MEET THE INSTRUCTORS
All of the award winning GLAF
instructors have art backgrounds, many years of experience, and are considered leaders in the art community.
Frequently exhibiting at the Gallery 223, they also exhibit at other locations. View their websites for a look at their beautiful artwork, and join us for enlightening classes that are sure to improve your skills.
Classes are small so individualized instruction can be given. Chat with other artists, share techniques, and get creative with Geneva Lake Arts Foundation, Inc.!
SANDY KESSEL & KATHY WALSH
Sandy (left) and Kathy (right) enjoy the challenge of balancing disciplined observation of nature which surround us in every season. Their goal is to capture realistically the detail and patterns of flora in the garden and in the wild. Their paintings have been displayed at the Racine Art Museum, Carthage College, Woodson Art Museum, Brushwood Center to name a few.
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.
Currently serving as president of Geneva Lake Arts Foundation, I support its mission by volunteering for various programs which brings the arts to the community including Art in the Park.
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PAM RING
Pam Ring has been a collage artist for over 30 years. For 5 years she was the display artist for the Westchester, New York, AC Moore Co., an arts and crafts store,. Most recently she was the artist-in-residence for the Shades Repertory Theater in Haverstraw, New York. Her work has also been licensed for holiday greeting cards. Although largely self-taught, she has studied under many well known mixed media artists, notably Claudine Hellmuth, Bev Braxton and Kelly Killmer.
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Ms. Ring states that her collages are the ultimate in "green" art, for she uses found material in all her pieces - ephemera, billboard papers, flea market finds. She works in small formats so that her work is affordable to all who appreciate and desire to own original works of art.
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Her work is readily identifiable - bright colors, easy to navigate compositions and whimsical juxtapositions. She recently expanded her work to include collaged jewelry.
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Ms. Ring works out of her home studio in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, where she lives with her husband and 3 dogs.
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 a Children's Art Instructor for the past several years. I am looking forward to working with my next group of students!