Visual and Performing Arts Faculty

KASSEM AMOUDI received his MFA, from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, with post-graduate studies at the University of North Texas and his BS in Art and Education at Huwarah Institute of Education in Cairo, Egypt and Irbid, Jordan. His exhibition participation includes the James Baids Gallery, Newfoundland, Canada; Berman Museum of Art, Collegeville, Pa.; Rowan College, Glassboro, N.J.; Artists Equity, American College, Bryn Mawr, PA. His work is included in many public and private collections.
ROBERT BENDER received a certificate in art education from Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He received the Cresson Travel Scholarship in 1973 and studied art history throughout Rome, Holland, France, Italy and Austria. Robert exhibits throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey, including five recent solo shows at the F.A.N. Gallery in Philadelphia. He has studied privately with Aurthur DeCosta, Nelson Shanks and David Le Fal.
CHLOE BLAKE STEVENSON, a graduate of Reed College in Portland, Oregon, is an Art and Social Studies teacher at Haddonfield Friends School. Chloe worked as the Art Director for three summers at the Chewonki Foundation in Wiscasset, Maine. She also worked as an assistant English teacher in Fujioka City, Japan. Chloe joined Perkins Summer Art Camp in 2006 to teach classes in paper sculpture and Japanese brush painting.
RACHEL BOMZE earned an MFA from Tyler School of Art and her BA from Brandeis University. She has taught on the university level at such schools as Rowan, Tyler and Delaware CCC. Rachel has shown her work at various galleries and was a recipient of a Juror's Award in Perkins Center's Works on Paper show in 2005.
BRIAN BUTLER studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Art Students League in NY and Glassboro State College. He has been employed by Tyco Toys and by Mattel as a designer and illustrator.
CANDACE CARRIGER obtained an MA in Dance and Dance Education from Teachers College, Columbia University and a BA in Dance from the University of Maryland. She has 14 years of experience as a dance instructor and has worked with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center and the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance.
PHILIP CARROLL earned a certificate in fine arts from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and studied art history at the University of Pennsylvania. His work is represented in numerous collections including those of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He has taught at the Mainline Art Center, Haverford, PA, and Rutgers University.
JACKIE CERVINO holds a BA in art and a BA in art education from Moore College of Art in Philadelphia. She is currently an art instructor at Nazareth Academy High School in Philadelphia. Jackie is also a freelance commercial artist.
JANE CHESSON received her MFA in Painting from Texas A & M and her BFA from the University of Delaware. She has worked extensively with younger children and with the Boys and Girls Club in Corpus Christi, Texas.
DIANNE CORBEAU earned a certificate from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. She has won many awards and is a two-time recipient of the Elizabeth Greensheilds Foundation Grant. Her work is in the University of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Academy's private collections. Corbeau is represented by several galleries around the country and internationally. She has taught in Upstate New York and continues to teach in Philadelphia.
JENNI LEIGH DEETS is a graduate of Moore College of Arts with a BA in Art Education. She is the 2007 recipient of the Margaret Heilbron Award for Outstanding Artist in Art Education.
STACEY DOUGLAS received her BA in studio art from Richmond University in London, England. She also completed the Art Certification Program at Rowan University. Stacey currently works as a vegan cook and baker in Philadelphia when she is not teaching art.
MARIE H. ELCIN is a graduate of Moore College of Art and Design with a BFA in 2D Fine Arts and Textile Design. She also teaches at Fleisher Art Memorial and is an active member of the Women's Caucus for Art. She has exhibited widely in the Philadelphia Region, and her work is available through The Art Shop at Moore.
NORMAN GAFFIN earned his BS from Drexel University. He has taught drawing in the Lenape HS evening program for 8 years. His award-winning work has been exhibited in the area for the past 44 years.
DAVID GAMBER brings to Perkins Center more than 20 years of experience as a clay artist and 12 years of teaching experience. He teaches at Abington Art Center with previous experience at Penn State, Abington campus, and Rutgers University, Camden. He has exhibited both locally and nationally and has work on view at the Clay Studio, Abington Arts Center and Wayne Art Center.
SOPHIA GEIGER received her BS from Drexel University and certification in Art Ed from Rutgers University. Sophia is currently employed as a substitute teacher for the Moorestown school district.
CYNTHIA GORDON-PULSINELLI is a certified dance and aerobics instructor who has performed and taught in a wide area of venues among them the Berkshire Ballet Co. and Radio City Music Hall. She is currently matriculated at TCNJ.
NORMA GRIFFITH earned her BFA from the University of the Arts, with coursework at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and private study with George Sklar and Zhe Zhou Jiang, a Chinese Master Watercolorist. Her work has been cited for excellence in many regional exhibitions.
LANA HECKENDORN received her BFA for Moore College of Art. She is also a recipient of the Project Serving Artist grant through Perkins Center to further develop her skills as a wood firer. She has exhibited her ceramics in the Delaware Valley, across the country and in Puerto Rico. Heckendorn currently lives in Philadelphia and is an associate artist at The Clay Studio.
CHRISTIAN HOCHENBERGER is a graduate of Kutztown University where he received a BS in Communications. He has been teaching photography for the past 3 years at Shawnee High School where he has taught both traditional black and white as well as digital photography. His photo students have won numerous state-wide awards in photography and he is the recipient of a GEE grant in 2005-2006. Through photography Christian hopes to teach students how to explore the world around them and express themselves in their own unique way.
GABRIELLE HOYER earned her BA in Art Education from Montclair State University. She also has her Masters Degree from William Paterson University in Early Childhood Education and is certified in Supervision. She received several awards and scholarships from the Ridgewood Art Institute for her oil paintings. Gabrielle was an elementary school art teacher for 5 years in Paramus, NJ. While in Paramus, she co-chaired the Bergen County Youth Art Month Exhibit.
