EDUCATION FACULTY - VISUAL ARTS
216.521.2450 | mplacko@beckcenter.org Melinda is a Cleveland artist, educator, and arts administrator. She earned her BFA in painting from Cleveland Institute of Art, and MFA from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, with focus on public and collaborative art. For over 15 years, she served as a teaching artist in the Cleveland area, partnering with Art House Inc., Boys and Girls Club, and the Center for Arts Inspired Learning. Most recently, she was senior faculty with the Cleveland Print Room, and managed a city-wide photo mentoring program for teens. She currently maintains her studio at the Hildebrandt Artist Collective in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood. Her artwork combines drawing, painting, collage, and public art, and was exhibited at MetroHealth and University Hospitals, Survival Kit at West 78th Street, and Zygote Press, among others. Most recently, she was senior faculty with the Cleveland Print Room, and managed a city-wide photo mentoring program for teens. She currently maintains her studio at the Hildebrandt Artist Collective in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood, where she paints, dances, plays the piano, and collaborates with studio-mates. She knows creative outlets save lives and is proud to be encouraging creativity in her hometown.
Suzanne Ambro – Pottery
Susan holds a BA in Art History from Ohio University and longtime pottery instructor at Beck Center and other community education programs in the Cleveland area. Her pottery pieces have been exhibited in the Beck Center annual Faculty Exhibition.
Ryan Finley – Cartooning, Drawing, Multi-media
Ryan Finley is a professional sketch card artist, published illustrator, freelance illustrator, visual arts instructor, girl dad, husband and nerd from Northeast Ohio. He currently creates Star Wars sketch cards for Topps and Marvel sketch cards for Upper Deck. Throughout his career he has also worked on other titles such as TMNT, Scooby-Doo, Stranger Things, Aliens, Predator and X-Files. His love for pop culture/comics shows through in his work along with his classroom projects. Ryan travels to comic conventions selling his original art, prints and sketch cards. His art has been published in art books, raised money for local charities, and has been displayed in several local galleries. He has also painted numerous murals in the Northeast Ohio area. Learn more about Ryan Finley’s work at ArtByRyanFinley.com
Cassandra Harner – Drawing
Cassandra attended Indiana University Bloomington where she holds aa Bachelor of Fine Arts in Digital Art, and also a Bachelors in East Asian Language and Culture with a Minor in Linguistics. She is an artist, designer, and performer freelancing in illustration, design, graphics, video, & content creation. She also tells compelling stories through comics and publications. Cassandra has taught across Northeast Ohio in the areas of drawing, comics, and pastel portraits. In addition to teaching, she has held the positions of Lead Screen Printer at Hip Hues, and also Lead Portrait Artist at Kaman Art Shoppes. Follow her @charnerart on Instagram.
Jocelynn Mejstrik, Early Childhood, Kids-n-Create lives in Fairview Park, Ohio with her husband, two German Shepherds, and two cats. She is currently working on a master's in counseling and art therapy at Ursuline College. Jocelynn loves working with children and providing a creative and safe place for self-expression.
Tanya Anne Long – Pottery
is a ceramicist and sculptor originally from New York and currently residing in Cleveland, Ohio. She received her MFA in ceramics from Cranbrook Academy of Art and her BFA from Pratt Institute. In 2017 she was awarded a U.S. Fulbright Grant, which enabled her to travel to Hungary for one year to pursue independent research in visual arts and design. Her work with ceramics has taken her abroad numerous times, including participation in artist residencies at the European Ceramic Work Centre (EKWC) in the Netherlands, the Guldagergaard Ceramic Research Center in Denmark, and the International Ceramic Studio in Hungary. She has held teaching positions at the University of Akron, University of Pécs in Hungary, and ceramics classes for youth and adults at several community art centers across the Midwest. Learn more at www.tanyaannelong.com
Linda Merchant Pearce – Life Drawing and Oil Painting
Linda holds an M.S. in Special Education from National University and a B.A. in Anthropology with a minor in Chinese from Youngstown State University. With a focus on historical and archaeological research, Linda dedicates herself to learning and teaching traditional painting techniques, including pigment-making, spinning with drop spindle and spinning wheel, weaving, inkle loom, card weaving, lucet, calligraphy and illumination. Her paintings have won many Best in Show awards, and she has also exhibited in national juried shows. She teaches throughout Northeast Ohio at many arts centers and is also Beck Center’s Gallery Coordinator. Learn more about Linda’s work at www.lamgallery.com
Paul Passano – Watercolors
Mr. Passano holds a BFA from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and a Teaching Certification from Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio. He has been a classroom teacher where the history and practice of art were always features of his classes. He continued his artistic training through studies with several successful Cleveland area artists, including John Carlson, Patricia Sigmier, and Richard Treaster. He is inspired by the works of Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, Jackson Pollock, Andrew Wyeth, and Vermeer. His artwork has been exhibited in shows in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and especially Maryland where he spent a great deal of time drawing inspiration from sailing on the Chesapeake Bay. Although he primarily works in watercolors, other mediums used in his work include oil, colored pencil, charcoal, and pen and ink.
