Camp Instructor

Camp Instructor and Teen Clay Assistant Instructor

I was lucky enough to start taking classes at JCAC in early 2008. After being involved in the Ceramics department I was asked to teach a kids Clay class, so my teaching journey began. In the past few years I began teaching Adults also. I believe each student should be given the opportunity to express their own creativity so I present a project and let the student add their own magic to create their own piece of art. I love seeing personalities come out, it has become my passion. We will learn the basics of the ceramics process from raw clay to glazing and firing. The finished artwork becomes a piece you can treasure. We will be making both functional and fun pieces. I hope to introduce the same curiosity and love for ceramics to all of my students!

Debbie Hufford began sewing as a small child when visiting her grandmother.

For a math project in 7th grade, she chose a machine sewing project hoping her mother would take over. Her mother did not. Instead, mom gave simple instructions and left the room.

To Debbie's surprise, she enjoyed the challenge and the process and has been sewing ever since.

Debbie earned a BS in Family and Consumer Sciences from Berry College while co-managing the costume shop.

She has costumed professionally in professional and  educational theatre as well as volunteered extensively for decades.

Her favorite thing to do by far is leading others to find joy in discovering their own creativity.

Donna Monckton Donna earned a Journalism degree at Northern Illinois University, before relocating to the Atlanta area with her husband, where she worked in a variety of roles as a writer, teacher, and journalist. Johns Creek is her home of 22 years, and she loves the community here. When her two sons came along, she devoted her time to helping them grow and thrive, volunteering in their schools, Scouts, sports, and music endeavors. Art, music, travel, and volunteering are her passions. She taught ESOL, students new to the country, and contributed to each students discovery of language and culture, an experience that shaped her with a new understanding of the role of language and expression.

“Ever since I learned how to hold a pencil properly, I couldn’t let it go. I read and wrote, while sequestering myself in the room of my childhood home. Sometimes I took pencil and paper to diners late at night, while a university student. I truly believe you are never solitary if you have your thoughts, and an avenue to express them. The Johns Creek Arts Center provides so, so, many ways to explore your creativity, express one’s self, and connect with community. Every class I have found here has helped me grow and learn. I am thrilled to offer my workshops which I believe will help us all connect thoughts, word, and verse, through collaboration. We will learn through each other. Life experience brings an abundance of wealth over time. The opportunity to share it is a true gift to me. Join me for the ride.”

Digital Arts Instructor for both Adult and Youth classes.

Joanne has always had a passion for the arts, but teaching is her true calling.  She looks forward to creating with everyone she teaches and it brings her joy to watch her students unleash their own creativity.Having studied watercolor, painting, drawing and texture art with so many different mentors, it has been a journey to find her own voice and style of art. Creating glass on canvas has been her happiest endeavor.At the Johns Creek Arts Center Joanne teaches youths and adults the joys of painting, writing and mixed media. She is a sought after summer camp instructor and over the years has held several workshops for adults on glass on canvas and acrylic pouring.

Karen was brought up and taught art at home by her mother, an artist in NY. Although her chosen career is a Registered Nurse she has taken many years of art classes during her adult years which included study at the di Domecci Art program. After teaching many years of pre-school, Karen was employed by JCAC to teach after-school art enrichment classes at local schools, as well as Visual Arts Summer Camps. Teaching children is her passion and she has done so in many capacities through the years.

Ceramics instructor to teens and adults alike.

A Johns Creek resident of 30 years, Ketki has alway been artistic.  From raising her 3 kids to working across a variety of medias (crochet to jewelry, colored pencil to ceramics) Ketki’s talent and love of teaching is immediately evident.

Ketki began her love of beading in 2004. She has been teaching bead weaving and jewelry making to adults and kids at our Arts Center for the past 4 years. Her beautiful creations are a staple of our artists’ market.

She had always wanted to “play in the clay” and learn about ceramics.  In 2010 she began her adventure in clay and fell in love with the medium. An instructor in our Clay Studio, you will often find her working along side Cathi Brostrom in the Adult Handbuilding Class on Tuesday nights, teaching at one of our popular summer camps  or just generally helping out to make our Arts Center a beautiful place.

