Visual Arts Center of Richmond

Susan Adams is a jewelry designer and metal smith who holds an MFA degree from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
Barbara Atkinson has been a professional stained glass artist and instructor for over 25 years.
Stephanie Baker is a professional photographer. She holds a BA in Art History from VCU and a professional photographer’s certificate from Portfolio Center in Atlanta, GA.
John Balasa is a professional faux finisher. He works for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in the Department of Exhibition Production.
Ingrid Bernhardt is a graduate of the Pratt Institute. Her beadwork is exhibited nationally and she regularly exhibits at the Craft & Design Show. Enjoy examples of Ingrid’s work here.
Andrew Blossom is the founding editor of the literary journal Makeout Creek, and co-editor of the collection Richmond Noir, forthcoming from Akashic Books. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Lee Bloxom is pursuing a PhD in Media, Art & Text at VCU. A local writer and photographer, she holds an MA from VCU and a BA from Wellesley College.
David Camden is a graduate of Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont. He has taught ceramics classes at the Visual Arts Center since 1978.
Jayna Champeau is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University with a degree in Photography. She does freelance work and has had showings of her work in the Richmond area.
Janene Charbeneau is a textile artist with more than 30 years of experience in sewing and weaving. Her current focus is mending and repairing vintage garments and collecting vintage patterns for constructing new garments. Visit my website for more information.
Carlie Collier has an MFA in photography from VCU. She is a professional artist, photographer, and educator.
Ana Conceicao I let the piece dictate the methods and materials that I use in my work, but I am usually lured by textiles. I graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2005, with a BFA in Crafts and an emphasis in textiles. I am well versed in all forms of textiles but the loom is my muse. I believe that anything can be woven into a warp, with some creative engineering and patience. To see some current projects visit my blog.
Elizabeth Cooper teaches a poetry workshop and contemporary American fiction and poetry at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C., where she received an MA in Writing Poetry in 2004. Her special interests are form and narrative in poetry. She is now retired from teaching at VCU, where she was director of Writing and Rhetoric.
Barbara Dill earned a Master’s of Nursing degree from Boston University and worked as a nurse for 21 years. She began her woodturning career in 1990 and has published two articles in the American Journal of Woodturning on Multi Axis Spindle Turning. She is a founding member of the cooperative gallery “…but is it art?” and the local woodturning club, “Woodturners Anonymous.” She has taught at the Visual Arts Center since 1998 and has been teaching multi-axis concepts regionally.
Paul DiPasquale is best known for the Arthur Ashe Monument on Richmond’s Monument Avenue, The Brave at Richmond’s Diamond, and most recently for his 34-foot bronze sculpture of Neptune on the coast of Virginia Beach. Educated at VCU, UVA.
Andrea Donnelly a second-year graduate student in the Dept. of Craft/Material Studies at VCU. While my focus is weaving, I am addicted to all techniques/things fiber. I moved to Richmond from Raleigh, N.C. in August of 2008 to begin my MFA studies, and am really loving this town! Check out my work.
Don Dransfield is a designer/goldsmith, who received a BFA from the State University of New York at New Paltz.
Daniel Eaves has an MFA in Metals from Cranbrook Academy of Art. He is a full-time jeweler.
Allison Fiebert received her BFA in photography and film from VCU and is a 2006-07 and 2008-09 recipient of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Undergraduate Fellowship. Working as a freelance professional photographer and the assistant director at a local commercial gallery, Fiebert has developed a deep understanding of the dynamics within Richmond’s commercial and art based photography and fine art community.
Carmen Feliciano is a professional fashion designer with a degree from New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology. She worked for a number of design houses in New York contributing designs for collections of Lady Carol, Damon, Billy Jack and others.
Regi Franz is a professional photographer. She has an MFA from VCU and has photographed extensively in South America, Europe, and Southeast Asia.
Jessica Freeman is a professional stained-glass artist living and working in Richmond.
Jamie Fueglein holds an MFA in fiction from Virginia Commonwealth University where he currently teaches in the Focused Inquiry Program. He has also taught writing classes through the English departments for both VCU and UR. Jamie has extensive experience in leading writing workshops focused on short stories and on novel length works.
J.C. Gilmore-Bryan has painting degrees from Columbia University, MFA, Vanderbilt University, MA and a B.S. from M.T.S.U. She teaches Printmaking and Mural Painting in the Graduate M.I.S. – Art Program at VCU. She is a member of the ONE/OFF Printmaking group.
Sarah Hand is an artist and teacher who makes dolls, puppets, collages, papier mache sculptures, books, skirts and more. She believes life is more fun if you make stuff and has spent many years teaching adults and kids how to do just that. She lives in Richmond with her husband and two cats.
