Faculty

Dawn received an MFA from the University of Chicago Midway Studios and a BFA from Kansas City Art Institute. She has teaching experience at Evanston Art Center, University of Chicago, and College of DuPage. She has most recently exhibited at Oakton Community College’s Koehnline Museum, ARC Gallery, South Suburban College’s Lee Dulgar Gallery, and the Lincoln Park Branch of the Chicago Public Library.

Bio coming soon!

Marian is a ceramic artist who focuses on functional and decorative pottery made from porcelain or terra cotta. She has teaching experience in the Chicago Public Schools and art centers including Lill Street, Terra Incognito and Hinsdale Center for the Arts. She currently has a studio at Lill Street Art Center in Chicago and sells work in Illinois, Michigans and Wisconsin. Marian has a degree in Art Education from Chicago State University.

Angela Dieffenbach is a practicing artist and educator living and working in Chicago, IL. Angela is from rural, central Illinois, and earned a MA and MFA from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA. She received a BFA in studio art and a BS in K-12 art education from Bradley University in Peoria, IL. Dieffenbach’s research-based sculptures focus on the intersection of science and art with a particular interest in strange and peculiar experiments and medical treatments. She has been teaching ceramics since 2005, and formerly ran the ceramics program at Chicago State University. Angela exhibits widely and has been awarded a number of grants and artist residencies. These include those from the Joan Mitchell Foundation, Luminarts Cultural Foundation, Illinois Arts Council, Ox-Bow, Red Lodge Clay Center, and the Vermont Studio Center. Most recently, Angela participated in Biophilia, Ayatana, an artist research and residency program in Quebec, Canada. Her introduction to Hyde Park Art Center was as a Center Program artist in 2017.

Angela is Ceramics Department Head at Hyde Park Art Center. Contact her at adieffenbach@hydeparkart.org to learn more about our ceraics program and studio.

Jasper Goodrich works in processes including painting, drawing, printmaking, casting, metal working, wood working, animation, and photography. He received his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and has exhibited in Illinois, New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Most recently, he is working collaboratively with a group of artists to make a visual and musical album.

Chrissy Gray-Rodriguez has taught visual art with Chicago Public Schools for over 20 years.  She received her BFA and teaching certification from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. As a Chicago Public Schools art teacher, she has worked closely with the Intuit Center for Outsider Art and the Oriental Institute, to develop workshops and programs that highlight their collections and current teaching trends. She has also worked with the Chicago Park District and After School Matters, focusing on mediums such as puppetry, set/ costume design and painting. As an artist these days, she focuses on jewelry design that incorporates her love of ceramics.

Sarita Hernández is an arts educator, oral hxstorian, and print/zinemaker from salvadoréxican Califas based in Chicago. Sarita is co-founder of marimacha monarca press, a queer and trans* people of color zine familia based in Chicago’s South Side since 2017. They are interested in artistic interventions with the historical archive and imagining alternative forms of social documentation, preservation, and activation of everyday hxstories, survivals, and resistances. They make queer vegan pies in their DIY @pleasurepies shop, rasquache prints, and sad boi zines.

Ahmed Ibrahim has been working in mosaics since 2000, Ahmed has always believed that the most important part of your practice as an artist is venturing outside of your comfort zone. Ahmed worked as part of the Sabry Mansour artist team designing and installing 4 large mosaic murals at the Ahram Canadian University in Cairo, as well as a project in Helwan University on the Festivals building and he has many public outdoor and indoor mosaic projects installed around the Greater Chicagoland area. Ahmed’s work has been exhibited nationally and overseas. Ahmed has a Bachelor’s degree in Mural Arts from Helwen University in Cairo, Egypt.

Malika Jackson has been exhibited in galleries, festivals, and in solo and group shows throughout the country. She received her MFA in 2016 from the School of the Art Institute, and has since toured France and Italy, continuing her studies at Hyde Park Art Center in ceramics and painting. Jackson has been featured in the film ‘Curators of Dixon’ and ‘Producing Local Color- Art Network in Central Chicago,’ a book by Diane Grams. She has also been featured on the cover of South Shore Current Magazine.

Malika received an honorable mention from the Museum of Science and Industry, was honored by the Diasporal Rhythms Art Association, and has earned an art grant from the City of Chicago. She received both Ann Brooks and Fur International design awards, and has been commissioned for public works throughout the Chicago area. Jackson has curated Cultural Connection Fine Art Festival for the past twenty-two years, and has taught in Chicago Public Schools, Charter Schools, and various community organizations. At Hyde Park Art Center, Malika teaches ceramics.

