Born and raised in Northern New Jersey; I grew up on a mountain top, which towered over a tiny town that is all of one whole square mile. With that, you can believe me when I say I did not have as many resources readily available. Because of this, I knew art school was a must to be able to grow into a professional artist. That is how I found The Delaware College of Art and Design. At DCAD I earned my Associate of Fine Arts in Illustration and then moved onto Pratt Institute where I then earned my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Furthering myself away from my small town, I began working at DCAD to guide students through the process of beginning their artistic careers and spread the wealth of information and resources to find a path that is right for them to become a confident artist.  

Melissa Fitzgerald is an illustrator from Delaware. She got her BFA in painting from a very traditional fine arts program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Then attended grad school at the Savannah College of Art and Design and earned an MFA in illustration. She been teaching at the college level since 2009. As an illustrator Melissa has worked for The National Park service and Delaware State Parks. She has had work in galleries and museums. Designs and illustrations of her’s have sold across the country and internationally. With her art she works both traditionally and digitally with a focus on printmaking.

Wydelah Llanos is a Philadelphia native who received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from Moore College of Art & Design. As a student, she discovered her love for education and helping others and decided to get her Master of Science in Psychology online via the University of Phoenix. She started her journey in Higher Education by going back to her roots at Moore in the Admissions office which then led her to Admissions at Delaware College of Art & Design where she has found her tribe. Wydelah is very passionate about advocating for students who are underrepresented and strives to be an example for those who come from struggle as she has.

Casey Smith is the Area Coordinator for Liberal Arts at DCAD and runs the DCAD Writers Studio. He holds an AB in English literature from Kenyon College and an MA in English literature and language and a PhD in English with a minor in Victorian studies from Indiana University. Before coming to DCAD, he spent 20 years on the faculty of the Corcoran College of Art + Design/Corcoran School of the Arts & Design at The George Washington University, where he was founder and director of the Corcoran Writers Center. He also has taught at Indiana University and West Chester University. A frequent publisher and presenter of scholarly work on a range of topics, Casey most recently presented “Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market: 150 Years of Art & Illustration” at the Annual Symposium of the Fellowship of American Bibliophile Societies and “William Joseph Ibbett (1858-1934): Poet, Printer, Piquerist, Ripper Suspect?” at RipperCon18, the Biannual Conference on Jack the Ripper, the Whitechapel Murders, True Crime and Late Victorian Period History. He is an active member of the College Book Art Association; the American Printing History Association; the Research Society for Victorian Periodicals; the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing; and The William Morris Society of North America.

Laura Brzyski was born and raised in Philadelphia (not a suburb of). Laura received her master of arts degree in English from Lehigh University, specializing in medieval literature, and then spent four years as a high school English literature and creative writing teacher before coming to DCAD. Her poetry has been published in the CEA’s Proceedings, Weal and Vagabond City, and her creative nonfiction has appeared in The Stonecoast Review. At DCAD, Laura teaches “Reading and Composition” and “Academic Writing Lab.” In the world, she is an avid globetrotter, dog lover and taco eater.

Mariam I. Williams is a writer, arts educator and public historian born and raised in Kentucky. She holds an MFA in creative writing and a certificate in public history from Rutgers University-Camden and also is an alumna of VONA/Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation. As a member of The Decades, a Philadelphia-based woman of color arts collaborative with members of different generational, ethnic and regional identities, Mariam seeks to present counter-narratives to people of color’s collective trauma and objectification. She currently is writing a memoir and thinking about projects that combine writing, dance, visual art and podcasting to present the true stories of underserved communities whose narratives historically have faced erasure. Mariam’s work has been published in Women’s Review of Books, on Hidden City Philadelphia, on Longreads.com, The Common and several other publications. Outside DCAD, Mariam is project director of “Chronicling Resistance, Enabling Resistance,” an initiative by the Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries to think about current collections, resistance narratives and ways to build partnerships, strengthen collections and engage new audiences. She also teaches dance fitness classes for Freedom Valley YMCA.

Lisa comes to DCAD with a background in academic and studio training and seeks innovative ways of teaching art history. She has taught “Introduction to Art,” “Art History I” and “Art History II” in the greater Philadelphia area, along with current classes in “Art History I,” “Art History III” and “Writing for the Arts.” Lisa holds an undergraduate degree in English literature from Rutgers University-Camden and a graduate degree in humanities, art history, from Arcadia University. She also studied drawing and sculpture at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, where she served as a studio monitor for portrait and figure drawing and painting.