Ashley Hawkins is the director of Studio Two Three, a print shop and artist collective in Richmond founded in 2008. She graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University’s Painting and Printmaking department in 2007. In 2009, Ashley worked as an installation artist for Sol Lewitt’s Wall Drawing #541 at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Ashley is experienced in Etching, Lithography and Screen Printing. Ashley currently curates the Project Space Gallery at Plant Zero in Richmond and is pursuing a Certificate of Non-Profit Management through Virginia Commonwealth University’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs.
Mary Henck has been hooking rugs for 15 years. She is a Certified McGown instructor and has been teaching traditional rug hooking for 8 years. She teaches both wide cut/primitive style hooking as well as fine shading. She hand dyes all of her wool fabric. She also teaches twined rug making using recycled as well as new materials. Her studio is Mary’s Wool Garden. She also is the director of the Outer Banks Rug Hooking Retreat and has published articles in Rug Hooking magazine.
Maripat Hyatt is a local teacher and professional artist. She has received the VA Art Education Association’s Elementary Art Educator of the Year 2004 award, and most recently was named the 2006 National Art Education Association’s Southeast Region Elementary Art Teacher of the Year.
Brenda Isenberg is a full-time professional artist who received her MFA in Painting from the New York Academy of Art.
John Jessiman was educated at Ball State University in Indiana at a time the aesthetics was dominated by abstract expressionism. His heroes were, and to some extent still are, Motherwell, DeKooning, Kline, Frankenthaler, Mitchell and Tapies. After committing to clay as a medium, he was deeply influenced by Volkous, Rosanjin and Toyo all who moved clay much as the expressionist painters approached painting.
Douglas Jones has written and seen produced more than forty plays. BBC’s Bernard Mayes cited Jones’s “ability to write in ways which are appealing to the general population without condescension, and focus on the essentials without sugaring the pill.” A Richmond News-Leader critic said Jones’s work for young audiences “has a fascination with the infinite expressiveness and flexibility of the English language that rivals Sesame Street.” And J. Christie noted that Jones’s plays combine “the rhythms of Gilbert and Sullivan, references and rhymes from countless familiar tales, and a bit of the late Jim Henson’s gift for finding the inner voices of children. Jones has a BA from the University of Chicago and did graduate work at the University of Virginia.
Ken Kohut has been working with metal for over 40 years and has attended numerous blacksmithing conferences in the U.S. and Europe.
Ono Mangano earned her MFA in fiber arts from VCU after leaving a costume design career behind in New York City. Since then her focus has remained on the garment and is now committed to sustainable fashion with her label Sew Ono eco apparel.
Sarah Masters is a professional artist working and teaching in Richmond. She shows her work locally and regionally. Sarah holds a BFA in Painting and Printmaking from VCU and a degree in Botany from Duke. She is a VCCA fellow.
Deirdra McAfee has an MFA in Fiction from the New School.  She is an experienced writer and teacher, as well as a book critic, whose work has won a number of awards, including the 2004 STYLE Weekly Fiction Contest and has been widely published in literary magazines.
Katie McBride has a BFA from VCU in Communication Arts and Design and works as a free-lance illustrator and designer.
Richard McCord is a professional ceramic sculptor who has been teaching at VisArts for 20 years. He served as the Visual Arts Center Master Teacher for 2001.
Aaron McIntosh comes from a quilting background and his current practice includes quiltmaking, sculpture, cut paper and drawing. He uses materials’ embedded meanings to explore issues of identity, gender and sexuality in wide-ranging works. He received a BFA in Fibers from the Appalachian Center for Craft and is finishing an MFA at Virginia Commonwealth University. His work has been shown across the United States, in Hawaii and South Korea. In 2006, McIntosh was a recipient of a Windgate Undergraduate Fellowship, administered by the Center for Craft, Creativity & Design.
Mary Melton is a Richmond artist and printmaker. She teaches and exhibits regionally.
Kirk O’Brien is a professional freelance cartoonist and illustrator. His work can be viewed on his website. He served as the Visual Arts Center’s Master Teacher for 2003.
Amie Oliver earned an MFA from Bowling Green (Ohio) State University. She is a professional artist and teacher.
Brad Pearson is a professional lamp-work artist. He holds a BFA from VCU, and has taught and exhibited for a decade.
Nick Pollok has BFA in sculpture from VCU. He is a master woodworker and furniture maker with over 25 year experience, including 12 years of custom architectural millwork, reproductions of Jefferson’s furniture from Monticello. Nick is a full time jig maker, professional sculptor, painter, printmaker, and photographer.
Susan Quinnild is a studio potter and served as the Visual Arts Center Master Teacher for 2005.
Sally Ramert holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in history with a specialty in European and Art history. Her 20 year teaching career focused on Modern and Post Modern architecture and Decorative Arts which led naturally to collecting of fine examples from around the world.
Lynda Ray is a professional artist whose paintings have been shown locally and nationally. Her work is included in The Art of Encaustic Painting by Joanne Mattera. She has a BFA in Painting from Massachusetts College of Art and studied at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture.
