Instructors Bravo School of Art

BEA BARABAS has enjoyed art in all its forms for most of her life. She has a degree in Elementary Education, but has shifted her main focus to making art. She has taken numerable classes and workshops across the country, making creativity a constant in her life. Bea’s explorations in art have included weaving, paper fabrication, silk painting, jewelry design, mosaic and any combination of the above. Currently, she focuses on creating new ways to showcase memories; using collage and mosaic techniques. Bea exhibits her jewelry and artwork at The Grove in the South Park neighborhood of San Diego.

LISA BEBI is a contemporary visual fine artist who works predominantly with paint, papers and mixed media with a strong inclination toward creating personal intimate works and color. Her award winning artwork has been featured widely in magazines, galleries and is held in private collections all over the globe. Her work has been shown in solo and group shows nationally. Lisa received her B.A. in fine art from San Diego State University in 1977. Later studied art at the College of Art in London. Visit her website at www.lisabebi.com

DENISE BONAIMO creates jewelry from a vast array of materials from precious metals and gemstones to re-purposed found objects, such as vintage board games and antique metal. This Brooklyn girl, by way of the Jersey shore, participates in several art gallery exhibitions each year and is active in promoting the thriving San Diego art scene. With a strong aspiration to share her knowledge of jewelry making with others, Denise offers year round jewelry classes and workshops for adults, children and seniors in the comfort of your own home and at a variety of art schools in and around San Diego County. Visit her website at www.bonaimo.com

SALLIE BROWN earned an an Associate degree in ART from San Diego State University. She also has a California education / teaching degree. During her 11 years of private and public school teaching, she has taught many art classes throughout San Diego’s city and county school districts. Sallie loves playing music and traveling and believes there is nothing better than enjoying family and friends. She is a member of the Alpine Chamber of Commerce where she serves as chairwoman for the Ambassador group. She is also a sales director for Mary Kay Cosmetics and loves ‘changing the faces of people’s future’ with MK products. Sallie is married to the man of her dreams.

SONYA DEVINE is an artist who works in painting, sculpture, print making, and mixed media. She has developed tile mosaic and painted mural projects at schools. Her paintings can be found in San Diego restaurants, law firms, day spas, resorts, retirement communities, and many private residences. Since moving to San Diego in 1993, Sonya has participated in ArtWalk, gallery exhibitions, and has even painted a North Park utility box. Having children began a love of children’s art, so in 1992 Ms. Devine turned to teaching art in San Diego City Schools. Sonya claims that art is something that can be part of everyday life, not an escape. She loves to come up with new possibilities and solutions, looking at what is familiar and seeing it anew. In doing art, we get to experience imagination. Plus, it’s very fun

LAUREN BECKER DOWNEY holds a BFA in Weaving and Textile Design from Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. She also studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and the University of Utah. For many years, she exhibited woven tapestries and painted fabrics of abstract, nonrepresentational imagery. Lauren now uses Mosaics and Painted Furniture as the medium for her expression. As one of the Founder’s of Bravo School of Art, the Director of Workshops at the Art Academy of San Diego, and the former owner of Bravo Gallery and Bravo Workshop, Lauren has been involved in San Diego’s arts community since 1990. She has been teaching art and fine crafts to adults throughout San Diego County since 1992.

CHRISTIE DUNNING creates in a variety of media and techniques including fabric, paper, and hand-woven wire. After earning an AA in Business Administration from San Diego Mesa College and some informative but uninspiring years in the corporate world, she left it for the structure and predictability of an artist’s life. That quest led to an AB in Art Education and an MFA in Studio Art/Fiber/Textile Techniques in Metal from San Diego State University. Her artwork and jewelry creations have been published in numerous books, including 50 Years at Haystack…, International Textile Design and Fiber Arts Design Book Five. Magazines featuring her unique work include American Craft, Surface Design Journal, Handwoven, and Shuttle, Spindle and Dyepot. In addition to her studio work, Christie mentors future artists, interior and fashion designers by teaching workshops in weaving, surface design on fabric, and textile science

