Instructors

Sarah Barry is a mixed media artist whose obsession with painting began during the pandemic. For Sarah, painting is a meditative process. It is a break from the monotony of day-to-day life and a chance to relinquish control, as she lets the movement of paint begin the story before using line work to complete the narrative. Her artwork is fluid, ethereal, and playful. Sarah’s inspiration stems from her love of Folk Art, dreams, and the softness and spontaneity of the natural world.

website: sarahjanebarry.com

Madeline Bartley Gambacorta was born in Louisville, Kentucky and attended Murray State University where she received her B.F.A. in printmaking and drawing. She earned her M.F.A. in studio arts from Syracuse University’s College of Visual Performing Arts. She has exhibited her work in solo and group shows including exhibitions at the Hand Held Gallery (Melbourne, Australia), Walnut Ink Projects (Michigan City, IN), The Rogue Space (New York, NY), and the Museum of Latin American Art (Long Beach, CA).

website: madelinebartley.com

Jan Dylewski is an art teacher in the Buffalo Public School district. She received her Bachelor of Art degree from S.U.N.Y Fredonia, and her master’s degree from Buffalo State College. Using both her sculptural background and love of mixed media, her work is sprinkled with whimsy, bold colors and a sparkle of joy. She believes in the intuitive nature of materials and strives to help her students develop their inner voice.madelinebartley.com

website: https://www.jdylewski.com/

Clarimar Galarza is a high school art teacher in Buffalo New York. She attended Buffalo State College where she received a BFA in Art Education with a concentration in Ceramics and Painting. Her work consists of functional ceramics with a focus on surface design.

website: https://clarimargalarza.wixsite.com/artist

Nicole Galuszka is a mixed media artist, designer and illustrator based in Buffalo, NY. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts: Communication Design (Minor: Art History) from Pratt Institute. With six years in educational technology as a visual designer and illustrator, her creative journey bridges art and design, utilizing digital as well as physical media.

website: https://www.nicolemgaluszka.com/about-me

Bree Gilliam is a figurative painter from Buffalo, NY. She attended SUNY Buffalo State College where she received a B.F.A. in painting and a minor in art therapy. In her work, she addresses social issues and the experiences that people face daily. She uses bold symbolism and expressive brushwork to provoke emotion from her audience in an attempt to spark introspection and conversation. She believes that conversations are the first step to creating solutions to the problems in the world.

website: www.breegilliam.com

Soda Haley is a queer Polynesian artist originally from Texas. They do a mixture of oil painting, sculpture, and performance work, drawing inspiration from their heritage and personal experiences to explore complexities of identity, body, and belonging. Their work often centers on overlooked narratives of fat and queer bodies, celebrating their forms.

website: www.artbysoda.com

Shanel Kerekes is a painter from Buffalo, New York. As a graduate of Villa Maria College, she majored in Integrated Arts and obtained a BFA degree in 2019. Photorealism is the style that she continuously aspires to achieve in her work. Kerekes was exposed to a culturally diverse environment early in life, which later instilled a fascination with individuality, preestablished societal standards, and the ever-changing dynamic between the two. By having the position of being a woman in today’s world, Kerekes uses the tribulations that they are commonly confronted with and attempts to build a visual representation of the many obstacles women may face within their lifetime which can include objectification, sexualization, and exploitation.

website: www.shanelkerekesart.com

Bethany Krull has been working in clay for over twenty-five years, having received her BFA from the State University College at Buffalo and her MFA from the School for American Crafts at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Her practice is expansive and has led her to the exploration of many other materials that often make their way into the work, which is rooted in formal aesthetics, love of nature and the fears and desires around the ways in which our species impacts the environment and other creatures. She loves to teach in both community and academic settings, and she maintains an active home studio and exhibits nationally and internationally.

website: www.bethanykrull.com

Ruby Merritt is a passionate visual artist and educator with over 11 years of experience in higher education teaching and mentoring. She earned a BFA in Drawing and Painting from the State University of New York at New Paltz and an MFA in Visual Studies from the University at Buffalo in 2013. Currently, Merritt is a fine arts instructor at SUNY Niagara and serves as studio manager of Light Research in Buffalo, NY. She is an active teaching artist for several organizations, including the Western New York Book Arts Center, CEPA Gallery, and Papercraft Miracles, where she conducts hands-on workshops. She remains actively involved in the arts community, sharing her expertise through collaborative workshops and initiatives that support the growth of the creative field.

website: rubymerritt.com

Brianne Nightingale earned her B.F.A in Art Education at Daemen University and her M.S.Ed in Art Education at Buffalo State University. She is currently an art educator in the Ken-Ton school district. Her work explores traditional drawing and painting with a focus on photorealism. 

Laike Palermo, resides in Buffalo, painting from her studio located at The Niagara Food Terminal. After attaining her BFA in Painting from Daemen, she has been specializing in the human figure and portraits; recently working through a personal series to fight against depression and anxiety to raise awareness of the battle of self-doubt but knowing there is still beauty within yourself. 

eAndrea Pawarski is a ceramic studio artist at the Buffalo Arts Studio and elementary art teacher at the Charter School of Inquiry. She earned a BFA in Art Education and Ceramics from Syracuse University and a MA in Multidisciplinary Studies from SUNY Buffalo State College. Her ceramic work is inspired by geological formations and can be found on her website or Etsy account.

website: andreapawarski.com
Etsy: etsy.com/shop/AndreaPawarskiClay

Darcie Rosinski is a Buffalo-based artist who primarily focuses on clay. After graduating from Buffalo State College in 2015, she has continued to develop a collection of work and is the maker behind potsbydjr—decorative porcelain pottery, functional art that can be used everyday. She finds inspiration from the natural world, the spiritual world, and everything in between.

website: djrhandmadegoods.com

Laura Valkwitch is a multimedia artist with a focus on oil painting. She studied fine art at Niagara County Community College and recently finished a residency at Hunt Gallery in Buffalo, NY.

website: lauravalkwitch.com