Instructors

Ava Blitz:  BA University of Toronto, MFA University of Georgia.  Director of Art Dept. at Bryn Mawr College for 12 years.

Ava Blitz is a visual artist who currently divides her time between studio work in sculpture, works on paper, digital photography, and public art.  Blitz's public works and commissions are many, including installations in Tokyo, Japan, at the Philadelphia International Airport, and at the University City Science Center.  Ava Blitz served on an International Sculpture Symposium panel in Japan, and has lectured on public art for the American Institute of Architects, the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, and the Michener Art Museum.  She has been the recipient of numerous honors, awards, and fellowships, many of which have funded her public art projects.  These include grants from the Japan Foundation, the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the Leeway Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Geraldine R. Doge Foundation, and the Jerome Foundation.  Blitz has shown in the Philadelphia area at the Michener Art Museum, the Delaware Center for Contemporary Arts, the Philadelphia Art Alliance, Grounds for Sculpture, and the Allentown Art Museum.  From 1986 to 1998 she taught at Bryn Mawr College, where she directed the fine art department.

To contact Ava directly, please go to avablitz.net

Eileen McDonnell:  BFA, Moore College of Art, Philadelphia; Post Bacc, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia; Violette de Mazia Foundation at the Barnes Foundation, Merion

A painter, Eileen McDonnell prefers to work observationally. Following separate concentrated periods of drawing and painting exploration, she presently incorporates both disciplines into a current body of mixed media application. McDonnell's most recent informal lectures have featured fundamental composition and conservation; watercolor and pastel techniques. Regularly commissioned and represented in both public and private collections, she continually presents new work in juried exhibitions as well.

To contact Eileen directly, please go to eileenmcdonnell.com

Emily Mayer: BS Art Education, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA

Emily Mayer is an artist and educator based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She has more than a decade of experience teaching art across multiple school districts and currently inspires young artists at ETR Middle School in Springfield, Delaware County. Her teaching background spans Pre-K through 12th grade, with expertise in painting, drawing,ceramics, 3D design, multimedia, photography,and independent study. Outside the classroom, Emily creates fiber-based works and wall hangings that explore texture, color and form, bringing a tactile and personal dimension to her artistic practice.

To contact Emily directly, please go to emvelez1212@gmail.com

Julie Zahn: Certificate, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA

A painter and printmaker, Julie Zahn works in a variety of media. After completing the 4-year Certificate program at PAFA, she apprenticed with an antique screen restorer in Kyoto and studied with a Japanese stencil dyeing (katazome) master. This taught her many ways to work with paper and has informed her studio practice ever since. In her studio, she produces woodblock prints, katazome pieces and mixed media work. She has a distinct and direct approach to making art, exhibits widely and enjoys teaching.
To contact Julie directly, please go to  juliezahn.net

Dre Grigoropol: BFA, Moore College of Art, Philadelphia, PA

Dre Grigoropol is an artist, multimedia creator and teacher. Her artistic practice encompasses diverse media, including painting, printmaking, cartooning,illustration, animation video art and zines. Dre’s visual work reflects her surroundings and nature from the Jersey shore, Fairmount Park, the Brandywine Creek of Delco and New York —capturing expressive moments in time. In addition, she draws inspiration from art history,mythology, folklore, storytelling and pop culture.

To contact Dre directly, please go to Dretime@gmail.com