Carman is an illustrator and storyteller who has been teaching with the Johns Creek Arts Center for over five years. She specializes in figurative illustrations with themes of fantasy and whimsical wildlife and works in a variety of mediums, but focuses particularly on digital media and pen and ink work. Her lessons focus on drawing techniques that allow for adaptability to different styles, mediums, and subject matter. She blends visual exercises and with information on psychology and biology to help students learn how to see and translate the world around them in their own unique vision, delivered with a quirky sense of humor. When she is not teaching, she acts as the sole proprietor of her illustration business, Carmanda Arts Things, and a co-host of the comedy podcast What the Folklore?

Adult Pottery Instructor, Summer Camp Instructor and Teen Clay Assistant Instructor

I am Catalina Gomez-Beuth, I was born in Medellin, Colombia, where I studied fashion design. My love for art was deepened during my stay in Florence, Italy, where I pursued studies in design.

My culture, life experiences and concerns as a person, as a mother and as a woman serve as inspiration for my pictorial works.

I have lived in the United States since 2000; Since 2010 I reside in Johns Creek, GA with my husband and my two children who have been my permanent source of inspiration. In 2014 I decided to start my carrier as a fine artist thanks to the wonderful people from Johns Creek Art Center.

My work has been exhibited at Johns Creek Art Center, Marietta Museum, MOCA, Carrousel du Louvre, among other institutions and galleries.

I am so excited to start to teach this class for beginners and intermediate level students.

https://www.catalinagomezbeuthart.com/

Isabel Olisamuni is a sculptor and performing artist from Nigeria. She is currently located in Atlanta Georgia, where she earned a BFA in sculpture at the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2021. When she Moved to the United States in 2011, she went through a culture shock that inspired her to create art about her experiences with her focus being fusion and harmony between different cultures. Her work highlights the journey of life through the perspective of a young
immigrant growing up in America. In every sculpture, painting or collage she makes, a story is being told. Over the years, she has created many pieces centered around the idea of harmony
between cultures and traditions she was exposed to as a younger child. Her experiences have also inspired a unique interest in material study, and an eccentric use of found objects in sculpture and
3d art.

Joanne has always had a passion for the arts, but teaching is her true calling.  She looks forward to creating with everyone she teaches and it brings her joy to watch her students unleash their own creativity.Having studied watercolor, painting, drawing and texture art with so many different mentors, it has been a journey to find her own voice and style of art. Creating glass on canvas has been her happiest endeavor.At the Johns Creek Arts Center Joanne teaches youths and adults the joys of painting, writing and mixed media. She is a sought after summer camp instructor and over the years has held several workshops for adults on glass on canvas and acrylic pouring.

Karen was brought up and taught art at home by her mother, an artist in NY. Although her chosen career is a Registered Nurse she has taken many years of art classes during her adult years which included study at the di Domecci Art program. After teaching many years of pre-school, Karen was employed by JCAC to teach after-school art enrichment classes at local schools, as well as Visual Arts Summer Camps. Teaching children is her passion and she has done so in many capacities through the years.

Ceramics instructor to teens and adults alike.

If you are registered for Kathy's Beginner's Guide to Ceramic Glaze. The following book is required: "Amazing Glaze" by Gabriel Kline.

A Johns Creek resident of 30 years, Ketki has alway been artistic.  From raising her 3 kids to working across a variety of medias (crochet to jewelry, colored pencil to ceramics) Ketki’s talent and love of teaching is immediately evident.

Ketki began her love of beading in 2004. She has been teaching bead weaving and jewelry making to adults and kids at our Arts Center for the past 4 years. Her beautiful creations are a staple of our artists’ market.

She had always wanted to “play in the clay” and learn about ceramics.  In 2010 she began her adventure in clay and fell in love with the medium. An instructor in our Clay Studio, you will often find her working along side Cathi Brostrom in the Adult Handbuilding Class on Tuesday nights, teaching at one of our popular summer camps  or just generally helping out to make our Arts Center a beautiful place.

Leslie Rogers Todder has used the medium of silk painting for most of her career as a successful commercial textile print designer in New York City. Her designs have been featured in apparel lines from couture lines of Oscar de la Renta, and Fendi, to mass market womenswear of Chicos, Liz Claiborne, Terri Jon, Maggie London, Adrianna Papell, and Victorias’ Secret. Leslie would walk through a department store like Macys or Saks Fifth Avenue and see her print designs hanging on a rack of dresses, blouses, and swimwear. Leslie uses silk painting and batik as a fine art medium incorporating her skills and techniques developed over her career to create wall hangings, paintings as well as hand painted wearable art. Leslie has shared her expertise in silk painting workshops in NYC as well as in her recent relocated home in suburban Atlanta, Georgia. Leslie also sells her paintings through boutiques, galleries, art shows and her website lesliesilkstudio.com.