Penni Gioffre, MA, MEd, is an experienced teaching artist and a longtime DCAD faculty member. At the College, she has taught studio (interior design) and art history courses and acted as interim area coordinator of the liberal arts department. Penni’s approach to teaching art/design history combines a traditional emphasis on the recognition of form and style with a broader exploration of the social-cultural-political significance of art and art makers. Courses taught within the department include “Art History II,” “Art History III (Modern Art),” “Introduction to Non-Western Art,” “Visual Dialogues” and “The Sensational Sixties & Seventies.” In addition to DCAD, Penni has taught at the University of Delaware and completed numerous artist residencies in Delaware K-12 schools. She also works outside academia facilitating expressive arts workshops for cancer-related wellness programs and collaborating with mental health professionals on the creation and implementation of trauma-informed, art-based activities and interventions. Research and professional development interests include learner-centered pedagogy in higher ed, contemplative initiatives for academic settings and art making as wellness practice.

Grant has a passion for animation and game development and has been working in Philadelphia’s independent game scene since 2015. He is a DCAD alumni (Class of 2013, Animation) and went on to study animation and game design at University of the Arts. Along with teaching at DCAD, he is a full-time game developer at Biostream Technologies. In his spare time, he self-publishes video games and tabletop games through his independent studio Honeycomb Interactive. He also works occasionally as a freelance game artist and illustrator.

Katy Matich Ro is a bookmaker, printmaker, and illustrator who is equally passionate about the visual arts and education. When she is not developing her latest zombie zine, or motivating her design students, you can find Katy meticulously laboring away at repairing sickly “broken” books. Katy exhibits her work nationally and internationally with her work being on archive at the Salford Zine Library of Manchester of the United Kingdom, the University of Pennsylvania’s artist book archive, and The Free Library of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Partner and Lead Designer at Digital Eye, LLC. Warren has over 15 years of experience creating websites and applications for a variety of clients.

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Joy is the Art Director for the College of Engineering at the University of Delaware as well as a budding metalsmith. www.arcusatelier.com

Herb is a professional Web Designer, Graphic Designer, and Illustrator.  Herb serves as the Senior Web Designer and Developer at Trellist, Inc.

Rob has taught at DCAD since 1999 and was a senior UX Designer for Bank of America. Rob has extensive experience in photography, prepress and imaging software technologies and is the previous owner and original partner of Colourworks, a commercial photo lab.

Raymond has a lifelong involvement in visual art including:

• Teaching
• Drawing
• Painting
• Printmaking
• Portraiture
• Storyboarding for animation and live-action production
• Logo design
• Computer graphics imaging

Teaching experience includes:

• Instruction of drawing and painting at the Arts
• Council of Princeton and storyboarding at the Otis College of Art and Design.

Amanda has taught drawing and painting courses at Delaware College of Art and Design, University of Delaware, Delaware Art Museum, Washington College and Cecil College. Her drawings have been selected by The Viewing Program at The Drawing Center, NYC. Recent exhibitions include Annual Members Juried Exhibition, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, RSVP 2011, National Juried Exhibition, NWAA, and Drawing on Experience, Woman Made Gallery.

Olga’s graduate study includes figure painting, drawing, anatomy, figure and portrait sculpture. She recently won a drawing competition and will be published in the new “Strokes of Genius 5, Best of Drawing” book which will be published in Fall 2013. In addition, her recent sculpture won the Leona Karp Braverman Award at the Fellowship of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Olga exhibits her work extensively in the Philadelphia area in solo and group shows with work in many private collections.

Hailing from the Susquehanna Valley in Pennsylvania, Rick Phillips now calls Claymont, Delaware his home. After graduating with honors from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and studying under renowned artists Henry Koerner and Flavia Zortea, Rick joined the advertising firm of Depersico Design as an illustrator where he worked for more than 10 years. In 1998, he co-founded the graphic design and marketing firm of Phillips Saddler Creative. He is an active member of The Philadelphia Sketch Club and the Delaware Foundation for the Visual Arts. In 2012 Rick founded the Darley Arts Center, a gallery for visual artists and a center for Art Education and workshops. In the city, in the country, or working on a still life, Rick gets to the heart of his subjects with loose and bravura brushstrokes, elegant and evocative color, and a unique sense of mood. Phillips’ work is in many private collections, both locally and nationally, and he is represented by Hardcastle Galleries in both Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Michael has taught at DCAD since 2006 and describes his style as somewhere between traditional realism and modern surrealism. He has been in numerous solo and group shows throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Self-represented, currently working on an exhibition for 2010, Michael’s work has been published in The Hunt, ‘After Wyeth, Art Collectors Look to a New Generation of Brandywine Realist,’ by Roger Morris.

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Jean is an artist, designer, writer, and illustrator. She studied painting and graphics at the Corcoran School of Art with Bill Neumman and Johan Severtson, and with many artists including Eo Omwake, Tom Bostelle, Bo Bartlett. She is currently represented in galleries in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Kurt Brugel creates strangely honest art. A lifelong resident of Wilmington, Delaware, Kurt was introduced to art at an early age. The Howard Pyle tradition has been the greatest and most continual influence on him. Kurt graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art with a Fine Arts Degree in 1992. Kurt Brugel is a real guy, making real drawings. His primary focus in technique and medium is with a pencil and a piece of paper, completing most works in colored pencils on toned papers.