ANNE GAFFEY has been creating decorative functional art for commercial and residential clients since 1989. In 2005, Anne participated in The Whale Trail creating a whimsical whale for Niantic Main Street. Anne’s paintings, decorative furniture, lamps, mosaic tables and floor cloths have been prominently displayed in ASID Designer Showcase Homes, Williams-Sonoma, Loew’s Coronado Bay Resort and the Mary Birch Hospital for Women in San Diego. Anne’s art has been featured in Better Homes and Gardens, San Diego Home & Gardens, San Diego Décor & Style, the San Diego Union Tribune Homescape section and The Lyme Times. She has donated her work to many non-profit organizations including The Children’s Museum Fairy Tale Ball, Alliance for Living, East Lyme Youth Services, Lyme Academy of Fine Art, Niantic Main Street, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Design With A Purpose in Rancho Santa Fe, and the San Diego Children’s Museum. Originally from California, Anne lives in southeastern Connecticut with her husband and two children and their golden retriever Marley.

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! She’s currently working with watercolor, pastel and mixed media creating contemporary images on paper along with a series of Icon folklore triptychs with wood, watermedia and found object construction. Helen’s watercolor illustrations have graced the cover brochures, garden articles and advertisements of numerous International resorts and magazines. Awards include four San Diego Press Club First Place Awards of Excellence in Illustration for San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles Magazine. Helen holds a BA degree in Fine Arts and currently teaches college level watercolor and acrylic painting. www.helenshafergarcia.com www.agavelatte.blogspot.com

RISA GETTLER combines her career in Graphic Design with her lifelong study of Letter Arts. She has studied calligraphy in America, Italy and Spain. Risa has been a guest on radio and television discussing the joys of creating and teaching Calligraphy. Her calligraphy artwork is in juried exhibits from coast to coast and featured in international art publications. www.risagettler.com

JILL HALL is a creativity consultant, artist and writer. She facilitates groups and teaches workshops for aspiring and practicing artists of all types. Her career as a public school educator spanned over twenty years incorporating her interests in the arts along the way. She has been an arts magnet resource teacher as well as on staff with the California Arts Project. With a passion for creating as well as teaching, Jill’s mixed media mosaics can be found in private homes, galleries and downtown street corners. Stage performances range from Macbeth to Music Man and a recent accomplishment is the completion of her first novel. Jill is Past President of San Diego Writers, Ink and serves on Eveoke Dance Theatre’s Board of Directors and the San Diego Foundation’s Arts and Culture Working Group. She holds an Ed.D. from Northern Arizona University and a masters from the University of San Diego.

LAURA HANSEN is an artist and Expressive Arts facilitator. She offers SoulCollage® workshops, Intuitive Painting workshops, International Creativity and Yoga Retreats, and other Expressive and Healing Arts classes and services. She is especially interested in the intersection of art and spirituality and creating environments where people can learn to listen to and trust their intuition, inner knowing, and rediscover how nourishing it is to engage in creativity as play. As the former owner and director of a leading eldercare company, Laura knows from personal experience the importance of work/life balance and finding ways to nourish our inner lives in the midst of demanding outer lives. Her background includes a Masters in Clinical Social Work, a degree in Studio Arts, 15 years of yoga and Vipassana meditation practice, and graduate studies in Expressive Arts. Laura is a Master Facilitator of The Intuitive Painting Process and a Registered SoulCollage® Facilitator. www.artandsoul.us.com

MISTY HAWKINS completed her Bachelor's degree in painting at San Diego State University and her Master's degree in Drawing and Painting at Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. The focus of her work is mainly figurative, making drawings and paintings of the body to express various states of human experience. She also makes portraits that capture the likeness, feeling and character of an individual. Oil paint, charcoal, and pastel are Misty’s favorite mediums. Her portraits and figurative paintings are in the private collections of people who feel a personal connection with her artwork. Misty also enjoys teaching for the San Diego Community College District and the San Diego Art Department. mistyhawkinsart.net