Her favorite quote: “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

John-Michael Korpal has exhibited throughout the Midwest. His work has been featured at the Grunwald Gallery of Art – Kinsey Institute, Morpho Gallery and Governor’s State University. Korpal was honored to receive Illinois Arts Council’s IAS Professional Development Grant in 2014 & 2019. In spring of 2018 he completed the Visual Art Certificate Program from Graham School-University of Chicago. Korpal is an alumni of the Center Program (CP8) at Hyde Park Art Center. Korpal is a member of the Rogers Park Art Alliance, Chicago Calligraphy Collective, West Ridge Artists and Third Estate Art.

Joe Kraft is a working artist in Chicago, IL.  He received his BFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 2012.  Upon graduation he received a Windgate Fellowship Grant and spent time traveling the Southwest to experience and research Land Art. Growing up in Illinois he wound up in Chicago soon after.  He has been an artist in residence at Lillstreet Art Center, the AIR Ceramic Center in Vallauris, France and Guldagergaard International Ceramic Research Center in Denmark.  While his primary medium is clay, Joe’s practice is rooted in drawing, which drives all other parts of his artistic work.

Joe is the Studio Technician of Hyde Park Art Center’s ceramics department.

Trained in painting, Tulika Ladsariya often works with acrylics, and is frequently drawn to objects associated with traditional women’s work using domesticity and nurture to discuss fragility, beauty, femininity, identity, and personal history. Born in Mumbai, India and living in Chicago, USA for the past decade, her work is an exploration of her layered identity – as an Indian-born woman, a first-generation immigrant, and a mother.

Ladsariya is a qualified Chartered Accountant and her artistic practice has largely been self-motivated and driven, supported by workshops in art centers and residency programs. She transitioned to a creative full-time studio practice after her stint working for an auction house. She serves in the arts community in Chicago through Artist/ Mother groups, as a voluntary board member for cultural organizations, and works in the arts administration and teaching fields on a contractual basis. She has been a resident at the Hyde Park Art Center from 2019-2021. She is a recipient of the BOLT residency with Chicago Artists Coalition for 2022-23.

Rodrigo Lara was born and raised in different cities in Mexico. In 2003 he received his BFA from Universidad de Guanajuato, Mexico, with the highest honors, Summa Cum Laude where he majored in Sculpture. In 2011 he moved to Chicago and received his MFA in 2013 from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a James Nelson Raymond Fellowship. Lara’s work has been represented in galleries from Mexico, Argentina and the United States, as well as shown extensively in Mexico, the US, Canada, Europe and China. Among several solo exhibitions, Lara had a retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, in the State of Mexico and has won several grants, awards and distinctions including “John W. Kurtich Travel Scholarship” Berlin and Kassel Germany, and also the “National Prize of Visual Arts” 1st Place in Sculpture, 2010 in Mexico. His work has been published in magazines in Mexico, Spain, the US, Australia and Brazil.

Stephanie Lupu grew up in a diverse community in Miami, Florida. She earned her BFA in Performance art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2007) and, her MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts and Media from Columbia College (2010). Stephanie is a practicing artist who creates videos and online media often featuring quirky and highly original puppets and live characters. Awards: Follett Scholarship – Columbia College, Chicago, IL 2007‐2008 Merit Scholarship – The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL 2003‐2007 Bare Walls Grant – The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL

Randall Miller is a painter and writer originally from Pittsburgh, PA. He received his MFA from San Francisco Art Institute in 2009, his BFA from Penn State University in 2004, and completed the Post-Baccalaureate program at Pont-Aven School of Contemporary Art in Pont-Aven, France. Randall lives and works in Chicago.

Sarah received her MFA from Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and has been exhibiting her work in galleries internationally for over 15 years, including SACI Gallery in Florence and Inside Arts in Chicago. Although she works in textile and fabric at HPAC, she has experience with a variety of media, including printmaking and painting.

Michelle Nordmeyer is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice includes personal, contemplative work that focuses on drawing positive energy, fostering dialogue, and community building/improvement of communication. Michelle teaches printmaking, card-making, youth, family and senior programs at Hyde Park Art Center.

