School Staff
LAURA RAINONE - Executive Director
Laura joined the School in July 2016. She holds a Master of Education and certification in School Counseling from Notre Dame College in Manchester, New Hampshire. Laura brings experiences rich in working with students of all ages, recruitment, leadership development, philanthropy and fundraising for the visual and performing arts, and creative problem solving to the School of the Arts. She has a caring approach to work and life and has been active in the beautiful Alleghany Highlands community since making it her home in 2013. Laura enjoys needle arts, is a collector and restorer of vintage and antique linens, and believes that any endeavor, done well, is an art.
Laura joined the School in July 2016. She holds a Master of Education and certification in School Counseling from Notre Dame College in Manchester, New Hampshire. Laura brings experiences rich in working with students of all ages, recruitment, leadership development, philanthropy and fundraising for the visual and performing arts, and creative problem solving to the School of the Arts. She has a caring approach to work and life and has been active in the beautiful Alleghany Highlands community since making it her home in 2013. Laura enjoys needle arts, is a collector and restorer of vintage and antique linens, and believes that any endeavor, done well, is an art.
KEELY NOFFSINGER MASSIE- Program Assistant
A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Keely is a documentary family photographer who joined the School in June 2017. She contributes her talents in web & graphic design, social media, and marketing to the School's administrative work. As a former preschool teacher and a homeschool mom of four, Keely brings experience in working with children of all ages. Beyond her part-time work in the School's office, she will be teaching photography classes for children and teens, as well as for parents and grandparents looking to improve their skill in photographing children. In addition to photography, Keely enjoys gardening, reading, traveling, and being outdoors.
A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Keely is a documentary family photographer who joined the School in June 2017. She contributes her talents in web & graphic design, social media, and marketing to the School's administrative work. As a former preschool teacher and a homeschool mom of four, Keely brings experience in working with children of all ages. Beyond her part-time work in the School's office, she will be teaching photography classes for children and teens, as well as for parents and grandparents looking to improve their skill in photographing children. In addition to photography, Keely enjoys gardening, reading, traveling, and being outdoors.
School Instructors
NORMAN ABERLE received a BFA from Pratt Institute in painting and printmaking and has applied that training in many ways. Graphic design and illustration, book design, exhibiting, and working in galleries eventually lead to a position as curator of a group of museums in Key West, Florida. Creating murals, exhibit design and installation focused on the interpretation of local art and history became a passion for Norman. Relatively new to the Alleghany Highlands, he is intrigued by the regional identity and individual aspirations of its people. “The arts are among the ways we share our sense of what is important to us. Regional traditions give a sense of place and the arts provide a set of skills to share our experiences.”
CHUCK ALMAREZ is a graduate of Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, CA and has worked in commercial and industrial photography, product marketing, and advertising since 1980. For 15 years he has specialized in event photography in southwest Virginia through his company Kid Pix Photography. Since 2003 he has taught digital imaging at Dabney S. Lancaster Community College in Clifton Forge and also conducts seminars and one-on-one training in photography and PhotoShop techniques. Chuck is a member of Virginia Professional Photographers Association (VPPA), the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP), and the Rockbridge Camera Club, and is an Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) in Photoshop. His works can be found in the Fire and Light Gallery in Clifton Forge, as well as at http://alleghanyhighlandsartisansshops.com/brands/Chuck-Almarez.html
GEORGE AYARS began working in stained glass in 1974 and has been teaching it for over 30 years. He teaches many forms of glass art including traditional foil and lead came construction, fusing, lampshades, beadwork and glass mosaics. He teaches many practical applications of glass work, including design, marketing, repair and installation. As a guest instructor he has travelled across the United States and written for various glass art publications. He enjoyed his own full-time studio in Burlington, North Carolina, for six years before returning to Michigan to manage a major art glass supplier and oversee its educational programs. He now lives in Covington, Virginia, with his wife Robin, where they grow sustainable produce. George's work can be found for sale at http://alleghanyhighlandsartisansshops.com/brands/George-Ayars.html
JULIE M. BENNETT arrived in the United States 12 years ago as a professional translator of languages in New York City, with an avocation in the art of knitting. Born and raised in Soviet-era Russia, Julie began knitting at the age of 11 out of necessity due to shortages in the Soviet Union to provide clothing for her and her family in the industrial city of Chelyabinsk, near Siberia. She oftentimes performs the rare art of recycling yarns from clothing in order to have quality fibers for her projects. She has a clientele throughout the eastern United States making clothing on a custom- order basis. “I’m trying to take the stress out of the knitting process by not relying on reading patterns,” Bennett says, and adds, “various techniques will be offered to achieve this.”