SHARON HINCKLEY is originally from the Washington, DC area and is a graduate of Stanford University. She has traveled the world painting & teaching “on location” wherever she goes. In the manner of the Impressionists and “Plein-Aire” painters, her work is done from life. Sharon now lives in La Jolla, CA with her husband and “fur people”. For eight years, she was a featured Artist with the La Jolla Historical Society’s Secret Garden Tour. An award winning Artist, she has had numerous one-woman shows and her work is represented in many private and corporate collections including Bank of America, San Diego Children’s Hospital and the Taipei National Museum of History. Sharon is the author of North Light Books’ Watercolor Basics: Painting Flowers, and a contributor to The Big Fat Book of Watercolor Basics. She always prefers to work from life. Her “plein-air” style of painting reflects her love of Light and Color. Her vivid watercolors reflect the beauty in our world. In addition to her love of art, Sharon is also a registered and Certified Hatha Yoga Instructor as well as a Dahn Energy Instructor; teaching at the YMCA Firehouse and the JCC, both in La Jolla. Visit Sharon’s website at SharonHinkley.com

MIDGE HYDE is a San Diego artist. Her education includes a fine arts/liberal arts degree from SDSU with studies in Hamburg and London. She has artwork and commissions in private collections in San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Canada and Kuwait. She loves vibrant color and experimenting with different kinds of media. Midge has taught art to all ages, from young children at the Children's Museum and after school programs to older adults through Cuyamaca College. She is listed in the Cambridge Who's Who. Visit Midge’s website at www.midgehyde.com

NANCY ISBELL has been a full time artist since 1972. After graduating from Humboldt State University, with honors and a bachelor's degree in art, she began a career in art at Sea World as an illustrator and graphic artist designing gifts and souvenirs. In 1974 she traveled to the Virgin Islands where she worked at an advertising agency as a graphic artist and illustrator. In 1976, after completing a teacher credential for teaching art, instead of teaching she began painting large works on restaurant walls, traveling all over the United States.Since 1980 Nancy has been providing artistic services to clients: Murals, Trompe' l Oeil, Faux Finishes, Carousel Restoration, Signage, Illustration, Watercolors, Oils. The work ranges from canvas paintings, to large murals. Nancy has traveled extensively to restaurants and homes around the country, decorating walls with her own style of scenery and trompe l’ oeil.Nancy's favorite challenge is to create a mood through the use of her own imagined idyllic settings. Some of the tangible results are in the form of murals, found in private residences, schools and businesses. In addition to producing artwork, she has been teaching seminars and classes in art techniques to adults and children in private lessons, summer camps, and in the public schools.Trained by the San Diego Unified School District in ways to implement the CA Visual Arts Standards, Nancy has been presenting visual art lessons to elementary teachers as part of a teacher training program since 2003.www.nancyisbellarts.com

CAROL LANG is the Director of the Rancho Buena Vista Adobe Gallery in Vista and was charter president of the Misti Washington Gourd & Basket Guild. She has been collecting and researching the art of basketry since the early 1970’s, and has won awards at the Association of Michigan Basketmakers, California Gourd Society, and the Del Mar Fair. Her work is in collections throughout the United States and in Australia.

BHAVNA MEHTA left the corporate world in 2008 to become a full-time artist. She draws constantly, and also paints and collages, always trying to push herself further into exploring the natural world, her surroundings, family and memories. She is the education co-coordinator for San Diego Book Arts and also teaches children and adults privately in her studio, giving her students the skills needed to take a project from start to finish. Visit Bhavna's websites at www.hansaarts.com and www.bhavnamehta.com

THIA NEVIUS grew up in Studio City, California. After receiving an MFA from Colorado State University she painted sets for the Santa Fe Opera and taught art at Santa Fe Community College. Since moving to San Diego she has taught art for many years including The Bishop’s School in La Jolla, UCSD Extension, The Art Department, ARTS: A Reason to Survive, and the Athenaeum. Thia has traveled extensively in Asia, Europe and South America including living in the Philippines for two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Her work has been featured in numerous group and solo exhibitions where she has won Awards of Excellence and Best of Show. Among the publications that have featured her work include Art and the Creative Process, UCSD press, and Davis Publications, books for art educations, in The Davis Visuals, volume on Light, Worcester, Mass. She is an active member of the San Diego art community and her work has hung regularly at the San Diego Art Institute and the San Diego Art Department. Her work can be seen in important private and corporate collections including McDonald’s Corporate Offices in Japan, the Hilton Hotel Collection in California and the Permanent Collection at Colorado State University. www.ThiaArtist.com