Yoonshin Park is working with sculptural papers, artist books, and installation. Her interest in comprehensive process of paper making and book binding caters her work to encompass various elements woven into complete objects. She received her M.A. and M.F.A. in Interdisciplinary Book and Paper Arts from Columbia College Chicago. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. She was born in Seoul, Korea and currently resides in Chicago, IL.

Brian Parris is a Bajan-American ceramic artist transitioning from the Metro Atlanta area in Georgia, USA, to Chicago, IL. He is known for his functional pottery with a modern aesthetic via his water-relief/hydro-abrasion technique and sprayed engobe on wheel-thrown porcelain clay. Brian’s unique surface decoration is an abstraction of the world around him as that serves to decorate and reinterpret functional porcelain forms. Brian’s work is inspired by his birthplace of New York City and his upbringing in the Pacific North-West. His pieces reference nature and his urban surroundings embedded in organic and geometric shapes. Brian is currently the Ceramics Studio Technician at Hyde Park Art Center.

Aaron Rodgers serves as Hyde Park Art Center’s Director of Development and teaches “Grant Writing for Artists.” He has been involved in Chicago art and culture for more than 15 years and has programmed and presented more than 500 events. In 2008, Aaron founded Homeroom, an organization dedicated to presenting and commissioning arts programming around Chicago with a focus on conversation and collaboration across genre and media. Aaron served as Executive Director until 2017, to concentrate on programming as Artistic Director. In 2017, he joined the Board of Directors of Elastic Arts, a Logan Square venue dedicated to presenting jazz, hip-hop, visual art, dance, and other media, and co-chairs the Board’s Development Committee. He received a BA from New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study in 2002 where he concentrated on philosophy and aesthetics.

Katie Romans is a creative and dedicated teaching artist that takes pride in sharing her ideas and skills with children and youth throughout the city of Chicago. Active primarily in painting, photography, and mixed media, Katie draws inspiration from nature, urban surroundings, and people who make an impact in her life. She’s eager to create and understand the connections between her teaching practices and her art making practices to further her engagement in the art education realm. Katie believes art is essential in every child’s life, and she strives to create the opportunities for them to express themselves visually. Katie has studied Art Education at ASU and SAIC, and has taught in a variety of settings including the South Side Community Art Center, Marwen, Hyde Park Art Center, and the Field Museum.

Tony Smith is a photographer, documentary filmmaker and a jazz musician. His design studio is located in Pilsen, and multimedia art programs are taught in Bronzeville. Smith has been been teaching photography, audio engineering, and graphic design for the past 20 years to teens and seniors throughout the Chicagoland area. He has created two apprenticeships, Urban Vision Multimedia Arts and Oakwood Shores Multimedia Arts to teach high school teens photography, and how to run a multimedia arts business. Smith’s goal is to to help people understand entrepreneurship, the importance of using their camera to document people, places and things in their community. He has recently exhibited and worked with vibrant artists and activists Theaster Gates, Amanda Williams, Dawoud Bey, Robert Sengstacke, Faheem Majeed, Rebecca Zorach, Juarez Hawkins, Dorian Sylvain, Arlene Turner Crawford and Dr. Margaret Burroughs.

Erin Toale is a Chicago-based cultural worker. She earned Dual MAs in Modern Art History, Theory, and Criticism – and Arts Administration and Policy – from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2013, and a BFA from Moore College of Art and Design in 2006. She has worked for a variety of nonprofits, galleries, and research centers including the Rebuild Foundation, the Social Impact of the Arts Project, the Sullivan Galleries at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, and the Hyde Park Art Center. She participated in both the HATCH Projects Curatorial Residency at Chicago Artists Coalition (2015), and the Center Program at the Hyde Park Art Center (2016). She is the Marketing Coordinator for Working in the Schools, a Teaching Artist at the Hyde Park Art Center, and a Contributing Writer for Newcity.

Kathryn Trumbull Fimreite is a teaching artist from Chicago. She works in the area of arts integration at CPS schools thru programs with CAPE and Lookingglass Theatre. Kathryn has been a resident and supporter of Catwalk Art Residency, Ox-Bow School of Art and BOLT Residency at the Chicago Artists Coalition, and she is an alum of The Center Program at HPAC. She has participated in several public art exhibits and has received several grants from the City of Chicago. Kathryn holds a BS from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and a BFA from The School of the Art Institute.

ktfworks.com

Mary Cat. Tepper is a Visual Artist, Educator and Cultivator. Mary Cat. earned her Bachelors of Fine Arts from The School of the Art a Institute of Chicago with additional studies at Wayne State University, Detroit, MI and Nottingham Polytechnic Institute, Nottingham, England. Mary Cat. has a background in drawing and painting and works at Dripping Water Studio in a variety of media including handmade paper, sculpture and clay. Mary Cat’s work has been exhibited and acquired by public institutions and private collections including: Galeria La Sala, Santiago, Chile; Estudio Taller Fuster, Havana, Cuba; Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston, TX; Morgan Conservatory, Cleveland, OH; Crane Museum of Paper Making, Dalton, MA, Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Arts; with multiple murals in Chicago Public Schools.