Noura Zohbe is a ceramic artist, born and raised in Atlanta, Ga. She received her BFA from Kennesaw State University. Art is both a creative and emotional outlet for Noura. She has found joy in teaching the pottery wheel to adults of all ages and skill levels. She wants nothing more than to spread her love of clay with the world.

My art journey started in 1994 after years of heavy computer use in architectural offices. I found that I was losing touch with many of the drawing and presentation skills developed earlier in my career. It was also apparent to me that the world was being oversaturated with digital images and now AI is taking over. So I set out to re-tool my skills to allow for a more human and personal response. Watercolor painting and charcoal sketching have helped me regain this touch.

Sketching through subject matter that I find interesting is where I start my process. If I feel there is a clear enough idea emerging from the drawings, I start a series of paintings. With each study I refocus my response. I explore what is there in earlier studies and move to more simplification as I further understand the essence of the idea.

The most important elements of the subject matter I choose is proportion and shapes defined by the lighting. I usually zoom into an area of particular interest. It is this discovery of the extraordinary in the world around me that keeps my artistic journey energized.

In seeking to improve my work, I’ve attended workshops, figure drawing classes and submitted my work to juried exhibitions. I am currently a signature member of the Georgia Watercolor Society where I have been fortunate enough to win first and fourth place ribbons in their national exhibitions and a first place ribbon in a members show. I have also had paintings exhibited in North Carolina, Kentucky, California, Colorado and in an international exhibition in NYC.

Summer was raised in Southern California and earned an M.F.A in Painting from UCLA, where she was fortunate to study under a faculty of famous artists. She was a K-!2 Art teacher with Los Angeles Municipal school district. After moving to Atlanta, she taught courses in art and design at The Art Institute of Atlanta for over twenty years. She has also taught painting courses at community art centers, such as Spruill Center for the Arts, Norcross Art Gallery, Suwannee Arts Center and at The Art Center,Johns Creek. She continues to teach and tutor painting classes on a part time basis.

Currently Summer is pursuing a career as a professional artist, exhibiting her work in over seven galleries in the Atlanta area. She also serves as a board member on non-profit art organizations.

Learn more about Summer by reading her interview: "Conversations with Summer Lowe and Voyage ATL" you can also visit Summer's website at https://www.summerloweartist.com/

Tammy discovered her love of clay while taking an elective college course in 1995. Since then, she has been on a path of learning and growing through using a wide variety of clays, glazes and techniques.

“My journey with clay has become a metaphor for my life: I fluctuate between light, elegant, porcelain pieces and earthy, textural, stoneware pieces. It parallels my quest to raise my consciousness to the heavens yet keep my feet firmly planted on the ground.”

Tammy has exhibited her work and placed in a variety of art shows, has taught pottery classes and currently sells her work in galleries and artists’ markets in Atlanta, GA and Flagstaff, AZ.

www.tjpots.com

Amanda Rountree is a performer, teacher, and director of improvised theatre and storytelling with over 30 years of experience. She is a former faculty member of the famed Second City Training Center in Chicago. She also performed and taught with Unexpected Productions and Playback Theater Northwest in Seattle. To learn more about Amanda, please visit amandarountree.com.

Dynamic Drawing and Summer Camp Instructor

I was lucky enough to start taking classes at JCAC in early 2008. After being involved in the Ceramics department I was asked to teach a kids Clay class, so my teaching journey began. In the past few years I began teaching Adults also. I believe each student should be given the opportunity to express their own creativity so I present a project and let the student add their own magic to create their own piece of art. I love seeing personalities come out, it has become my passion. We will learn the basics of the ceramics process from raw clay to glazing and firing. The finished artwork becomes a piece you can treasure. We will be making both functional and fun pieces. I hope to introduce the same curiosity and love for ceramics to all of my students!

A graduate of the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida, Debra began her career as a fashion illustrator and graphic designer. Later she discovered a book on colored pencil in a library and fell in love with the medium. Now she stays busy with portrait commissions and nature drawings. As time allows, she teaches an occasional art class, and her artwork has been published in several art magazines and books. Debra is a juried member of the Portrait Society of Atlanta, a signature member of CPSA, president of the Atlanta Chapter of the CPSA and a CPSA International Award Winner.

