Meet the renowned artist instructors eager to share their knowledge and techniques with you. With a willingness to get messy in the name of art, each instructor brings a wealth of insight and enthusiastic energy with them to CREATE Seattle. Get to know them below and meet them in person this October.
Each artist instructor was asked a few in-depth questions about their experience and approach to their craft. Here’s what they had to tell us.
Clarissa is the creator of Strange and Wonderful Things, which is truly the best description of her work. She is the rescuer of tacky dolls and forgotten trash, with lots of laughter, hard work, and magic those items are reborn. Through her eclectic, mysterious, and surreal work she tells stories about the joy and tribulations that is the human experience. Clarissa teaching style is down to earth and fun, believing there is always more than one solution to a problem. Embracing the grunge and cherishing the mistakes are two of her primary philosophies. Clarissa brings her diverse experiences as a tattoo artist, functional potter, and gallery owner to teaching and sharing her true love the world of Mixed Media art. She exhibits throughout the Pacific Northwest at art festivals and selective galleries. She has been published in Linda and Opie O'Brien's book, Who's Your DADA? Written several feature articles for Art Doll Quarterly, Art Journaling Magazine, and has been published multiple times in Somerset Studio.
Jen is an Australian mixed media artist and highly sought after instructor. Her art is truly unique, incorporating many a found object, vintage ephemera, metal she has herself etched, resin and much more. With a true eye for detail and the ability to see past a rusty bit of metal, Jen is able to create assemblage pieces, tiny books and jewelry from this assortment of pieces she collects.
Jen Cushman is mixed-media artist, author, columnist, designer and nationally-known instructor. She is Vice President/Partner for ICE Resin Susan Lenart Kazmer. Jen has authored two books; Explore, Create, Resinate: Mixed Media Techniques using ICE Resin® and Making Metal Jewelry by F&W. Her art has been published in Belle Armoire Jewelry, Jewelry Affaire, Somerset Workshop, Cloth, Paper, Scissors, WireWork, Somerset Home, Somerset Studios, Somerset Life, Somerset Memories and others. Currently, she writes a column called "The Mixed Media Metalsmith" in each issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissors.
Ingrid has developed a unique, sometimes quirky and playful form of journaling that is uniquely her own. Her books have been shown in galleries throughout the country and her work is held in private collections throughout the world. Ingrid has had her work in publications such as Art Journaling, Somerset Studios, the premiere issue of Jewelry Affaire and the books 1,000 Artist Journal Pages and New Directions in Altered Books among many other publications. Currently Ingrid is teaching workshops throughout the country.
Mixed media artist, instructor and author. Works with paper and fiber to create artist books, collage and assemblages.
Katherine England is an Artist and Art Educator at large in So. California. She has an active studio and teaches in local schools and retreats across the country. She has been an activist for art education in the public school system for the last 24 years. Besides her own public installations she loves working with communities on projects. She has overseen 22 installations in local schools as well as public parks in Fullerton, Anaheim and other OC cities. Her favorite medium at is glass and tesserae. She loves breaking, nipping, melting it and coaxing it into playful patterns and whimsical figures. Her largest mosaic piece is 40' by 8' but she also enjoys creating small mosaic shrines. She currently lives in Fullerton, Ca.
With a growing reputation for crafting beautiful artist's books, Dea Fischer has an extensive background in bookbinding and collage techniques. A demanding professional career left little time and room for art, so it was time for a big change! Eight years later, Dea is the conservator for the public library and teaches sold out courses in bookbinding, altered books and collage. Dea has a slow-burning love affair with books, collage and low-tech photography. In her off hours, she engages her community in acts of random creation.
Helen Shafer Garcia is a painter, mixed media, found object and assemblage artist and award winning illustrator. Her whimsical style shows a love for living creatively with a studio filled to the brim with found objects! Helen's watercolor illustrations have graced the cover brochures, garden articles and advertisements of numerous international resorts and magazines for more than 23 years. Awards include four San Diego Press Club First Place Awards of Excellence in Illustration for San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles Magazine. Helen writes articles for Cloth, Paper, Scissors and Studios Magazines. She holds a BA degree in Fine Arts and currently teaches college level watercolor and acrylic painting. She also teaches Watercolor and Mixed Media workshops internationally and across the US.