Melissa Weber was born in New Haven, Connecticut and grew up in New York City. She received her MFA from the Ceramics Department of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she was awarded the James Nelson Raymond Fellowship. She holds an AAS in Interior Design from Parsons School of Design and earned a BA in English Literature from Duke University. She has been an instructor of ceramics at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the University of Indiana Northwest, and Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago.

Rhonda Wheatley is a Chicago based artist whose paintings, sculptures, and written works explore consciousness, language, the metaphysical, and personal transformation.

Wheatley has exhibited throughout Chicago, in solo shows at David Weinberg Gallery and FLATFILEgalleries and group shows at the Koehnline Museum of Art, Hyde Park Art Center, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago Artists Coalition, and more. Wheatley’s work has also been exhibited at the Black Fine Art Show in New York City, G.R. N’Namdi Gallery in Detroit, and in art fairs and exhibitions in Atlanta, Minneapolis, and Nashville. She’s been featured in publications from the Chicago Tribune and Timeout Chicago Magazine to the Detroit Free Press. In 2007 Wheatley was a Ragdale Foundation Chicago Connection Fellow, in 2008 she was a featured lecturer as part of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Artists Connect Series, and from 2003 to 2007 she was a Board Member of Woman Made Gallery.

Wheatley received an MA in Writing from DePaul University, Chicago and a BA in English Literature and African American Studies (Minor) from Loyola University of Chicago. She currently has a studio and is a teaching artist at Hyde Park Art Center.

Julian Williams received both a BFA and MFA in painting and drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Williams taught Drawing I, and Figure Drawing I and II at Columbia College Chicago. Presently, he teaches Watercolor at Hyde Park Art Center; and Drawing I and Intro to the Visual Arts at Chicago State University. Williams primarily works in watercolor, using various themes such as portraiture, landscapes and still life’s. Julian is also quite adept in other mediums as well such as oil, acrylic, charcoal and graphite. Julian exhibits his work locally and across the United States.

Cheryl Ann Williamson is a native Chicagoan and a self-taught ceramicist. She has been teaching beginning and advanced ceramics classes at Hyde Park Art Center since 2015. In her own practice, Cheryl takes inspiration from nature to make both functional and sculptural work, using a combination of throwing and handbuilding techniques. Before starting at the Art Center, Cheryl taught people of all ages for over 30 years at the Chicago Park District. She is an herbal therapist, is certified in edible wild plants, and teaches workshops in organic food growing. Cheryl has also been a tree-keeper since 1993.

Mary Young has provided instruction in Textile Design for several years, inspiring and guiding artistry at institutions such as the University of Chicago Collegiate Scholars Program; the South-Side Community Art Center and the Hyde Park Art Center.Mary is known for her leadership positions in Arts Administration at numerous cultural institutions throughout the City of Chicago as well as serving on numerous grant panels with the Illinois Arts Council and the Department of Cultural Affairs. Mary’s exhibitions have included galleries in Michigan City, IN (Southern Shore Art Association); Chicago, IL (Pop-up Exhibition/THE Cre.ae.tive ROOM); (Under The Bridge Studio/Gallery); (South-Side Community Art Center); Glen Echo, MD (Glen Echo Gallery); and Washington, DC (Mary McCloud Bethune Museum). Additionally, several of Mary’s Tapestries can be found in private collections throughout San Francisco, CA. She has been recognized through several awards and opportunities, which have included a Study-Abroad Program to Italy, an International Artist Exchange Program to Australia and a Summer Artist Residency with the Department of Interior, Parks and Recreation, in Washington, DC. More recently, she was awarded an Inaugural Residency Program in 2015-16 with THE Cre.ae.tive ROOM in Chicago, IL, followed by a Merit Scholarship to Ox-Bow School of Arts & Residencies for Summer 2016 in Saugatuck, MI.