KATE JOHNSON recieved her B.F.A. from University of the Arts, with post-graduate and certification work at Moore College of Art. She spent 14 years as the Art teacher/Director of an arts based preschool in Phildaelphia. She spent 14 years as the Art teacher/Director of an arts based preschool in Philadelphia. She currently works on large scale mosaic projects both privately and through NetworkArts.
ANNE HOSIE KATINSKY received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Kutztown University. She has pursued professional studies at the University of the Arts and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia.
RYAN KELLY received his BFA from Kansas City Art Institute and his MFA from Ohio State University. He has taught and exhibited extensively throughout the country. Ryan is currently a resident and teaching artist at the Clay Studio in Philadelphia as well as with the Spiral Q Puppet Theater in Philadelphia.
RODGER LEGRAND has two collections of poems, Waking Up On a Sinking Boat and Various Ways of Thinking About the Universe. His poems have appeared in The Cortland Review, The Atlanta Review, From the Fishouse, Paper Street, Apple Valley Review, and The Boston Literary Magazine. He has instructed writing courses at the University of the Arts and currently teaches at Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania. He lives in Collingswood, New Jersey.
LINDA MILLER earned her BFA in Painting and Certificate in Art Therapy from the Philadelphia College of Art. She studied ceramics at the University of the Arts and at the Clay Studio. Linda has been teaching for 15 years at Perkins Center for the Arts. She has also taught in the Philadelphia Museum of Art's Special Audiences Program and at the Noyes Museum of Art.
BARRY MOORE performed in "Ain't Misbehavin," Atlantic City; "The Fantasticks," Philadelphia; and "Guys & Dolls," Trenton. He has extensive experience as a director, choreographer and vocal director. Barry was a theater instructor in the Moorestown Summer Parks & Recreation Program for almost 20 years.
ROBERT SAKSON, AWS is a nationally known painter, author, instructor, juror and a signature member of the American Watercolor Society and NJWS, PWCS and GSWS. He is also a dolphin fellow of AWS. He has extensive exhibition experience and is the recipient of the Gold Medal at Allied Artist, N.Y., three silver medals from the N.J. Watercolor Society and the Board of Governors Award at the Philadelphia Watercolor Society. His works are represented in thirteen books on Watercolor by North Light Books and currently has 35 paintings included in the recently published "Long Beach Island Rhapsody."
JAMES SCANNELL earned a certificate in painting and sculpture from The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and a BFA in sculpture from SUNY, New Paltz. He has secured many public and private commissions, among them portraits, busts and bronze statues for Radnor Township, Bette and Melanie Gaspari and Anne Congdon. He's also been involved in the Absecon Lighthouse Restoration and a survey of Public Sculpture in Philadelphia. James is the recipient of numerous awards including first place in the National Sculpture Competition.
LINDA SHUSTERMAN earned her MFA in Ceramics from Clemson University and BFA from Goddard College. Her work is exhibited nationally in galleries and collections and recently at the Matt Burton Gallery and in a northeast regional show at NCECA 2005. Shusterman teaches ceramics at Community College of Philadelphia, Gloucester County College and Camden County College. Her current porcelain work includes vessels fired in a wood kiln.
SHAWN SPANGLER is currently a resident artist at the Clay Studio in Philadelphia. Professional experience includes teaching at the Clay Studio, Mainline Art Center, Wayne Art Center and visiting artist residencies at Yun Jun Studio in Jingdezhen, China, SanBao Art Institute, SanBao, China, and Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Maine. His current work strives to address issues of authorship and provenance of a vessel, through the elasticity of perception and creation.
NINA SPEART received her BFA from Philadelphia College of Art (UArts) and is currently an art teacher at the LEAP Academy Charter School in Camden. Nina is also trained in jewelry arts and fabric arts.
DONALD STEPHENS graduated with a BFA from Temple U., Tyler School of Art. His work has been shown extensively in the tri-state area including the African American Museum and Pavilion Art Gallery.
NAIMAH STITH is an associate potter at Wheaton Village in Millville, NJ and studio tech at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ. During the summer months she teaches adults and children at the Foundation for the Arts in Loveladies, NJ.
BEVERLY THOMAS earned an MA from Eastern College and a BA in sculpture from Rutgers University/Camden. She has been a member of the Perkins Pottery Cooperative for the past 15 years. She shows at area venues including the Haddonfield Craft Show and the Perkins Pottery Show & Sale.
JAMES TOOGOOD, AWS His formal training took place at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. His work has been exhibited internationally including the National Academy of Design, the Butler Institute of American Art, and the Bermuda National Gallery. His work has received many honors among them from the American Watercolor Society and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. He is represented in numerous public and private collections. Toogood teaches watercolor and lectures on watercolor technique. His work has been seen on television and in numerous publications, including American Artist Watercolor and The Artist Magazine. James writes the column "Looking at Watercolors" for American Artist online.
JENNIFER WANKOFF began working in ceramics while living in Israel after college and has been immersed in the field ever since. Her current work is wheel-thrown and altered, and often wood-fired. Wankoff teaches adults and children in a variety of schools.
LINDA WISELY is a veteran artist with Psychology and Visual and Performing Arts Degrees from Glassboro State College now Rowan University. Her adventures in exploring art have fortuitously brought her into the realm of teaching. She currently works from her home/studio in various media as a portrait, still life and abstract painter... and sometimes walks Haddon Avenue in unusual costume.

For more information, please email create@perkinscenter.org