GLEN BRYANT has been a metalworker and blacksmith for the better part of 40 years. Some of his larger projects can be seen in the Alleghany Highlands. He designed, built, and installed both signs for the C&O Railway Historical Society and the CSX Office Building; same for the fence and decorative gate around Virginia Landscaping & Supply; the matching chandeliers hanging in The Company Store & Iron Company Restaurant; and the ornate door handles at Jack Mason's Tavern. His smaller works may be less noticeable but they also reflect his artistry and craftsmanship. His work is on display and for sale at Fire and Light Gallery in Clifton Forge and online at http://alleghanyhighlandsartisansshops.com/metal/
TROY COTTRELL was born in the Alleghany Highlands, his school years were spent in Baltimore, but this was always home. At age sixteen, upon graduation from high school, he packed his van and came home to the Highlands. He put his hands to working on wood in the construction trade and hasn’t put wood down since. Like his father and step-father, Troy is a self-taught wood worker. Troy’s pieces are made from locally harvested trees of oak, sassafras, walnut, cherry, hickory and others that he finds. Troy and his wife are an example of the kind people you will find here. They have made a home here for their children; biological children, adopted children, and more than twenty foster children. Some of his works can be found for sale at http://alleghanyhighlandsartisansshops.com/brands/Troy-Cottrell.html
WENDY CHRISTINE DUKE has been making Oshi-e (oh-she-aye) for over four decades & learned the obscure old Japanese craft technique while living in northern Japan. She has lived in many places in the world, but none so enchanting as the Blue Ridge Mountains where her home and studio are in Glasgow, VA. Her work has been commissioned for more than 50 residential and corporate settings and has won awards regionally, nationally and internationally. The classes are part of her research on a book she is writing as an Introduction to Contemporary Oshi-e. A display of Wendy's oshi-e process is on display at the School of the Arts. Some of Wendy's oshi-e work can be seen in a slideshow on her website at http://www.cloudhavenstudio.com/Oshi-eSlideShow/index.htm
JOANNE HAYSLETT is a longtime resident in the Alleghany Highlands and brought her considerable talents to the School in September, 2014. Well-known throughout the area through her participation on the piano in an assortment of musical events, cultural programs and other festivities, presently Ms. Hayslett is the accompanist for the Alleghany Highlands Chorale. For more than thirty years, she has adhered to the principle of one-on-one teaching; that each student has the ability to learn at their own pace and level of understanding. Her focus is to raise the interest and nurture the talent in each student. Ms. Hayslett has lived in the Alleghany Highlands since her teen-age years. She is a graduate of Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina, and has received the Bachelor of Arts degree in Piano.
MAR JIMENEZ is the instructor of our Side by Side program for toddlers and preschoolers. Early childhood principles of color, shape, movement, and rhythm are emphasized through drawing, painting, collage, blocks and music. Join us for one session or all! http://www.cfsota.org/childrens-classes.html
CYNDY SHORTER LITTLETON was first introduced to clay in 1979 while a student at Mary Baldwin College. At the time, Jim Hanger of Staunton was instructing students from MBC at his studio. In 1981 she changed her major from art to biology and put her pottery tools away. In March of 2013, Lee Taylor offered a pottery class at CFSOTA and Cyndy picked up her tools again. Since then she has studied under famous potters such as Steven Hill and raku artist Lynn Conyers. Currently she instructs in wheel throwing and raku while building a portfolio for her business Earth, Fire, and Clay. Her work can also be found for sale at http://alleghanyhighlandsartisansshops.com/brands/Cyndy-Littleton.html
JUDITH SIVONDA is retired from the New Haven, Connecticut, public school system and has taught at the School of the Arts since our opening. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Hartford Art School of the University of Hartford and a Master's in History from Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT). She has studied with Roy Superior, Wolfgang Biehl, Paul W. Zimmerman, Rudolf F. Zallinger, Mary Barnes, Micheal DiGiorgio and Charlie Hunter. Judith works in oils, acrylics, dry media, sculpts, and is the proprietor of The Art Store at our School. Some of Judith's work can be found for sale at the School and at http://alleghanyhighlandsartisansshops.com/brands/Judith-Sivonda.html
JOSH THOMPSON has been a student at the Clifton Forge School of the Arts since the year 2013, studying under Norman Aberle. For years Josh has pursued his art career by entering local art shows, experimenting with many different mediums, selling his work, and is currently in college pursuing degrees in art and education. Now he joins us in 2017 as a staff member and the drawing instructor of the school, continuing to follow his dream of being an Art Teacher. His work can be found on Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube under the name Josh Thompson ART.
JOAN VANNORSDALL returned to Clifton Forge after she retired from teaching in the International Baccalaureate program at Salem High School. A native of New Haven, Connecticut, Joan received a BA in English & Political Science from St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN, and a Master of Arts in English from University of Minnesota. Joan is actively involved in three passions: writing, yoga, and teaching. Joan has been practicing yoga for twenty years and became a certified Ashtanga yoga instructor in 2009. She has taught students ranging in age from sixteen to seventy-five. She has completed a Therapeutic Yoga for Seniors course at the Duke School of Integrative Medicine, Yin Yoga certification completed in 2016 with Bernie Clark in Vancouver, BC, and has studied with Sarah Powers, founder of Insight Yoga. Joan is committed to teaching safe, heart-opening, injury-free yoga, assisting students with improving flexibility, strength and balance in every aspect of life. Joan is the author of three novels and numerous articles with essays appearing in the New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Roanoke Times and the Baltimore Sun as well as regional magazines. With a committee of interested citizens, she recently initiated a local history book and recording project, What's Your Story?
JOE WOOD was born and raised in Alleghany County. Both his father and grandfather were master carpenters. Joe received his first woodturning instruction in a woodworking class at Alleghany County High School. He has continued his passion for woodworking throughout his lifetime. Since his retirement from a nearby paper company, Joe has had more time to devote to his craft. He enjoys using native woods, especially woods that may be rejected by commercial lumber yards. In addition to lathe work, Joe also enjoys making furniture. He participates in local craft shows and farmers markets.