SHARON NOVAK has been an artist and metalsmith for over thirty years. She earned an MFA from SDSU, a BFA from the State University of New York at New Paltz, and an Associate of Arts from San Diego Mesa College. Inspired by nature’s palette of colors and texture, Sharon thinks like a painter when working with metal. Her mixed-media assemblages juxtapose archetypal symbols in metal with paint, collage, and found elements. Sharon’s artwork includes sculpture, masks, metal collage, drawings, jewelry and ornaments. She’s been teaching art throughout San Diego since 1989 and has exhibited in the US, Europe and Japan.

ROBIN SANFORD ROBERTS is a theatrical scenic designer and artist working in models and mixed media. She has designed for Broadway, Old Globe Theatre, San Diego Rep, Arizona Theatre Company, San Jose’ Repertory and Swine Palace Productions. Robin has been a guest teacher for the Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, UCSD, MiraCosta college and was on faculty for 6 years at the University of San Diego. She holds a degree in architecture from LSU and a MFA in scenic design from UCSD. www.arizonastreet.com/robin

KAREN STEINBERG received her Bachelor’s degree in Design from the State University of New York, College at Buffalo. She managed her own highly successful textile design studio for nineteen years, creating prints for fabric, for both the apparel and home furnishings industries. When the textile industry moved most of its design operations overseas, she shifted over to interior design, assisting many of her clients with everything from color consulting, drapery design and furniture selection, to kitchen and bath remodels. Karen worked for Expo Design Center as a whole house designer for five years. She currently operates her own independent interior decorating firm called KLSDesign. Karen has taught weaving, textile printing and painting to high school students at Belvoir Terrace Fine Arts School for Girls in Lenox, Mass; a Business Practice workshop to artists at the California Mart in Los Angeles and gave many design seminars at Expo Design Center on current trends and on product information. Painting borders around verses started when a friend first saw Karen’s textile design portfolio and wanted her to create a design using similar beautiful floral patterns around a special poem.

JUNE RUBIN is a graduate of Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA. Ms. Rubin has worked as an illustrator, art director, fine artist and art educator since the '80s. She has designed everything from gift wrap, tote bags, book covers to t-shirts. She has taught art to kids at the Children's Museum San Diego as well as through Bravo Workshop and the local recreation centers.She loves working in watercolor and collage. Inspired by her world travel and the beauty of San Diego. She is a member of the San Diego Watercolor Society and has exhibited there as well as at the Athenaeum and the Southwest Artists Association. www.junerubin.com

TES SHEA is a mixed media artist who works in glass, fiber, silver metal clay, paint and Adobe software. Like many artists, she is inspired by her faith and the beauty of nature. Her education in art is a random mixture of mentorship, adult education and self-discovery. Tes earned her “Master Training Specialist Insignia” in the U.S. Navy and in 2007 became a certified metal clay instructor through Art Clay World, USA. Her work has been featured in The Crafts Report and Fired Arts and Crafts magazine. Currently She is co-editor of Metal Clay Today, an online magazine devoted to metal clay artists and their art. During the day, Tes assists a variety of clients with their administrative and organizational through her company Administrative Eloquence.

NADINE SPIER is an award-winning fiber artist and instructor. She works in a variety of fiber mediums, and her elaborately woven vessels and sculptures are displayed internationally in solo, invitational and juried shows. She has an impressive record of exhibitions and awards including the Handweavers’ Guild of America Award of Excellence, many First Places, Best of Show and Juror’s Choice. Nadine lectures and teaches at museums, weaving conferences, universities, and community colleges in the U.S. and Canada. Her work has been published in numerous magazines, newspapers, and in "500 Baskets: A Celebration of the Basketmaker’s Art" by Lark Books (2006). In 2002 Nadine was featured on the Discovery Channel. www.nadinespier.com