Leslie Rogers Todder has used the medium of silk painting for most of her career as a successful commercial textile print designer in New York City. Her designs have been featured in apparel lines from couture lines of Oscar de la Renta, and Fendi, to mass market womenswear of Chicos, Liz Claiborne, Terri Jon, Maggie London, Adrianna Papell, and Victorias’ Secret. Leslie would walk through a department store like Macys or Saks Fifth Avenue and see her print designs hanging on a rack of dresses, blouses, and swimwear. Leslie uses silk painting and batik as a fine art medium incorporating her skills and techniques developed over her career to create wall hangings, paintings as well as hand painted wearable art. Leslie has shared her expertise in silk painting workshops in NYC as well as in her recent relocated home in suburban Atlanta, Georgia. Leslie also sells her paintings through boutiques, galleries, art shows and her website lesliesilkstudio.com.

My art journey started in 1994 after years of heavy computer use in architectural offices. I found that I was losing touch with many of the drawing and presentation skills developed earlier in my career. It was also apparent to me that the world was being oversaturated with digital images and now AI is taking over. So I set out to re-tool my skills to allow for a more human and personal response. Watercolor painting and charcoal sketching have helped me regain this touch.

Sketching through subject matter that I find interesting is where I start my process. If I feel there is a clear enough idea emerging from the drawings, I start a series of paintings. With each study I refocus my response. I explore what is there in earlier studies and move to more simplification as I further understand the essence of the idea.

The most important elements of the subject matter I choose is proportion and shapes defined by the lighting. I usually zoom into an area of particular interest. It is this discovery of the extraordinary in the world around me that keeps my artistic journey energized.

In seeking to improve my work, I’ve attended workshops, figure drawing classes and submitted my work to juried exhibitions. I am currently a signature member of the Georgia Watercolor Society where I have been fortunate enough to win first and fourth place ribbons in their national exhibitions and a first place ribbon in a members show. I have also had paintings exhibited in North Carolina, Kentucky, California, Colorado and in an international exhibition in NYC.

Susan has a degree in art education from Ohio State University, and a degree in advertising design from the Art institute of Fort Lauderdale. She worked as a graphic designer and layout artist for several ad agencies.

Susan has two children, a boy and a girl, and she spent many years volunteering as a leader in both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. Susan has taught private art classes as well as art, photography, and craft badges and camps. She has also worked as a mural artist and is a member of the Colored Pencil Society of America, exhibiting in several local, national, and international juried shows.

Tammy discovered her love of clay while taking an elective college course in 1995. Since then, she has been on a path of learning and growing through using a wide variety of clays, glazes and techniques.

“My journey with clay has become a metaphor for my life: I fluctuate between light, elegant, porcelain pieces and earthy, textural, stoneware pieces. It parallels my quest to raise my consciousness to the heavens yet keep my feet firmly planted on the ground.”

Tammy has exhibited her work and placed in a variety of art shows, has taught pottery classes and currently sells her work in galleries and artists’ markets in Atlanta, GA and Flagstaff, AZ.

www.tjpots.com

I am Tyra Barnes, an emerging artist based in Atlanta, Georgia, with a focus on contemporary exploration of the African American experience through ceramic sculpture. artistic practice includes functional pottery, portraiture, and chainmail sculpted from terracotta.

Carman is an illustrator and storyteller who has been teaching with the Johns Creek Arts Center for over five years. She specializes in figurative illustrations with themes of fantasy and whimsical wildlife and works in a variety of mediums, but focuses particularly on digital media and pen and ink work. Her lessons focus on drawing techniques that allow for adaptability to different styles, mediums, and subject matter. She blends visual exercises and with information on psychology and biology to help students learn how to see and translate the world around them in their own unique vision, delivered with a quirky sense of humor. When she is not teaching, she acts as the sole proprietor of her illustration business, Carmanda Arts Things, and a co-host of the comedy podcast What the Folklore?

I am Catalina Gomez-Beuth, I was born in Medellin, Colombia, where I studied fashion design. My love for art was deepened during my stay in Florence, Italy, where I pursued studies in design.

My culture, life experiences and concerns as a person, as a mother and as a woman serve as inspiration for my pictorial works.

I have lived in the United States since 2000; Since 2010 I reside in Johns Creek, GA with my husband and my two children who have been my permanent source of inspiration. In 2014 I decided to start my carrier as a fine artist thanks to the wonderful people from Johns Creek Art Center.

My work has been exhibited at Johns Creek Art Center, Marietta Museum, MOCA, Carrousel du Louvre, among other institutions and galleries.

