and repousse sculpture techniques, teaching those techniques to other smiths, as well as teaching for Art For Kids School since 2003. He received his B.A. from The Evergreen State College in 2002 where he still teaches the occasional repousse workshop.

Travis has created countless historical reproductions, sculpture, and jewelry, as well as written and illustrated a number abstract-strategy board-games. You can see the work at travisconn.com.

Hannah Crowley graduated from Central Washington University with her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting in June 2008 and has happily made a new home in Tacoma. She has always loved being creative through both art and dance, her two passions.

While at Central, she focused on portrait painting and drawing as well as modern dance. She believes the possibilities of art to be endless and enjoys all art media and forms of expression. She plans on continuing to explore unique ways of representing the human face and figure as well as expressing herself as a dancer.

This is Hannah’s first year teaching for Art For Kids School and is very excited to share her love of art with as many students as she can. Hannah teaches in AFKS Tacoma area.

Mandy Cufley is a Washington native and has always loved creating art. She remembers feeling a strong connection to her work during art classes in junior high. In high school she was introduced to watercolor, acrylic and collage, and her passion truly began to take shape. She was consistently asked to create artwork for various school projects, which led her to school for graphic design. Mandy graduated with a BFA in graphic design from Montana State University in 2000. Her studio art classes included drawing, painting, ceramics and photography. She moved to Dillon, Montana to work for Great Harvest Franchising as in-house graphic artist for two and a half years. Since then her life has taken several turns, all the while including acrylic paint, paper and canvas. She shows her artwork locally and incorporates her distinct and colorful style into her art and design business, Lucky Girl Designs.

In 2007 Mandy was an art docent at Woodin Elementary where her passion for teaching and making art with kids was fully realized. Also during this time she created a community art contest that inspired over 200 entries. Mandy organized two events to show the work, and the winning entry was printed onto canvas shopping bags. She loves to share her passion for art and the inspiration to create, and help give kids a sense of pride. Acknowledging uniqueness and beauty in every child, she finds serenity in their presence, as they naturally live in the moment.

Mandy teaches in AFKS Seattle Eastside.

Nicole Eckenrode lives in Seattle with her husband and two kitties and works as an illustrator and graphic designer. She earned her BFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design and continued her fine art studies at the Rhode Island School of Design and the School of Art Institute of Chicago. She attributes her love for art and design to her very artistic upbringing in Ohio. Building elaborate snow forts in the winters, making pysanka eggs with her dad and hours spent drawi§ng on paper grocery bags in her grandma's kitchen, are some of her fondest memories. It is her joy of teaching art to children that led her to Art For Kids School. This is Nicole's first year with the program and she couldn't be more delighted.

Kirsten Marie Lawson graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography and a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Visual Arts. She lives in Tacoma, Washington with her husband and three cats. Here she continues to pursue her love of photography, painting, drawing, climbing, and yoga. You can see more of her work at www.bythos.org/cmyk. Her photography focuses on creating abstract still lifes in nature, and her drawings are representative still lifes of everything from stacks of boxes to gracefully long euphorbia branches. Presently, she's come into a photographic darkroom and plans on submersing herself in its construction and use. Now that she has more time on her hands, she is excited to focus on drawing and painting. Kirsten is very happy to share her love of art with children and looks forward to giving them the tools they need to express their creativity.

Jesse Peil was born on November 14, 1979 and has been an artist for most of his life. He graduated from The Evergreen State College in 2002 with a B.A. in studio art including painting and sculpture. This is his fourth year working with Art For Kids School. He has painted large murals at local schools and businesses and sold his paintings locally. He has also been commissioned to make cast bronze sculptures. He currently lives in Seattle and paints large, figurative paintings.

In addition to his teaching, this year Jesse is beginning an administrative position with Art For Kids School.

Jesse teaches in Art for Kids School Seattle Eastside.

Sarah Wade was born in Portsmouth, NH in 1985. She showed an interest for art at an early age and pursued it throughout her years in grade school. After graduating highschool she was accepted at The Atlanta College of Art, and later transferred to the Savannah College of Art and Design, where she received a BFA in Art & Illustration in 2008. While living in Atlanta, Sarah taught at a private art school for children and was thrilled after she moved to Washington with her husband to find a similar opportunity.

Sarah's long term goal is to write and illustrate children's books and in the meantime she enjoys exploring her new hometown of Olympia. She has always loved and been involved with children through out her life and feels that teaching art is the greatest gift she can give.