Instructors

Tara Beyhm has taught animation for many years through the Los Angeles Unified School District, Zeum, San Francisco Unified School District, and Cartoon Art Museum, as well as for the Young Artist Studio Program. She lives in San Francisco's Mission District and is currently working on a short animated film. BFA, California Institute of the Arts.

Sydney Cohen is a painter whose work has been exhibited nationally. She currently teaches in CCA's degree program and has previously taught in CCA's Pre-College and Young Artist Studio Programs. Sydney was an Iowa Arts Fellow. BFA, CCA; MA, MFA, University of Iowa.

Tony Esola is an artist whose interests began in glassblowing and shifted to sculpture with an emphasis on metal. His work investigates the curiosities of childhood through toys made for adults—pieces that interact with viewers and encourage their participation. His work has been shown internationally, including at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, Massachusetts. Tony has previously taught in CCA's Young Artist Studio Program. BFA, CCA.

Ashley Helvey learned the ancient art of felting in a small town in Germany's Black Forest. She recently showed her first collection of hand-felted dresses at Fashion Week in New York. She works at a Reggio Emilia–inspired school for young children and for the Ambatalia Fabric Society, where she promotes the use of organic and sustainable fabrics. BA, California State University at San Francisco.

Andrew Junge is an artist of many stripes. He believes that an artist should be able to use any tool at his disposal. In addition to prints, his art making has included murals, large-scale sculptures, paintings, installations, and computer graphics. In 2005, Andrew was an artist in residence at SF Recycling and Disposal, Inc. His life-size Hummer H1, made out of recycled Styrofoam, is currently on view at the Exploratorium. BFA, Boston University; MFA, CCA.

Daniel McClain is a painter whose work combines abstract forms with "found" imagery from children's books and other publications. His work explores the daydreams of youth and their subversion by modern life. In addition to being a painter, Daniel runs his own graphic design studio. He has taught previously in the Young Artist Studio Program. BFA, CCA.

Sean McFarland is a photographer who has had solo exhibitions at Jack Hanley Gallery, San Francisco, and White Columns, New York City. He is a recipient of the 2005 Phelan Art Award in photography and a 2004 fellowship from the National Photography Institute at Columbia University. Sean's work has been written about in Artforum, Artweek, and Flash Art. BS, Humboldt State University; MFA, CCA.

Nadol Pak is a Korean-born artist whose ink drawings of imagined landscapes reference aerial views of World War II battlegrounds. His work has appeared at Lisa Dent Gallery, San Francisco, and as part of Cream: From the Top, a group exhibition at Arts Benicia, California, featuring artists from Bay Area MFA programs. He has also been featured in ffArtweek magazine. BFA, California State University at Hayward; MFA, Mills College.

Molly Reilly is a photographer and installation artist who has shown her work nationally, with recent exhibitions at the Portland Art Center, Oregon, and the Williamsburg Art and Historical Center, Brooklyn. BFA, CCA; MFA, Cranbrook Academy of Art.

Alex Shapiro is a professional cartoonist and illustrator whose clients have included CBS-TV, the Central Park Conservancy in New York, and numerous publications. He has taught cartooning in New York and San Francisco public schools; the Queens Museum of Art, New York; the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, New York; and CCA's YASP. He is the master teacher and curator at the Junior Center of Art and Science in Oakland. BFA, Pratt Institute.

Marsha Shaw is an artist who lives and works in Oakland. She has lectured and taught courses in bookmaking and printmaking at CCA; the San Francisco Center for the Book; Kala Art Institute, Berkeley; Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, Oakland; and the Museum of Children's Art, Oakland. She has exhibited both regionally and nationally. BA and MA, California State University at Northridge; MFA, CCA.

Mike Sloat is a director of music videos, commercials, and short films. After running his own film production company in San Francisco for six years, he has relocated to Los Angeles and is a director for the production company the Mine, LLC. His animated and live-action work has been screened at film and video festivals around the world. Mike has previously taught in the Young Artist Studio Program. BFA, Academy of Art College, San Francisco.

Pamela Steinman is an artist who was initially trained in painting and drawing but educates herself in the use of whatever tools she needs to make the visual work that she desires. Her current work incorporates photography, writing, video, and audio. Pam has exhibited nationally, and currently works and lives in Brooklyn, New York. BA, UC San Diego; BFA, CCA; MFA, Hunter College.

Rommel Taylor is an architect and an artist. His professional design experience has focused on work for nonprofit organizations, public housing, single-family homes, and public work. In his art he explores the aesthetic, social, and narrative potential of public and private spaces. He is passionate about exposing young people to architecture, art, and design. He currently works for the San Francisco Department of Public Works Bureau of Architecture. BArch, CCA.

Christopher West is a Northern California painter whose work has been exhibited nationally. His paintings center around the landscape and the natural world. In addition to teaching in the Young Artist Studio Program and for the High School Drawing Marathon at CCA, Christopher works at the Oxbow School in Napa. BA, Humboldt State University; MFA, Mills College.

Lindsey White is an interdisciplinary artist whose work in video, photography, and sculpture explores the simple magic of everyday life. She has exhibited in San Francisco at Jack Hanley Gallery, Southern Exposure, Eleanor Harwood Gallery, and New Langton Arts, and in Berlin at the Deadpan Exchange II festival. She teaches at CCA, the San Francisco Arts Education Project, and Modesto Junior College. BFA, Pacific Northwest College of Art; MFA, CCA.

Carolina Zanelli is an Italian mosaicist who taught for six years at the prestigious Scuola Mosaicisti del Friuli Irene da Spilimbergo. She has created and produced traditional and modern mosaics for architects and private clients worldwide. She has also collaborated with such artists as Ellen Driscoll (Grand Central Terminal, New York) and Ann Gardner (Central Waterfront Project, Seattle).

Instructors subject to change.