ANNA STUMP is an artist and arts educator living in San Diego. She earned her Bachelor’s degree at Occidental College and her master of Fine Arts at San Diego State University. She was a Senior Fulbright Scholar to the Fine Arts Department at Anadolu University in Eskisehir, Turkey in 2006-2007. She currently teaches studio and art history courses at San Diego City College and Grossmont College. Anna’s blog, "Kloe Among the Turks", examines the art scene in Southern California and Turkey, as well as issues of arts education. She recently curated an exhibition of 100 artists from Southern California and 100 artists from Turkey, which was shown in San Diego, Los Angeles, Istanbul and Ankara.

www.kloeamongtheturks.blogspot.com and www.annastump.blogspot.com

JOHN THURSTON began his training in Photography at the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts in 1969. As a teenager, he taught children's art classes with artist Joe Nyiri at the San Diego Zoo. John studied Fine Arts and Earth Sciences at UC Santa Cruz, and returned to San Diego to get a practical degree in Information Systems from San Diego City College in 1985. For many years he worked as a Technical Editor for Hughes Aircraft Company in the Graphics and Marketing Departments. Finding that Rocket Science wasn't his real calling in life, he recently rediscovered his love of Photography. John has exhibited his award winning photographs at the Del Mar International Photography Exhibitions, the Mia Italia Exhibition at the Italian Community Center in Little Italy, and City College's Student Photography Exhibitions. John works in traditional Film and Digital Photography.

SUSAN TWOHY has been creating, teaching and selling her wearable art since 1972. She is originally from Portland, Oregon with extensive workshops in fiber arts at Oregon School of Arts and Crafts, Multnomah Art School and Portland's Museum of Art School. She is now a creative instructor at Monart School of Arts, Children’s Creative Workshop and currently has her own "SuSu Boothtique", selling her creations at art/craft shows and farmers markets around San Diego.

CYNDA VALLE has been painting with oils for over 30 years; first in Los Angeles and currently in Mendocino County. She earned her BFA in Painting from Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. Her work has been featured in Art News, Art in America, and American Artist Magazines. Cynda is represented by "The Electric Rose" in Healdsburg, CA and SFMOMA Artists Gallery at Fort Mason in San Francisco. She has taught at Scripps and Pomona Colleges as well as the Claremont Graduate School. She is the fourth generation of Valles from San Diego and is currently teaching at Mendocino College and residing with her family in Willits, CA.

JULIE WARREN earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Studio Art from Michigan State University. She works in a wide range of media including painting, drawing photography and printmaking. Julie has been employed in graphic design since arriving in California in 1983. Currently, she is an adjunct Professor of Graphic Design at San Diego City College and her recent courses include digital media and web design. As a long time printmaker, Julie is able to write backwards. See samples of printmaking at

http://www.juliewarren.net/fineartprints.html

DUKE WINDSOR has always been drawn to the arts. His earliest work, a drawing done at the age of five, is still on display at his childhood home. He hasn’t stopped creating since. Creative endeavors permeate his soul. Art is his “dharma”, his purpose in life, so in 1986, Duke opened his first art studio in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter. He has developed his art throughout a wide range of subject matter and mediums. Duke has produced a variety of commissioned and historical pieces in different media including oils, acrylic, watercolors and linocut block prints. Since 1999, his successful series of Urban-scapes have been exhibited, received awards at numerous juried exhibitions, group shows and corporate venues in San Diego and Southern California, and they are held in many private collections throughout the U.S. and Europe. These award-winning, representational urban scenes are directly connected to his newest series of works. Duke has been developing his creative abilities through his association with the San Diego Fine Arts Society’s mentorship program. Ready for a change, under the guidance of his mentor Yoram Gil, he has made a major shift in a series of groundbreaking non-representational works. His studio is located in North Park in San Diego, CA. www.dukewindsor.net

ANNE WOLF is a nationally recognized metals artist and photographer based in San Diego. Her work has been shown in venues from the Deutsches Goldschmiedehaus in Hanau, Germany, to the National Ornamental Metals Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. Recent shows in California include “New West Coast Design” at Velvet da Vinci, San Francisco, and a solo show at Noel-Baza Fine Art in Little Italy, San Diego. Anne Wolf trained under Helen Shirk and Arline Fisch at San Diego State University, receiving her MFA in 1999. Anne teaches the art and craft of metalsmithing at Southwestern College in Chula Vista as well as at her private studio, the Ray Street Annex. www.raystreetannex.com