Faculty:
Hiroko Borish
Hiroko Borish teaches Sumi-e or oriental brush painting. She came to the U.S. from Japan in 1973 and has studied extensively in both Oriental and Western techniques. Her work, however, primarily reflects her Oriental background. After only one session, students can start to paint their own unique greeting cards. Hiroko has also taught from her own studio and the Dunedin Fine Art Center. Complementing her painting are her skills in traditional flower arranging and bonkei – the creating of tray landscapes. Hiroko’s class is Thursday; 1-4 p.m.
Charlotte DiGennaro
Charlotte DiGennaro has taught art to both children and adults for 28 years. She holds a Masters Degree from the University of Wisconsin with studies at Nazareth College. Her water media classes are all day Monday and on Tuesday morning. Charlotte states, “If you don’t have fun doing it, don’t do it!” In addition, “Art is mostly to please yourself first, not others.” Click for a larger image.
Mary Spires
Mary Spires’ work is featured in various national “Decorative Painting” books, and International magazines. She is the author of three Watercolor books, and was featured for six years on a weekly PBS painting series in the Columbus, Ohio area. She conducts annually: - extensive travel teaching and workshops internationally. Her proven "Step-by-Step" processes, and overall painting methodology, provide students of all skills, the opportunity to develop a finished piece of artwork while also learning the basic relationships of: values, color of light and shadows, composition, and color mixing skills related to transparent watercolors. For added information and insights, please visit both Mary’s Web Site, and Blog Site, at the following internet links: http://www.maryspires.com/ and http://maryspires.blogspot.com.
Larry Pumfrey
Larry Pumfrey is a landscape and portrait painter with over 25 years experience in both oil and watercolor. He has studied at the DeCordova Museum of Art, the Montserrat College of Art and with numerous national known teachers. He has exhibited most recently at “Studio Works 2001” at the Gulf Coast Museum of Art in Largo, FL and is a recipient of numerous awards in both oil and watercolor. For additional information, take a look at Larry’s Web Site at this following internet link: www.pumfreygallery.com.
Judy Pumfrey
Judy Pumfrey is a figurative and portrait painter in oil, pastel, and watercolor. She paints in the American Impressionist tradition and has studied at the Cape Cod School of Art and with other nationally known teachers. She is a sought after teacher and demonstrator who has exhibited widely. Her works can be found in private collections throughout the U.S. and Canada. She is listed in “Artists of New England.” For additional information, take a look at Judy’s Web Site at this following internet link: www.pumfreygallery.com.
Julie Messerschmidt
Julie Messerschmidt enjoys sharing her love and knowledge of watercolor with students to help them achieve their goals and develop their own unique style. She teaches sound fundamentals and techniques for students who wish to further their skills in the medium of transparent watercolor. She has had the privilege of studying with some of watercolor's
best instructors and has gained a rich store of knowledge from continual reading. Julie's work appears in juried shows throughout the Bay Area, where her vibrant and luminous paintings win numerous awards. She is a signature member of the Florida Suncoast Watercolor Society, a founding member of C5Arts and a member of Florida Watercolor Society. For additional information, and to view her work, please visit her website at http://julie-arts.com.
Annemarie Goossens
Annemarie Goossens is our pottery studio manager and one of our pottery instructors. She holds B. A. in ceramics and owned her own studio in Haarlem , Holland for ten years. She works closely with the instructors, determines all clay studio policies, and directs all studio operations.
Shamus Walker
Shamus Walker earned his Bachelor in Fine Arts degree from Alfred University in 1987. Before moving to Florida he was a substitute teacher in Central New York State for 10 years, teaching art and special education. In the spring of 2004 he founded a raku studio at his summer home in Northeast Pennsylvania . He has also worked in a variety of other media including cast and blown glass and welded steel and bronze.
Joseph Weinzettle
Joseph Weinzettle received his BFA from the Cooper Union and his MFA from the University of Mississippi. He teaches drawing and painting to youth and adults in Pinellas County. His drawings and paintings are in numerous private collections and he has exhibited his artwork nationally. He was awarded a Pinellas County Cultural Affairs grant to study "Gothic Silverpoint Drawing" in 2007, and received Puffin Foundation Awards in 1999, 2001 and 2003 for artwork exploring African culture and history. Samples of his work may be viewed at: www.myspace.com/josephweinzettle.
