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Teacher's Biographies


MARGIE BODEN – attended OCAD and attained first class Honours. Her areas of expertise include throwing and constructing large forms and sculptural pieces.Her avant-garde approach is reflected in her teaching.

MARGUERITE BROTEN – Studied pottery at St. Albert Arts & Crafts, Alts. & Claycrafters in Pointe Clair, P.Q. has been teaching adults and children since 1980. Marguerite exhibits her work in the OAS Gallery regularly, her work is exhibited and sold in many galleries.

LESLIE COCHRANE – Leslie was educated at OCAD & York University (graduated Fine Arts Honours). The recipient of many awards, her work is in numerous private & corporate collections. Her paintings are published by Posters International and are shown in ‘Art Impressions’ magazine.

GAYE COURAGE - is a versatile artist whose talents range from capturing the delicacy of a flower petal to the power of a surging waterfall. Gaye controls the mood by her unique application and blending of colours. Her paintings are displayed in many countries. A nature lover , Gaye is primarily interested in capturing the changing landscapes of the four seasons. Her teaching is primarily in the Ontario area. Gaye attended the Dundas Valley School of Fine Art has studied in Russia and China and continues her development as an artist by constantly researching new techniques.

LUCY ERSKINE – is an enthusiastic jewellery artist who has created primarily unique custom orders in sterling silver and carat gold.
Her work has been in several galleries including Art Gallery of Hamilton, Wellington County Museum, and Centennial in Oakville and gone around the globe in private collections.

SALLY GLANVILLE — Sally is a widely traveled artist who studied 3 yrs. At Columbus College of Art & Design and has a B.F.A. from Ohio State Univ. She studied printmaking at Open Studio in Toronto. Sally exhibits in numerous galleries and has received many awards & grants.

CHERYL HAILSTONE – Graduate of OCAD’S Fine Arts program. Cheryl is an experienced artist and teacher. She believes that good drawing skills are the basis of a good painting. Her own specialty is commissioned portraiture.

SONJA HIDAS — earth, water and light for the basis of Sonja’s abstract works. Sonja has an illustration and design certificate. She has taught at the Franklin-Carmichael Art Centre in Toronto and has been part of the many art organizations in the Peel & Halton areas. She is a dedicated artist who has garnered many awards in the numerous exhibitions she has entered.

MICHAEL HITCHCOX— Popular artist and teacher, Michael paints in watercolours, oils and acrylics. A Plein Air artist who paints outdoors to capture the mood , his paintings reflect his love of landscapes and buildings and he has painted wonderful scenes of local color. Michael has worked on well known productions for many studios and his paintings are collected worldwide. He currently teaches at Sheridan College.

LORRAINE IRELAND — Lorraine is a Toronto born artist, who has been painting in wa-tercolours for the past 30 years. Lorraine started teaching watercolours in 1990 for the Etobicoke Board of Education's Continuing Ed. Program. Many art groups and institu-tions have enlisted Lorraine's skills over the years to teach Introduction and Advanced Watercolour Courses as well as Drawing and Mixed Media.

YOUSHA LIU—MFA degree at Georgia Southern Univ. in 2001 and a BFA degree at China Academy of Art in 1982. She has taught studio art at Iowa State Univ., Georgia Southern Univ. in UAS and Zhejiang Academy of Painting in China. Yousha has had numerous solo and group exhibitions internationally. Her work is collected by private and public collectors worldwide.

SCOTT MACQUARRIE — ”Photography for me is a passion, a mixture of science and art that creates magic.” A professional photographer, shooting editorial, stock, and com-mercial work. Scott is a member of Professional Photographers of Ontario (PPO), Edito-rial Photographers (Canada and United States) He is widely published, with both com-mercial and editorial work.

BRUCE OUTRIDGE — Bruce brings his expertise to the Oakville Art Society’s children’s and adults class programs. Specializing in custom illustration for the transportation industry as well as the creator of the comic strip “The Pride Junkie” Bruce operates his own illustration company in Burlington, Ontario. He has studied in various courses within Ontario including Sheridan College, individual art courses, and the Halton Board of Education.

LILLIAN PIEKUT - Is a recent graduate from Sheridan’s BAA Illustration program. She has been practicing her art since she was a child and allows those around her to express themselves in their own work. She is currently working as an illustrator & commercial artist.

THERESA JARDIN OTTONI  - Theresa has been an avid painter for over twenty years. Through her association with the art society's pottery classes she has developed an enthusiasm for creating with the three dimensional medium of clay. Theresa loves working with children and encourages them to develop their own vision while learning the technical fundamentals of handbuilding with clay.

SHELLEY PRIOR
  - Shelley's passion for nature is evident in much of her work, but she also enjoys painting portraits, landscapes and still lifes too. She attended Sheridan College in Oakville and Dundas Valley School of Art and for the past 18 years has taught watercolour and acrylic painting throughout Ontario. Her work has been seen in several local juried shows and has won local and international awards.

RUCHIKA RASTOGI – Ruchi thoroughly enjoy working with children, she believes creativity works both ways: we inspire the children and in turn, we are inspired by their innocence, laughter, ideas and best of all, their work! With clay, they discover their own ability to express and also harness their sense of touch in reproducing 3-dimensional objects and images. Ruchika studied Crafts and Design, Ceramics at Sheridan College

MONIKA SCHAEFER
- has been potting since 1998 making a wide range of adorable whimsical items for home and garden. She has given workshops on pottery and private lessons in her studio and enjoys sharing her ideas and techniques with others. Monika’s work is in private collections in , U.S. and Europe.

RHONDA THIBODEAU – Is a graduate of Sheridan College’s School of Crafts and Design. She is currently a full time potter in the Burlington area. Her work experience includes teaching adults and children to produce glaze ready wares while educating them on the process of making ceramics.

CINDY UNDERHILL – began her studies in watercolour at Sheridan College in 1988 and continued studying with several teachers at the OAS, the BAC as well as well-known Canadian artists. Cindy enjoys experimenting in different painting styles but prefers impressionism, which is reflected in her paintings.

BAOXING ZHANG
– Began his training at 6 years of age with his well-known artist father and with various private teachers. Later studied at art universities & colleges in Bejing during which he and some friends organized and ran the Student Art Association of Peking University. He is a member of Sumi-é Artists of Canada.

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