Travis Robertson graduated from the James Madison University printmaking department in 2003. Since then, he has honed his serigraph skills by setting up print studios around the city of Richmond, and showcased his work internationally.
Meg Rodgers holds a BFA in metals and jewelry design with a concentration in ceramics and a BS in art education. She teaches art at a local high school.
Pamela Rose Rennolds, a professional ceramist and teacher, has a BA from Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois.
Stephanie Saccone is a Richmond designer and artist. She has enjoyed graphical problem-solving for decades, first as a print and now as a web designer. At the same time she has pursued a lifelong love of making art and of sharing that pleasure as a teacher. Her current interests include textile and fabric work, drawing, and upcycling discarded items of all sorts into wearable/useable art.
Alyssa Salomon is an artist & photographer who exhibits, lectures & teaches nationally. She is the recipient of the VMFA fellowship, a returning fellow at the VCCA, & has a BA from Kenyon College.
Mark Sarigianis graduated from Old Dominion University with a degree in Graphic Design in 2008. My last two years in school were spent fervently letterpress printing. Since then I have tried to study and experiment with the archaic medium, and use it in an artistic printmaking manner. Examples of my work can be seen on my website.
Jude Schlotzhauer holds an MFA in glass working from VCU and a BFA in painting from American University. She is a full-time studio artist.
Jay Sharpe is professional metal smith who holds a BFA from VCU and is the proprietor of a jewelry store in Richmond.
Shelly Bechtel Shepherd is an artist-member of the Virginia Watercolor Society and frequently exhibits throughout the U.S. She served as the Visual Arts Center Master Teacher for 2002.
Susan Singer holds a Masters of Interdisciplinary Studies in Art from VCU. She has worked extensively with polymer clay and pastels, and shows and sells her work in regional galleries.
Andres Soulas is an Argentine-American professional photographer residing in Richmond. His work has been recognized in over 15 countries. He studied Fine Arts at the National Art Museum in Buenos Aires and at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. His work includes portraits, landscapes, travel, architectural and fashion photography.
Catherine Southall has a BFA in Fashion Design and twenty years experience in the fashion industry.
Sayaka Suzuki originally from Yokohama, Japan- Sayaka Suzuki has been residing in the US for the past twenty years. In 2000, she received her BFA degree from Tulane University, and in 2005, her MFA degree from The Virginia Commonwealth University. Her work has been exhibited at The Pensacola Museum of Art in Florida, William King Regional Art Center in Virginia, as well as galleries in Canada and throughout the East Coast. She teaches workshops around the country including The Corning Museum of Glass in NY. She is an adjunct professor at The Virginia Commonwealth University teaching Art Foundation and Glass Casting.
David Tanner is a portrait and figurative painter with a BFA from VCU. Tanner is an active member of The Portrait Society of America and The American Society for Classical Realism. Tanner also studied with modern master Nelson Shanks at the Studio Incamminati in Philadelphia. David was the 2006 Visual Arts Center Master Teacher.
Carly Troncale graduated with a Masters in Fine Arts from California College of the Arts in 2007. She has taught for over 10 years at non-profit organizations and colleges and private institutions. She is also teaching Advanced Drawing at the University of Richmond School of Continuing Studies.
Jim Valentine has taught art in Richmond and Hanover County for 30 years. His pottery and sculpted clay faces appear in public and private collections in the U.S. and Germany.
Thomas Van Auken is a professional artist whose paintings have been shown locally and nationally. He studied fine art at the Corcoran School of Art.
Jeff Vick received a MFA with a concentration in ceramics from VCU in 2006. Since then, he has been working in his studio throwing pots and creating slip-cast and hand-built sculptures while teaching at VisArts and VCU. His pots tend to gravitate towards crisp, clean, simple forms while his sculptures are influenced by all facets of the natural world.
Kendra Dawn Wadsworth graduated with honors from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1996, earning a BFA in Painting and Printmaking. She went on to further her education at the University of Pennsylvania where she received her MFA in Painting in 1998. Currently, Wadsworth instructs at the Visual Art Center of Richmond, VMFA teen program, and conducts workshops throughout the state through the VMFA Paul Mellon Statewide Partnership Program. Wadsworth is a certified Yoga instructor and painting contractor. See examples of her work here.
Susann Whittier received her BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and MFA from Maryland Institute College Art. Working in a wide variety of materials she has exhibited both nationally and internationally.
Dennis Winston is a Virginia artist and educator who has served on the faculties of the Virginia Museum Studio School, VCU School of the Arts, and Virginia State University. He is a graduate of Norfolk State University and has done post graduate work at the University of Colorado, University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University. The woodcut print has become his primary medium of expression and he has received a public arts commission from the city of Richmond and a Virginia Commission of the Arts fellowship for works on paper.
Lynalise Woodlief is a graduate of VCU. She’s a local artist who works as a jeweler.