MEET THE INSTRUCTORS
All our award-winning GLAF Member Instructors bring strong artistic backgrounds, years of experience, and are recognized leaders in the arts community.
They frequently exhibit at Gallery 223 and at other venues throughout the region. We invite you to join them for inspiring classes designed to strengthen skills and spark creativity.
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Classes are intentionally small to ensure individualized instruction. Connect with fellow artists, exchange techniques, and grow creatively with the Geneva Lake Arts Foundation!
DORAE BOWEN
I was born in California, attended college in Iowa earning a degree in secondary education. We became an Air Force family, which meant not only travel, but it meant I connected with a variety of jobs all involving teaching, training and creativity. My creative skills began with woodcarving, but I always wanted to try my hand at watercolor. I started taking classes with artists Bev Joswiak, Vickie Nelson, Gene Drake, Bridget Austin and many others. I love watercolor and I am still captivated with all the different effects and moods that come from my brush. I have taught many classes and continue to enjoy sharing my skills with others. I’ve been shown in many galleries successfully, been commissioned to paint pets and subjects, and competed in Wisconsin WRAP events.
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NAN CALVERT
Teaching fiber arts has been a joyous part of my life for more than 10 years. I’ve taught at an array of venues including the annual Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival and Lost Art Fiber and Textile Studio. I was introduced to wet and needle felting while I taught at the Racine Dominican Eco-Justice Center. Felting and fiber arts have become a passionate pursuit. I love guiding people through the process of using a wide array of primarily natural fibers to create wonderfully varied and texturally compelling pieces. Most recently, I have begun dabbling in small scale weaving.
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MARIA DECAPRIO-SUNTA
Maria has been a watercolor artist for over 35 years and has taught this medium for the past 22 years. Experimenting with various techniques led her to focus on the medium of mixed media. The challenge of blending watercolor with various materials has brought her artwork to another level. Maria has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago and has been a dedicated volunteer, over 25 years, in promoting the arts in her community. She enjoyed leading two groups of artists to Provence, France to paint Plein Air. Most recently, she chaired the Public Arts Commission in Palos Heights, IL for 13 years. Maria currently lives in Lake Geneva, WI and displays her artwork as a member artist of the Geneva Lake Arts Foundation at Gallery 223 in downtown Lake Geneva.
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STEVE JENSEN
Steve Jensen was born and raised in Japan, instilling his love of Japanese aesthetics into the art of Kintsugi. Kintsugi is a 400 year-old craft of mending broken ceramics with resin and precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum or copper. He is a certified facilitator with Academy Kintsugi and has led workshops in the craft here in the U.S. and in countries like India and the Dominican Republic.
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In addition to Kintsugi, Steve enjoys writing haiku and creating books that combine writing and photography to share the beauty of Japanese culture and nature. He has published numerous children's books as well. He has been a long-time resident of the Lake Geneva area and has served in a variety of non-profit organizations.
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SHARON LARSON
After graduating high school in Rockford, Illinois, where I was born and grew up, I attended Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois, graduating with a BS in Elementary Education and Special Education. I have taught in the northwest suburbs of Chicago and was a Walworth County Literacy Volunteer in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
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Ever since I was a young girl I have loved art and animals. My life long love of drawing, painting and animals has been the inspiration for my art. For painting I choose a medium based on what I think the subject would look best in; mostly watercolor, oils or pastels.
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For subjects I draw on my life experiences with family, city and country life, animals of all kinds and my own fox hunting experiences. Over the years I have studied with many teachers and artists in watercolor and oil such as Ingred Albrecht, Gale Bennet Art Study, Giverny, France, Ovanes Berbarian, Rose Edin, Nita Engle, Estelle Fedelle, Irving Shapiro, Frank Webb, and Alice White.
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I have always loved beautiful times, objects and ideas and try to capture these impressions in my paintings. My paintings are represented in corporate and private collections.​
NICHOLETTE "NIKKI" MARSICANO
My work is always focused on composition. I think about the shapes I make with objects such as trees, people, and animals, and also about the shapes created in the background areas. I want my work to have a life of its own after it is created, and dislike giving my work titles but do so for inventory purposes. The meaning or interpretation of each work is left to the individual viewer.
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My passion for drawing is reflected in the many lines used in my work so that sometimes my work is both drawing and painting. A limited palette of three to four colors is used so that the focus remains on shape and line. The inspirations in my life and art are nature and the human environment. The woods and foliage that surround my home inspires many images in my work.
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I received my fine arts education at UWM -Milwaukee and UNM – Albuquerque (BFA degree) and my Pre-K-12 Art Specialist certification at UW- Whitewater. In 2002 I received the Herb Kohl Fellowship for Teaching Excellence. Retired after 29 years of classroom teaching K-8, I continue to teach children and adults privately.
I have illustrated three children’s books by Marilyn Ellman. My work has been on exhibit at various venues in Wisconsin and New Mexico and can be found in collections across this country as well as Europe and Asia.
I support the GLAF mission by volunteering for various programs which brings the arts to the community including Art in the Park.
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BONNIE SIEGEL
Bonnie started her oil painting career as a portraitist specializing in commissioned animal portraits. Her love of nature helped her move to landscape and Plein Air painting. Her art is in many collections across the country. Bonnie is a member of Oil Painters of America, American Academy of Equine Art, American Impressionist Society, Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, California Art Club and Geneva Lake Arts Foundation. She belongs to several local art leagues and exhibits frequently. View her website featuring a portfolio of her dog portraits at: www.bonniesiegel.com
CHRISTINE SOTOS-BARRERA
I am a multimedia artist who enjoys Art in all its forms and enjoys teaching and working with people of all ages. I received an Art/Art Education degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Throughout my years as an artist, I have enjoyed my career as an art teacher in the Wisconsin Public Schools system along with my teaching of private and small-group Art classes to children, adults and parent/child workshop classes. My focus as an instructor is to foster the individual creativity of each student as I introduce specific skills they can apply to their Art.
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I am a long time resident of Lake Geneva and have been a member of the Geneva Lake Arts Foundation since 2019. I regularly exhibit my art in watercolor, pastel, mixed media and acrylic at Gallery 223 where I have been an art instructor for both children and adults for the past several years. I am looking forward to working with my next group of students!