Jae Montano, CRI®, CRFI®

Jae Montano is a Certified Ross Instructor® and Certified Ross Floral Instructor®.

With a serious passion for painting, Jae specializes in landscape and floral oil paintings, utilizing techniques inspired by Bob Ross.

Jae believes painting has the power to make you happy, and she loves sharing that experience with others. What Jae loves the most about teaching is showing people that anyone can paint while having an enjoyable experience! Her technique is designed to make you feel at ease and confident with your brushstrokes. Remember, there are no mistakes, only happy accidents!

Jae is heavily inspired by the Bob Ross style of art that was immensely popular in the USA through the highly successful series "The Joy of Painting", which was hosted by Mr. Ross and ran on PBS from the 80s through the early 90s. Bob Ross was a 20-year Air Force Sergeant who became a masterful art teacher and an expert in oil painting. He is also an iconic American, known and loved by millions. He continued to teach until his early passing in 1995.

Jae Montano is passing on Bob Ross's artistic heritage while adding a personal touch and cultural flair to each brushstroke and each step of her artistic journey.  She strived to perfect his style.  She found that painting makes you happy.  This wet-on-wet oil painting is suitable for beginners and advanced artists alike.  There is no need for drawing. No patterns, you just need a canvas, then you’re ready to create your world.  Every time you paint, you will find success!

When she found out about a program through Bob Ross Inc. to become an instructor, she pursued it and received her certifications.

Jae has taken classes with Steve Ross, Bram Bevins, Kevin Hill, and Nick Hankins

Jae is one of the eighteen Certified Bob Ross instructors (CRI) in Georgia.

She tries to inspire many others to follow in Bob Ross’s footsteps and try something new.  So, if you’re ready to have fun, join me and others by attending a class and tapping into the creative side that you never knew you had.

With just a little practice and a little instruction, you can experience the joy of painting in your life.

She would love to be your instructor.

I have always had a passion for being creative, but in 2002 I took a wheel class and fell in love with clay.  Around 2009, the Johns Creek Arts Center asked if I wanted to teach a handuilding class. It was my first opportunity to share my passion with others, and I loved it.  Over the years I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to teach several ceramics courses at the Johns Creek Arts Center including adult handbuilding, teen wheel, kids clay, and summer camp.  I love being surrounded by creative people, and I love sharing my knowledge with others. It is truly heartwarming to watch someone develop their own style and blossom as an artist.

Kate discovered ceramics during an especially tough personal journey and found healing in the tactile, malleable, and meditative process that comes from working with clay. Her sculptures represent her experience with womanhood. Her signature ‘heart eyes’ ups the cute factor in her pieces, but the overall effect is achieved in her ability to create complex, anthropomorphic personalities in her creatures.

Kate’s background in geology - BS in Environmental Geology from Georgia State University & from years working as a field geologist in the geotechnical engineering industry - helps with understanding the chemical processes that her work undergoes through each phase of the ceramic process.

Her body of work includes ceramic sculptures, functional ceramic pieces, fine art, digital art, signage, murals, and terrible jokes.

You can usually find Kate, covered in clay, working from her home studio or at The Art Center, where she teaches.

More about Kate on her website: https://katenahodyl.com/

I was born in Singapore and worked as a dentist for twenty years before moving to Atlanta in 2001 with my family. Always being very keen on the arts, I began making pottery and sculpture since 2008. I’m actively involve in ceramic community and my work has been displayed in USA and international galleries.

My years of teaching special needs pottery has taught me to simplify, laugh, and “just do it”

Visit  www.keoklim.com for more information about this talented artist.

I was born, raised and still reside in Atlanta, GA (well, Metro Atlanta) and have been an artist for as long as I can remember.  Growing up shy and awkward, making art was always a comfort.  By the time I was 8 I knew I only wanted to be an artist when I grew up.  That didn’t change a bit by the time I graduated from high school.

I attended the Atlanta College of Art, where I earned my Bachelors of Fine Arts Degree, majoring in illustration with a concentration in painting.  I worked my tail off and graduated with Suma Cum Laude honors.  My time at ACA was wonderful.  I regard those years as some of my happiest.  Post art school my life has been a joyous, but hectic blur of teaching fine art, painting for pleasure, creating custom art and illustration, and spending my days with the people I love.

