Visual Arts Chair: Lyn McCracken
Elizabeth Ann Beemster. Beginning Drawing, Advanced Drawing, Watercolor, Visual Images in Alternative Media.
B.F.A. (Painting), University ofWashington. Lisa has taught at the Young Artists Summer Academy and the Academy of Realistic Art, now Gage Academy. Her exhibitions include "Documents Northwest: Nature Studies," "Referencing Leonardo," and "Bird Sanctuary," all at the Seattle Art Museum. She won an Award of Honor in the Northwest Biennial Competition at the Tacoma Art Museum. Lisa's work has been shown at Carnegie Mellon University, the Smithsonian Institute, and in Guild of Natural Science Illustrators exhibitions. At NWS since 1997.
Curtis Erlinger. Beginning Drawing, Drawing Into Painting, Public Art.
B.F.A | M.F.A. (Visual Art) University of Missouri. Curtis began making art at St. Louis University High School and the University of Missouri (B.F.A); he discovered education while serving as an AmeriCorps volunteer in Seattle, where he continued his service as a VISTA coordinator (Westhill Elementary) and Artist in Residence (Woodinville Elementary). After returning to the University of Missouri (M.F.A) to gain further experience teaching and making art, Curtis developed a Visual Studies Foundations curriculum at the University of Buffalo (SUNY), while teaching photography and creative writing workshops for at-risk youth at CEPA Gallery. He returned to Seattle in 2008 to teach at Pratt Fine Arts Center, The Kirkland Arts Center, The Frye Art Museum, and The Northwest School. Currently a member of Prole Drift, Punch Gallery, and SOIL Artist Collective, Curtis has exhibited his work locally, nationally, and internationally in several exhibitions. At NWS since 2010.
Jeanne Ferraro. Sculpture and Super 8 Filmmaking.
B.F.A (Fine Arts), Kent State University; M.F.A (Fine Arts), Rochester Institute of Technology, School of American Crafts. Jeanne joins Northwest from the Pratt Fine Art Center, where she served as an adjunct instructor in figure sculpture and figure drawing; glass blowing and glass fusing; and teen painting and drawing. She has also worked at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma and the Bellevue Art Museum, among other art institutions. A practicing artist, her most recent exhibitions have been featured in Pittsburgh, Denver, and at Seattle City Hall. At NWS since 2011.
Ish Ishmael. Photo Lab Technician, Residential Life Coordinator.
B.F.A, Seattle University. An avid photographer and traveler, Ish teaches photo classes to youth and adults in the Seattle area along with her work at The Northwest School. In her spare time, Ish likes to work on her photography, read, cook, and find ways to practice Spanish. She has a hard time picking favorite things, and loves interacting with different people. At Northwest since 2010.
Lyn McCracken. Photography.
B.F.A., Cornish College of the Arts; M.F.A., Mills College. Lyn has extensive experience as a visiting lecturer and has taught photography in colleges, high schools, and community centers since the early 1990's. Lyn makes connections as she teaches, between the history of photography, the technology and science of photography, light and chemistry, and how people see or perceive the world. She has an ongoing interest in the role of photographic images as catalysts or indicators of social change. Lyn's own photographic work is primarily documentary and includes a variety of themes: laborers, gangs in San Francisco, the Cypress Street Bridge, burnt forests, cultural and architectural images from Cuba and Peru, and Artifacts in the Landscape. She has received awards, grants and institutional commissions for her work and is an active member of the National Society for Photographic Education. At NWS since 1997.
Sandy Nelson. Visual Design, Fiber Arts, Paper & Print.
B.F.A. (Painting), Ohio State University; M.F.A. (Ceramics), Washington State University; M.A. (English Education),Ohio State University. Sandy has a background in Ceramic Sculpture and Blacksmithing. She is an artist member of Sev Shoon, a printmaking studio in Ballard. Joined NWS in 1991.
Wyn Pottinger-Levy. Design Studio, Graphic Design and Yearbook.
B.A. (Communications and Art), University of Washington. For the last 10 years, Wyn has served as the Graphic Design, Visual Art and Yearbook instructor at The Center School where she developed curriculum for Graphic Design I & II based on nationwide exploration of high school and college-level courses, as well as state and professional standards. She also implemented, administered and taught in the school-wide arts integration program to all students in their humanities, science, math and Spanish classes. Outside of the classroom, Wyn is involved in many pro-bono arts initiatives including serving on the education advisory councils at the Seattle Art Museum and the Seattle Architecture Foundation. At NWS since 2011.
Randolph Silver. Middle and Upper School Ceramic Sculpture & Pottery.
B.A. (Economics with emphasis in visual arts, ceramics), Pepperdine University; M.A.Ed. (Curriculum and Instruction in Art, Creati-vity and Ceramics), Seattle University. Randolph was six years old when he took his first clay class and has been captivated by ceramics ever since! His artistic pursuits have led him to study primitive pit-fired pottery (while in Central America) to the cutting edge of contemporary ceramic sculpture (as an artist in residence in Shigaraki, Japan). His work is shown at Whitebird Gallery (Cannon Beach), Kobo (Seattle), Gunnar Nordstrom (Bellevue), Art Stop (Tacoma), Frank and Dunya (Fremont), and Northwest Craft Center (Seattle Center). His work is collected privately, in corporate collections and is held by the American Museum of Ceramic Art. Randolph has been published in Ceramics Monthly, Pottery Making Illustrated and Best of American Ceramics. Student at NWS in 1980, co-teaching since 2004, and teaching since 2008.