Samantha Reveley – Cartooning
Sam is a freelance cartoonist and art educator who resides in Lakewood, Ohio. She graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2013 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sequential Art, a degree that emphasizes visual storytelling, creative writing, and comic illustration. Sam Reveley has been exhibited internationally as a sequential artist, co-created numerous independently-published comic books, and has served as a public art educator since 2010 for the Museum of Contemporary Art: Cleveland, the SCAD Museum of Art, and the Center for Art-Inspired Learning. Her aspiration is to start-up the first independent digital comics focused publishing house in Cleveland. Co-creator credits include “Steelfoot Fin and the Last Oil Well” (published digitally), “Seeds of Valor” (in print by the Transitions Comic Anthology), a
Patricia Sigmier - Watercolor, Drawing
Patricia holds a BFA from Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana. She is a signature member of the Ohio Watercolor Society. She instructs Watercolor Painting, Color Theory in Watercolor, Botanical Painting, and Portrait Painting in Watercolor. Patricia also teaches Plein air painting for the Case Western Reserve University’s Continuing Education Department. She enjoys teaching art classes for local private groups and has exhibited in numerous juried shows.
Alastair Stockdale – Cartooning, Painting
Alastair has a BA in Arts Education from Cleveland State University and a graduate with Summa Cum Laude honors. He recently received his teaching license and has done collaborative work with the Cleveland Artists Foundation, Cleveland Museum of Art, and Beck Center along with various school districts such as Fairview, Berea, Parma, and the Cleveland Municipal School District. Here at Beck Center has worked in the areas of visual arts education, outreach education, and creative art therapies. His artwork continues to be exhibited and was last seen in the most recent faculty art show. Al has been moving chairs and unlocking doors at the Beck Center since 2005 while working behind the scenes at virtually every major event. Learn more about Alastair’s work at www.misteral.org.
Hector Castellanos Lara is a painter and community artist working with a variety of arts and cultural programs in the Greater Cleveland area. He worked with Escuela Popular, where he coordinated art exhibitions of emerging Latinx artists from northeast Ohio, as well as working with Latin artists to exhibit for the first time in Cleveland. From these experiences, he worked with the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Parade the Circle, Chalk Festival, and WInter Lights. He was artist-in-residence at the Allen Memorial Art Museum in Oberlin as an artist-in-residence and outreach artist in schools and community centers across Cleveland and Columbus. Born and raised in Guatemala, Hector is now a Cleveland artist, maintaining his studio in the Hildebrandt Artist Collective. He is the Artistic Director of both Parade the Circle and Dia de Muertos, in close partnership with Cleveland Public Theater, and currently teaches an Alebrijes Sculpture class at the Beck Center.
Kristen Newell (they/her) is a versatile process artist whose primary focus is ceramic sculpture. They work and teach in Cleveland, Ohio, at their studio in the Hildebrandt Artist Collective. They graduated with a BA from University of Vermont and gained further education in the ceramics field through artist residency and internship at Brick Ceramics and Design Studio. Kristen's work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions around North East Ohio in galleries including Wolfs, Waterloo Arts, Abattoir, Gallery 202, and in the CAN Triennial. They have works in collections including Curated Storefront Akron, and the Cleveland Art Association. Kristen offers students joy in creativity, with a range of projects including sculpted planters, ceramic murals and handmade toys and games.
Justin Pintabona is a visual artist from Northeast Ohio. A lifelong creator, his specialty is digital art, informed by thorough practice in traditional painting, drawing and draftsmanship. A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art with a BFA in Illustration, he currently works as head of mentorship and training for University Tees, a locally-based screen-printed apparel company for college students. He also produces sculpture and promotional material for IngenuityFest, a celebration of Cleveland's creative energies. He lives in Lakewood with his cats Taco, Spice, and Pepper, along with an entire stable of bikes.
Michael is a visual artist, educator and curator. For over two decades he organized artistic events ranging from gallery shows to live music performances. Michael owned and curated 2020 W Schaaf Gallery in Cleveland’s Old Brooklyn neighborhood. He loves sharing his favorite artists with young children to inspire a wide range of artmaking including painting, sculpture, and mixed media art made with recycled materials.
Kurt graduated from Cleveland Institute of Art with his BFA in printmaking and was the recipient of the Otto F Ege award for academic excellence. He also attended Cooper School of Art in Cleveland. He works primarily in still life, landscapes, and abstracts. Mediums include watercolor, gouache, acrylic, collage, digital, monoprint and linocut. Kurt also works as a fine craftsman at the Cleveland Museum of Art.