Instructors

Brett received his B.F.A. in Painting from KCAI in 1989 and an interdisciplinary M.A. with an emphasis in creative writing from Goddard College in 1999. He continues to paint and has shown extensively on the east coast, including Boston and New York. Brett is currently represented by the Hallar Gallery here in Kansas City. View his work at http://web.mac.com/goomoontwo/iWeb/Brett%27sworld .

 

Ed has focused his artwork in the medium of watercolor. His work hangs in the Watergate Gallery, Washington, D.C. and in many corporate and private collections. Ed studied here at KCAI, as well as the University of Wisconsin and Marquette University. He has conducted painting workshops throughout the United States and Western Europe. Ed's work is available at www.WatercolorExcitement.com.

 

Alisha holds a B.F.A. in illustration from the Kansas City Art Institute. She is a community muralist working primarily in ethnic and historical themes. In addition she exhibits her paintings, which focus on cross-cultural symbolism. She is currently the art education curator for the Mattie Rhodes Center, and for the past eight years she has worked with various age groups in the school system through workshops and her mural projects.

 

Anne graduated with a business degree from the University of Kansas with a minor in Art. She continued her art education with painting classes at KCAI and other locations. Anne now pursues art full-time. She has exhibited at a variety of local and national venues. You can view Anne's work at www.annegarneypaintings.com.

 

Doug is a nationally recognized photographer with over 30 years experience in the areas of commercial photography, photojournalism and fine art photography. He has won over 300 national and regional awards for his work.

 

Valda earned a B.F.A. with honors in illustration from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena California. She has worked at Hallmark Cards in the specialty design section. Valda currently teaches art and language at the Chinese School of Greater Kansas City and KCAI.

 

Linda holds B.F.A., M.A. and M.F.A. degrees in painting and photography. Before moving back to Kansas City in 2002, Light taught art and was founder and owner of the Santa Fe School of Art in Santa Fe, NM. She has been an art instructor on the university and college levels for 15 years, serving on the faculty at Fort Hays State University.

 

Lynn has a B.F.A. from the University of Kansas in fashion illustration and design and an M.A. from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in printmaking. She has taught in the Kansas City area for more than 30 years. She shows her drawings, paintings and prints locally at the Morgan Gallery and throughout the U.S. in invitational and juried shows. She has studied in Italy and Greece and maintains studios in the Kansas City area and in Florida. You may view her work at www.lynnmanos.com.

 

Nancy has her M.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute in Chicago. She has taught classes in the Kansas City area in painting and drawing.

 

Lisa received a B.S. from the University of Florida and her B.F.A. in Illustration at Ringling School of Art and Design with emphasis on botanical illustration and commercial art. She works as a freelance illustrator for a variety of clients and has had work published in several professional publications.

 

Rachel Mindrup is a professional artist and illustrator. She has many corporate clients and has illustrated numerous children’s books through various publishing companies She received her B.F.A. from the University of Nebraska-Kearney and continued her education at the Los Angeles Academy of Art. To view more of her work, visit her website at www.RMindrup.com.

 

Evin has a B.F.A. from KCAI and an M.F.A. from Queens College of the City University of New York. In addition he attended woodworking and woodturning classes at the Craft Students League in New York City. Evin has worked as a designer/builder for residential and commercial pieces as well as doing restoration and repair work. Currently he works freelance in woodworking and teaches in the degree program at KCAI.

 

Pat has over 29 years of teaching drawing, painting, life drawing and portfolio development to high school students. She helped her students develop portfolios to gain acceptance into schools and portfolios that earned them millions of scholarship dollars.

 

Beverly is a full-time practicing artist with an M.F.A. from the University of California-Santa Barbara. She has shown in numerous one-person, group and juried exhibitions, winning many prizes. Presently, she is represented by The Source Fine Arts in Westport; Eva Reynolds Fine Arts In Overland Park; Dorothy Solomon Gallery in New York City; and Jane Hamilton Gallery in Tucson. Beverly has been teaching for various groups in California and Kansas City for the last twenty-five years. Bev's work is available at www.evareynoldsfinearts.com and www.themaxgallery.com/Nichols/nichols.html.

 

Desmond graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a B.F.A. in graphic design. After working in the sportswear, advertising, greeting card, and print industries, he attended Kansas State University for graduate school, graduating with a Masters in Landscape Architecture. When designing gardens, he prefers to bring to bear the visual lessons learned from the graphic arts to create bold, striking
outdoor spaces.

 

Betsy has a B.F.A. degree and M.F.A degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Most recently she taught at Washburn University as the Catron Professor of Art. Betsy’s primary focus is fiber sculpture/installation art.

Craig Sands
Craig has more than 20 years as a professional photographer in the Kansas City area. After working for The Kansas City Star for eight years, he now owns his own photographic business. His work and additional information is available at www.craigsandsphoto.com.

Dennis Soden
Dennis has his M.A. degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia and is formerly KCAI’s Central Shop director. He has more than 10 years experience teaching continuing education furniture workshop classes at KCAI.