WHO’S WHO: Arlington County Art Staff

TEAM FIRST

Homer Ailstock • Ceramic Studio Tech / Instructor is a potter, sculptor, and painter. He is a student of
graphic design, photography, woodworking and martial arts. Clay is the most alluring medium to him because
it’s a very physically transformative medium as well as an infinite educational endeavor. Homer hopes that his
work inspires the wonderment and creative spirit that brought clay to him in the first place.
www.artbyhomer.blogspot.com

Sheri Bartholow • Community Arts Specialist has taught art to all ages, in a variety of settings for over 20
years and she has been working in Arlington since 1990, first as an instructor, next as a programmer, and now
as a manager. Sheri received her MFA in Painting from American University and her BFA in Drawing, Painting
and Graphic Design from The Atlanta College of Art with additional coursework in Art Education and
Expressive Art Therapy. www.sheribartholow.com
Roslyn Delos Reyes • Community Arts Programmer / TJ Studio Mgr received her BA in Studio Art from
George Mason University. She has ten years experience teaching children and teens ceramics, photography,
painting, drawing and mixed media art in informal experiential classrooms. Her career path led her to the Freer
& Sackler Galleries, Smithsonian Institution Education Department as an Education Programmer. At the Freer
& Sackler Galleries Roslyn developed hands-on art activities for the Imaginasia program.

Jennifer Droblyen • Community Arts Programmer has ten years of experience as a teacher working in
informal, experiential, and formal classroom settings. Jennifer developed her love for teaching while serving as
a Peace Corps volunteer in Lesotho. She has received a BA in Painting and Art Therapy from Columbus
College of Art and Design in Ohio. Jennifer received her MA in Education and Human Development at George
Washington University in 2004. Jennifer also has four years of museum education experience, most recently
at The Phillips Collection and at the Bruce Museum of Arts and Science. www.sensibleworks.com

James M Halloran • Community Arts Programmer / Instructor lives, works and teaches in Arlington, VA.
Educated in Buffalo, New York, James received a BFA at the University at Buffalo in 2005 and studied classical
painting for many years under his mentor, Mary Ann Doering. Now working from his home studio, Halloran
exhibits his paintings both locally and nationally. As an instructor, he teaches a variety classes for both adults
and children in Arlington. www.jameshalloran.com

Jessica Sauer • Art Class Program Mgr / Instructor received her BA in Studio Art and Art History from the
State University of NY at Potsdam. Jessica’s concentration was in drawing & painting, art history and gallery
practices. Her career path began in the museum studies and gallery practices world but moved quickly into a
more natural fit in community arts and art education. She was the Education Director at the Arts Council of
Princeton for three years while creating custom mosaics and art for private homes. She now manages and
instructs visual arts classes for Arlington County. As an artist, Jessica experiments with many mediums
creating mixed media paintings, sculptures and mosaics. wwwjsauerart.com

Elizabeth Steinbach • Lending Coordinator began her art exploration in high school with drawing and
photography classes. She continued her study of art at Shepherd University in West Virginia where she
received a BFA in Photography and Computer Digital Imaging. While still in school she began working in small
galleries and then museums, most recently The Phillips Collection. Liz has over four years experience as a
teacher working in small local galleries and eventually for Arlington County where she now helps develop
programs and teaches art classes. www.lizsteinbach.com
INSTRUCTORS

Jason Alexander • Ceramics Instructor began studying art his senior year in college. He found himself
spending most of his free time in the studio but did not give any thought to pursuing a career as an artist and
earned his BA in Philosophy from the University of Minnesota. A trip to a potter’s studio in Vermont proved to
be a pivotal experience. He enrolled in a wheel throwing class with a local Virginia potter as student and then
apprentice and eventually spent three years studying at the Corcoran, focusing on ceramics. While at the
Corcoran, he was offered a one year adjunct instructor position also accepting several other teaching positions
at local community art centers. www.alexanderclayworks.com
Dawn Benedetto • Jewelry Instructor graduated in 1993 with a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University.
In 1997, she became an artist in-residence at the Torpedo Factory Art Center. She is best known for a ring she
invented in 2001. It is a simple design with a sterling silver band and colorful beads that adjusts to fit most
fingers. Dawn has recently been rejuvenated by a find of un-circulated vintage Lucite and makes silver
components that she feels complements the Lucite. www.poppishop.com
Melissa Cimino • Jewelry Instructor is back on with us again from her world travels and is leading
independent study at TJ Art Studios jewelry studio. She also works at the Poppi Shop studio.
Elsabe Dixon • Ceramics Instructor www.readingsilk.com

Susannah Edwards • Instructor is an illustrator and art educator from Arlington, VA. She received a BA in
Studio Art from Goucher College and an MFA in Illustration from Savannah College of Art and Design.
Susannah teaches art classes for Fairfax County Public Schools and for community centers in Reston and
Arlington. Some of her illustrations can be seen at www.creativeshake.com/moonbeamart.
Arthur Fort • Woodshop Instructor has worked for the last two years for Arlington County. He is an
accomplished woodworker and artist with many years of experience working with wood. Arthur has displayed
and sold his work in numerous juried art shows and in commercial art galleries. His portfolio of works
encompasses a wide breadth of woodworking, including reproductions of early American and European
furniture, modern and contemporary artistic furniture, wood carvings and sculpture, small boxes and other
objects made from wood. Arthur has formal training in several aspects of woodworking, including veneering
and wood finishing. He is a past president of the Washington Woodworkers Guild and earned his bachelor's
degree from Macalester College where he majored in philosophy.

Gretchen Gobin • Ceramics Instructor has been teaching and creating art for over 10 years and is currently
producing functional ceramics. She earned a BFA in painting from the Corcoran School of Art. Gretchen
teaches middle and high school at The Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School. She also teaches Adult Pottery I
at TJ Art Studios.

Laura Jamroz • Instructor received her BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art and her MA from the School
of Professional Psychology, Argosy University. She has worked as a graphic artist, illustrator
and photographer for many years. She started teaching art while living in Guam in 1990 and worked as an Art
Specialist for the Guam Public School System. Since 1997, she has worked as an art teacher for private
schools in the Northern Virginia area. Her sculptures, paintings and photography have been shown in
numerous galleries and shows. She currently is represented by Kelly Hutchinson of Kelly’s Art & Frame, Inc.
www.laurajamroz.com

Rebecca Kallem • Instructor studied Art and Spanish at the College of William and Mary in Virginia. She
lived in Spain for a year, and also studied painting at the University of New Hampshire. Rebecca is currently a
lecturer in drawing and painting at George Washington University. She is a painter and printmaker with a
passion for various crafts. She has exhibited her work in Boston, New York, and DC.
Richard Long • Woodshop Instructor has been teaching woodworking classes for many years with the
county and is an accomplished woodworker.

Angela McCant • Beading Instructor has been teaching beading classes for the county since Fall 2008.

Whitney Staiger • Jewelry Instructor has been teaching Silversmithing at TJ Art Studios since the summer
of 2008 and works at Poppi Shop Studio.

Ann Steele • Photography Instructor completed her formal education in Art at Penn State where she earned
an MFA in painting. Her study of photography began afterwards with a darkroom photo class at Northern
Virginia Community College and has continued for 18 years. Ann taught art and photography in Fairfax County
Schools for 15 years. Currently she shows her work at her studio in Old Town Fairfax, the, Fairfax Art League,
and the Harbor Gallery in Sunapee NH.

Grace Stewart • Ceramics Instructor www.gracestewartceramics.com