School Staff
JOSH THOMPSON - Office Manager
Previously a student of ours, Josh has been a part of CFSOTA since 2012 studying drawing and painting with Norman Aberle. Josh later joined our staff in 2017 as an instructor for drawing and even spray paint art, you may have seen him doing spray paint art live at our Fun Fridays or during the Mountain day fair in Buena Vista. Josh has explored many styles/mediums in art but has focused mainly on portrait drawings and miniature painting for his personal work. Josh joined our staff again during the summer of 2020 as our new office manager. His works can be found on Never Hollow Studios on Instagram and Facebook.
Previously a student of ours, Josh has been a part of CFSOTA since 2012 studying drawing and painting with Norman Aberle. Josh later joined our staff in 2017 as an instructor for drawing and even spray paint art, you may have seen him doing spray paint art live at our Fun Fridays or during the Mountain day fair in Buena Vista. Josh has explored many styles/mediums in art but has focused mainly on portrait drawings and miniature painting for his personal work. Josh joined our staff again during the summer of 2020 as our new office manager. His works can be found on Never Hollow Studios on Instagram and Facebook.
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! Mar also teaches our Jewelry Making with precious metal clay classes at CFSOTA, http://www.cfsota.org/childrens-classes.html
School Instructors
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
BENJAMIN ANSTED started his artistic journey (and training) as a charge artist while earning a degree in theatre arts. After receiving his training, Benjamin used his new found skills and knowledge to expand his interests by using his skills to design and create sets for theatrical performances and eventually teaching scenic painting at a collegiate level as a co-teacher while still attending school. After receiving his bachelors degree, Benjamin used his new skills to continue to create art by designing and building an art installation for a group of local artists and eventually using his skills as a tool to assist at-risk youth channel their creative energies into positive behaviors through art. Ben’s love for tabletop gaming also caught his interest and he began to expand from large paintings to small paintings. The skills of art history, color theory, design, and various mediums in painting.
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/
MALLORY BURRELL is a Harrisonburg Virginia based artist who cross-pollinates drawing, painting, photography, collage, and installation work. Investigating polluted spaces and left-behind objects and detritus propels her practice. Burrell has art degrees from Virginia Tech and obtained a master’s degree in fine art at James Madison University. She has had residencies and exhibitions in various states and cities in the country. Her work can be further explored at malloryburrell.com.
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.
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
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.