I am so excited to start to teach this class for beginners and intermediate level students.

https://www.catalinagomezbeuthart.com/

A graduate of the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida, Debra began her career as a fashion illustrator and graphic designer. Later she discovered a book on colored pencil in a library and fell in love with the medium. Now she stays busy with portrait commissions and nature drawings. As time allows, she teaches an occasional art class, and her artwork has been published in several art magazines and books. Debra is a juried member of the Portrait Society of Atlanta, a signature member of CPSA, president of the Atlanta Chapter of the CPSA and a CPSA International Award Winner.

Gerald Burch Award Winning Professional Visual Artist B.A., PFA

GeraldsFineArts.com

Gerald on Instagram @artist_geraldburch

Isabel Olisamuni is a sculptor and performing artist from Nigeria. She is currently located in Atlanta Georgia, where she earned a BFA in sculpture at the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2021. When she Moved to the United States in 2011, she went through a culture shock that inspired her to create art about her experiences with her focus being fusion and harmony between different cultures. Her work highlights the journey of life through the perspective of a young
immigrant growing up in America. In every sculpture, painting or collage she makes, a story is being told. Over the years, she has created many pieces centered around the idea of harmony
between cultures and traditions she was exposed to as a younger child. Her experiences have also inspired a unique interest in material study, and an eccentric use of found objects in sculpture and
3d art.

I have always had a passion for being creative, but in 2002 I took a wheel class and fell in love with clay.  Around 2009, the Johns Creek Arts Center asked if I wanted to teach a handuilding class. It was my first opportunity to share my passion with others, and I loved it.  Over the years I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to teach several ceramics courses at the Johns Creek Arts Center including adult handbuilding, teen wheel, kids clay, and summer camp.  I love being surrounded by creative people, and I love sharing my knowledge with others. It is truly heartwarming to watch someone develop their own style and blossom as an artist.

I was born in Singapore and worked as a dentist for twenty years before moving to Atlanta in 2001 with my family. Always being very keen on the arts, I began making pottery and sculpture since 2008. I’m actively involve in ceramic community and my work has been displayed in USA and international galleries.

My years of teaching special needs pottery has taught me to simplify, laugh, and “just do it”

Visit  www.keoklim.com for more information about this talented artist.

I was born, raised and still reside in Atlanta, GA (well, Metro Atlanta) and have been an artist for as long as I can remember.  Growing up shy and awkward, making art was always a comfort.  By the time I was 8 I knew I only wanted to be an artist when I grew up.  That didn’t change a bit by the time I graduated from high school.

I attended the Atlanta College of Art, where I earned my Bachelors of Fine Arts Degree, majoring in illustration with a concentration in painting.  I worked my tail off and graduated with Suma Cum Laude honors.  My time at ACA was wonderful.  I regard those years as some of my happiest.  Post art school my life has been a joyous, but hectic blur of teaching fine art, painting for pleasure, creating custom art and illustration, and spending my days with the people I love.

I should mention that from age 15 onward, I have had an outstanding man by my side, showering me with love and support.  In 2008 my high school sweetheart and I got married, nine months later we became the proud parents of an amazing little girl, and our life entered a new chapter.  6 years later we welcomed a baby boy to our family.  My husband and my children are at the center of my world, providing me with endless love and inspiration.  I continue to teach in addition to working as a freelance illustrator.  I enjoy using a variety of media and techniques both traditional and digital.  Life is good.

Learn more about Leslie at her website:  www.lesliemurphyarts.com.

Noura Zohbe is a ceramic artist, born and raised in Atlanta, Ga. She received her BFA from Kennesaw State University. Art is both a creative and emotional outlet for Noura. She has found joy in teaching the pottery wheel to adults of all ages and skill levels. She wants nothing more than to spread her love of clay with the world.

I have been teaching since 1987 part time different subjects such as a second language, basic science and engineering as well as Art. For me teaching Art is when I engage with the students the most because you learn more about their passion and imagination, interests and more. I use nature and spirituality in my paintings. Engineering runs in my blood from my father, which allows me to enjoy building my own canvases. When I oil paint it is my most treasured time to relax and meditate. It comes naturally and every one should try it as a therapeutic way to relax, whether they are born with that talent or not. My two children also inherited a strong artistic talent. One is a very skilled film editor and the other is a creative writer among other things. We also have a long history in comedy and strong sense of humor and enjoy bringing the jokes into our art work and life. For me the entire process of creation is one big beautiful amazing work of art. For me, one of the most enjoyable apects of teaching is passing on what I have learned to the younger generations; how to be creative and use different techniques and materials or to combine different materials and ideas together.

https://www.instagram.com/zenya_paintings

Ceramics Instructor

Tricia, is an artist, art teacher and trained in the healing art of Reiki.