I should mention that from age 15 onward, I have had an outstanding man by my side, showering me with love and support.  In 2008 my high school sweetheart and I got married, nine months later we became the proud parents of an amazing little girl, and our life entered a new chapter.  6 years later we welcomed a baby boy to our family.  My husband and my children are at the center of my world, providing me with endless love and inspiration.  I continue to teach in addition to working as a freelance illustrator.  I enjoy using a variety of media and techniques both traditional and digital.  Life is good.

Learn more about Leslie at her website: www.lesliemurphypaints.art

What had begun as a hobby soon became an obsession. The flexibility of how the clay could be manipulated into various shapes and forms and then embellished with such a variety of designs, colors and impressions made it an inexhaustible intrigue for him.

His work has been on display at the Orlando Biennial, Key West Art Festival, the Winter Park Autumn Art Show and Festival of the Masters at Walt Disney World. 

Learn more about Mike by visiting his website at:

https://mikelalonepottery.com

Art, to me, is more than expression-it's a reclaiming of identity, resilience, and spirit. Growing up in Iran during the Revolution and war, I became an engineer despite strong discouragement-a quiet act of defiance that shaped my path.

From Tehran to undocumented life in Damascus, I lived unseen, shaped by displacement and fragility-experiences that now inform my art.

In the U.S., I rebuilt my life, survived breast cancer, and thrived in a corporate world never meant for someone like me. Then I walked away, returning to my true language: art.

Now, through painting and ceramics, I explore themes of exile, belonging, vulnerablility, and strength. Each piece carries memories-of conflict, prayers, and crossings, both literal and emotional.

I don't seek perfection. I seek truth-in the curve of a pot like a laboring mother's spine, in a brushstroke recalling childhood alleys, in a crack that mirrors our fractured, beautiful survival.

Art is where I become whole-where I'm not just seen, but known.

Learn more about Ramona's work by visiting her instagram page:

https://www.instagram.com/fromtheearthstudio/

I have been teaching since 1987 part time different subjects such as a second language, basic science and engineering as well as Art. For me teaching Art is when I engage with the students the most because you learn more about their passion and imagination, interests and more. I use nature and spirituality in my paintings. Engineering runs in my blood from my father, which allows me to enjoy building my own canvases. When I oil paint it is my most treasured time to relax and meditate. It comes naturally and every one should try it as a therapeutic way to relax, whether they are born with that talent or not. My two children also inherited a strong artistic talent. One is a very skilled film editor and the other is a creative writer among other things. We also have a long history in comedy and strong sense of humor and enjoy bringing the jokes into our art work and life. For me the entire process of creation is one big beautiful amazing work of art. For me, one of the most enjoyable apects of teaching is passing on what I have learned to the younger generations; how to be creative and use different techniques and materials or to combine different materials and ideas together.

https://www.instagram.com/zenya_paintings

Susan has a degree in art education from Ohio State University, and a degree in advertising design from the Art institute of Fort Lauderdale. She worked as a graphic designer and layout artist for several ad agencies.

Susan has two children, a boy and a girl, and she spent many years volunteering as a leader in both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. Susan has taught private art classes as well as art, photography, and craft badges and camps. She has also worked as a mural artist and is a member of the Colored Pencil Society of America, exhibiting in several local, national, and international juried shows.

Tanisha was born in Calcutta, India in 2004 and immigrated to the States when she was only two. Her mother’s family is from Rajasthan — a colorful and heritage-rich state; Her father is from Calcutta, — the former Indian capital — known for its notable artist community. Between them, they can speak more than four languages.

Their love for art and culture was naturally passed on to their daughter, as well. Tanisha is a self-taught artist and has been experimenting with arts and crafts for as long as she can remember. She began painting seriously about five years ago, and since then has completed several commissions for friends and family.

Her interest in culture drives her to explore the intricacies of human nature and the relationships that result. Although she is primarily based in oil paints, she is constantly looking to express her findings and views on this topic through a variety of media — including acrylics, watercolor, and even poetry. At the moment, her artistic inspirations include Yoshitomo Nara, Shahzia Sikander, Shibusawa Sei, and Vikrant Bhise.

Tanisha graduated Summa Cum Laude from Chattahoochee High School in May 2021, and is currently attending Georgia Tech. In her free time, Tanisha works as an assistant teacher at the Johns Creek Arts Center. She has worked with the Mini Masters class, the State Bridge Elementary After School Enrichment class, and the Differently Abled Mixed Media Art Class — along with Spring and Summer Camps.

Tanisha plans to major in neuroscience.