Jane LaFazio, a full-time artist since 1998, truly believes she is living the life she was meant to live! In that time, she has cultivated a wide range of skills as a painter, mixed media, quilt artist, art teacher and blogger. She's known for her fun-loving, creative teaching style, and providing a relaxed supportive environment in the classroom. She teaches workshops online and at art retreats internationally. Jane's artwork has been featured in Cloth, Paper, Scissors and Quilting Arts magazines many times, and in Danny Gregory's An Illustrated Life, and in numerous books. Jane has made numerous appearances on Quilting Arts TV and is featured in instructional DVDs "From Art Journaling to Art," "Layered & Fused Applique Quilts: From Fabric Scraps to Recycled Circles" and "The Small Art Quilt" are available on Amazon.
Elena Lai Etcheverry is a freelance Designer and the Founder and Executive Director of Charity Wings a Non-Profit Organization dedicated to helping Artists and Crafters raise money for their favorite causes. In April of 2013 she along with her team opened the Charity Wings Art & Craft Center in San Diego, Ca. The CWACC is an inspiring place for people of all ages to Gather, Give Back, And Create. A life long crafter, Elena has a column in Cloth Paper Scissors Magazine "Artists Give Back" where she features Mixed Media Artists that have given the gift of art. She has also been published in Stampington Memories, and Mixed Media Girls by Suzi Blu. She is the hostess of the very popular "LIVE from CHA" an online streaming fundraiser filmed at the CHA trade shows. Her motto, "Be the change you wish to see in the world".
Leighanna Light is an art instructor and mixed media assemblage artist known for her whimsical style and unique use of found objects. Her background is in fine arts and photography, but she considers herself self taught when it comes to the assemblage work that she now creates. She has been instructing art workshops for the past 15 years, teaching locally and internationally. Leighanna is represented by galleries and museums across the country and work has been published in numerous books and magazines including The Studio, Art Doll Quarterly and Somerset Studio. "I love to create, to hunt for things to create with and to share my creativity with others. It's what I live for, it's my oxygen." Leighanna grew up in a small town in upstate NY. She has spent most of the past 16 years New Mexico, and currently resides in Taos, NM, with her best friends, Thomas, Lily and Sam.
Jacqueline Newbold's travels give her a never-ending source of inspiration to represent little gems of the world in her color-filled paintings. Primarily a watercolor artist, she uses a warm and playful color palette to incorporate mixed media into her art. Jacqueline has conducted watercolor workshops in Provence, France and is looking forward to be teaching in Italy this September. She has several articles published in the mixed-media magazines, Cloth Paper Scissors, Studios and Somerset Studio Art Journaling about creating art while on your journey. Her self-published book, Watercolor Journeys is a helpful guide for beginning to advanced watercolor enthusiasts.
Kieu Pham Gray has been creating jewelry for over 15 years. She started from the need to "look the part" while working in retail management for Neiman Marcus. Since then she has sold to over 30 stores in 10 states and participated in numerous juried art shows. For eight years Kieu owned Bead Q! in the Cleveland area. Today, with her husband Andy, they run TheUrbanBeader.com, working to provide industry with specialty goods. Kieu teaches a variety of classes throughout the Midwest and East Coast. Detailed instruction and personal attention have been her key to success.
Kristen Robinson is on the artistic journey of her life, one she compares to dancing through the pages of a history book. With a love of all things from the past and the stories locked within them she is drawn to many different forms of art from jewelry and textiles to painting and collage. Kristen is the author of Tales of Adornment Techniques for Creating Resin Jewelry (Northlight), Making Etched Metal Jewelry (Northlight Oct 2013) as well as DVD "Romantic Bezels: Mixed-Media Jewelry From Found Objects" available from Interweave. In addition Kristen is the designer of the Rue Romantique collection available through ICE Resin® as well as an Artist for Stampington &Co. She is currently working on her third book with Norhtlight.
Lisa began her artistic journey as a kid sewing crazy clothes for her Barbie dolls on her hand crank, kiddy sewing machine. This trail led her to UC Davis Design and Art departments, where her emphasis was on textiles and wearable art. Later she received her teaching credential in Art and Elementary Education at San Francisco State. Over the years she has explored drawing, painting, three-dimensional collage and combinations of all three. Currently she is the resident artist at The Bishop's Ranch conference and retreat center outside of Healdsburg where she lives and works with her husband and son. She teaches art in local schools, and to small groups and individuals during their visit at The Bishop's Ranch and teach at national creative conferences such as CREATE 2012 in Irvine, CA, and Art & Soul in Portland, OR. She loves to make art in her community and strives to design workshops and activities for all ages that open up blocked doors and let the bright light of creativity in. In her own work she is always exploring and experimenting and loves to share what she has discovered. She has had technique articles published in Cloth Paper Scissors Magazine and Quilting Arts Magazine and most recently an Interweave web seminar on making Luminaria.