MEET OUR ARTIST INSTRUCTORS
WATERCOLOR TECHNIQUES
Instructor: Megan Jefferson
Megan attended Miami University and received a BFA, with a focus in painting and has been a practicing artist for 20 years. She is a colorist with a keen interest in the beauty of nature. Her paintings are ethereal, they invoke a sense of peace, wonder and stillness.
For Megan, inspiration comes from the light hitting the distant land, amazing flowers and flora all around us and the infinite colors in the sky.
As a painter, she is much more interested in how the experience of creating feels and the alignment of it being joyful, at ease and flowing, than she is about the outcome being a direct result of a perfect depiction of subject matter. Painting is a graceful dance that keeps her focused in the moment and allows creation to happen from a calm and centered place.
One of the beautiful things about watercolor is that is forces one to work in the moment, to consider every stroke and proceed by allowing the material to behave in its natural way. The water and colors pool, drip, merge and blend. The outcome of this essence is unpredictable, bringing the joy of surprise.
Megan sells her work regionally and nationally online and in local galleries. Find her online at JeffersonArtStudio.com, Instagram @megsj1, or Facebook at Jefferson Art Studio.
introduction to drawing
Instructor: Jeannette Pomeroy Parssi
After twenty years in South Florida, Jeannette Pomeroy Parssi recently returned to her Midwest roots, moving to Fishers in the spring of 2018. Jeannette’s paintings reflect the influence of artists she has admired over the years - including Wolf Kahn, Paul Gogan and others whose paintings, like Jeannette’s, are alive with color. She has studied with renowned artists Graham Nickson, dean of the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture; and Miraslov Antic, instructor at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. In addition to being a professional artist, she is a teacher, a mentor and a supporter of the local arts scene. Jeannette works as a painting and drawing instructor at Nickel Plate Arts in Noblesville and also leads workshops at Ignite Studio in Fishers.
OIL PAINTING
Instructor: Walt Thacker
As a self taught oil painter, Walt paints everyday Midwestern scenes in a "surreal" sense with a flair for "years gone by". Walt says, "I've always been a good artist, but in my mid-thirties I got serious about my artwork and thirty years later, I'm at my best!" Ten years ago, Walt was invited to jury into the Hamilton County Artists' Association and has been a member ever since. Until that point, he really didn't have "artist" friends since he was self employed in the food and grocery business in route sales. (It's a whole different crowd.) Being active with HCAA and working with the other "juried" artists, Walt's own artwork has really "blossomed". As artist members of the HCAA , they go out in the public to promote the arts in Hamilton County. "I'm always excited about getting out and showing all my latest works but the love has always been in the painting."
STONEWARE BIRDS
Instructor: Stephanie Dennis
Stephanie Dennis is a California transplant and 13 year resident of Noblesville. Her experience in pottery includes being a student at the IAC in Broad Ripple for 10 years, teaching workshops and selling her art at the Noble Made store in Noblesville. She volunteers to use art as a way to help others heal and to promote joy for local and international non-profit organizations: The Janus Development Center, Restoration Home, Transformation Aglow International and Heart 2 Heart Ministries. She taught the Monday night drawing class at Nickel Plate Arts and continues to do workshops in various media. She also taught K-8th grade art and created a curriculum for both the school and the NPA drawing class. She loves to share her love for clay and is excited to teach the process of hand building clay birds with the Spark! of Creativity on-line this year!
acting with emotions and monologues
Instructor: Ryan T. Shelton
Ryan considers himself, first and foremost, a teacher. He is a 4th-grade teacher for Indiana Connections Academy. Ryan is a teacher, director, set designer, and choreographer for Christian Youth Theatre. He is also the Artistic Director for CYT’s summer camps. If you are interested in youth theatre, go to www.ctyindy.org. Ryan is also a founder of a community theatre troupe: Improbable Fiction Theatre Company. For some virtual acting lessons, check out Ryan’s YouTube channel: LostHen Entertainment.