Doug Land
Doug Land Doug is a full time artist and instructor of drawing classes and workshops in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. The focus is always to help students improve through the use of the basic elements of art and principles of design. Students from the beginner to the more accomplished often will see improvement in their work in a very short period of time. Additional information may be found at the website: www.DouglasLandArtist.com.
Nancy Phelps
Nancy Phelps has been a studio potter for fifteen years. Her pottery is displayed at the Nature of Art Gallery in St. Petersburg, and she sells it at art shows. Nancy is looking forward to sharing her techniques with you.
Melissa Miller Nece
Melissa Miller Nece is regarded as one of the foremost colored pencil artists in the country. Her enthusiasm and humor have made her a favorite speaker for arts groups, and she has inspired many others to try colored pencils through her classes and workshops. A resident of Palm Harbor, Florida, Melissa has a BFA from Lake Erie College and has been teaching drawing, colored pencil, and oil and acrylic painting at the Dunedin Fine Art Center since 1990.
Robin Borland
Robin received her degree in Fine Art from the University of South Florida. Upon graduation she began her full time career painting at a studio in Dunedin Florida. In 1999 Robin helped to create and manage Trailside Artist Colony, an artist co-op dedicated to helping professional artists show, market and sell their work.
"I like to capture places and people as they are in that moment in time. I try to convey not only what my eye is seeing, but also what emotions are being felt by the people or places in that moment in time. I use color, line, and shape to build images that will project an emotion to the person viewing the art."
Debbie Slowey
Trained at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Debbie made her way to New York where she set up a studio and was mentored by Bob Blackburn and will Barnet at their printmaking workshop. This is where she discovered fine art printmaking and was exposed to the great humanistic ideals that would inspire her future work as an artist, teacher and registered nurse. Today, she also teaches Art Healing for people with emotional or physical limitations.
John Machen
John Machen is teaching Wood Carving at the Beach Art Center. He lived for twenty years in New Zealand where he learned to appreciate art, and learned fundamentals of native art and carving there. He was New Zealand ’s stone carving champion from 1984 – 1986. “I get great satisfaction in designing and manufacturing my artwork in bone, stone and wood. I took courses in Maori woodcarving and bone carving while living in New Zealand and my work is inspired by the Polynesian style, which I admire greatly.”
Joe Steiner
Joe Steiner has exhibited and taught extensively in the Chicago area. He has started spending the winter in our beautiful part of the world and sharing his talents with us teaching the intricacies of painting the portrait from life. “I am an observational figurative painter who works exclusively from life. I talk to my models while I paint and this helps me to connect with my feelings about them. My goal is an artist is to open the door to my emotions and sharpen my eye as an observer.”
Dan Grimsich
Daniel Grimsich teaches traditional watercolor at the Beach Art Center . Dan lives in Riverside , Connecticut , was born in Chicago and formally educated at the University of Illinois where he received his Bachelor and Masters degrees in Architecture. He also studied art at the Art Institute of Chicago and the American Academyof Art. He has taught extensively in the Greenwich area and has exhibited his paintings throughout the country. His work resides in numerous corporate and private collections.
Barbra Kuzin
Barbra teaches Beginning to Advanced Painting at the Beach Art Center, bringing over three decades of oil and acrylic painting and a background in floral design. Originally from the Chicago area, she has taught locally at Seminole High School Adult Education Center and the Beach Art Center.
Debra Peisner
Originally from Long Island, NY., Debra has been producing jewelry since the age of fourteen when she began making feather jewelry for a dozen stores. She teaches Jewelry Fabrication at the Beach Art Center on Wednesday afternoons, showing students the secrets of wire artistry, chain making, cabochon cutting and lost wax casting. Upcoming classes will include enameling, repousse and dichrotic work. For additional additional
information visit her at: http://www.creativeflow.biz.
Jennifer Weaver
Jennifer Weaver teaches Intermediate and Advanced Wheel and Handbuildingon Fridays at the Beach ArtCenter . Born in Florida, Jennifer grew up in Tampa and received a B.F.A. in Painting from Florida Atlantic University . A year spent in Japan influenced the aesthetics of her pots, which feature tall, graceful forms and atmospheric landscape elements in the glazes. Jennifer also teaches at the Dunedin Fine Art Center where she at one time studied pottery.
James Allen Hall
James Allen Hall teaches all levels of students in wheel throwing and handbuilding. James received his Associate Degree in Art in 2000 and his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Central Florida in 2010. He is the recipient of a Florida Bright Futures Scholarship and a Graduate Merit Scholarship.