JoAnne Schiavone has been a paper artist: making book structures, folding screens, and paper sculptures in both traditional and nontraditional formats for the past twenty-five years. She received her MFA from University of the Arts in 2008 and has exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibits and received grants from the Joan Mitchell Foundation, The NJ State Council on the Arts and the PA State Arts Council. JoAnne currently teaches Book Arts and Printmaking at York College in York, PA.

Pat Rosenberger has been an exhibiting artist for more than 20 years. Her imagination for her jewelry is sparked by her experiences; using silversmithing techniques, Pat currently works in silver, copper and brass. She has taught adult classes at various institutions including the Stifel Fine Arts Center, The Steubenville Center for Arts and The Jefferson Community College.

About six years ago Patricia discovered and fell in love with the techniques and weaves of the ancient art of chain maille. She enjoys exploring new ways to make chain maille jewelry as well as hand-knotting classic pearls. Patricia has been teaching workshops at DCAD for several years and sells her jewelry at fine crafts shows.

Photographer Kathleen Buckalew began her work as a photographer for the Design & Exhibition Department of the National Gallery of Art. She has won numerous awards for her work, including a fellowship from the Delaware Division of the Arts; a resident fellowship at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and was named the McKinstry Scholar by the Delaware Heritage Commission in 2005 for her continuing work on her project of documenting farmers in Delaware (now in the process of becoming a book). Kathleen has exhibited her work across the U.S. In 2011, Ms. Buckalew was one of the artists included in the book, “100 Artists of the Brandywine Valley.” She is a member of the Diamond State Branch of the National League of American Pen Women, the Delaware Press Association, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, the Center for the Creative Arts, and is an active member of a group she co-founded, called the Brandywine Photo Collective. Currently, Ms. Buckalew is the staff photographer for the Hagley Museum and Library in Wilmington, DE.

David Norbut is a portrait and music photographer with an intense passion for shooting street and documentary work. His photographs have been published in The Guardian, The New York Times, Huffington Post and have been exhibited in several galleries around the globe. David is drawn to capturing the raw beauty of the people he meets and the environments surrounding us. He is based in Wilmington, Delaware.

My relationship with DCAD began in 2005 when I enrolled as a full-time photography major. After I earned my associate of fine arts degree from DCAD and my bachelor of fine arts degree from Pratt Institute, I have held multiple positions at the college from Assistant Director of Student Services, part time faculty for the Continuing Education Department, to Director of Community Programs. As the Director of Admissions, I want to empower aspiring artists and designers with the opportunity to realize their potential of becoming an industry professional, no matter of race, gender identity, or economic background. I look forward to getting to know you and your work, apply today!

Tad Sare is the Program Chair for Animation at Delaware College of Art & Design where he instructs animation and foundation art courses. Tad is an experimental animator who exhibits work regionally and internationally. He also works commercially, creating online content, for businesses and organizations such as Delaware History Museum, The Maryland Coastal Bays Program, Greater Wilmington Convention & Visitor’s Bureau, and Camden County Community College. He continues to instruct public programs and workshops at Philadelphia Museum of Art and Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Instagram

Rachel Bomze, a painter originally from Texas, received her bachelor of arts degree in studio art with an emphasis in painting at Brandeis University. She earned her master of fine arts degree in painting from Tyler School of Art at Temple University in 2004 and was appointed area coordinator of Fine Arts and Foundations at DCAD in Fall 2016. Rachel’s own work centers on the in-between spaces. This occurs in the work where imagery hovers between the process of painting itself and a recollection of an image. In those in-between places, sometimes the work is reminiscent of weaving. Many times, the work recalls a landscape quality, like the light reflecting across the ripples in a body of water or the sensations of being enveloped by a landscape space as if in a field or underwater. Her work has been shown throughout the Pennsylvania and South Jersey region as well as in New York City.

Connie Simon teaches Two-Dimensional Design: Black and White and Two-Dimensional Design: Color. She has taught at many colleges and museums, including the University of Delaware, the L.A. County Museum of Art, and the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. In 1994, Connie was a recipient of an Individual Artist Fellowship from the Delaware Division of the Arts. She has exhibited her paintings at the Berman Museum of Art as well as many other regional colleges, community art centers , and galleries. Connie’s work has been published in Artist’s Magazine, American Artist and Art Matters.

Ellen Durkan grew up in Wilmington, Delaware, as the oldest of nine children. In addition to teaching at her alma mater, she travels around to teach blacksmith workshops. Her business, Iron Maiden Forge, has grown and evolved as she has worked on her “forged fashion” series and presented it through runway shows and performances pieces. Ellen also has a jewelry line to make her work more accessible to the public. After all, not everyone is in need of a metal corset.

Žaneta Zubkova, a native of Lithuania, is a formerly Brooklyn-based artist and an educator. At DCAD, she specializes in color and design courses. Previous teaching experiences include Pratt Institute and Adelphi University.

Aki Torii is a visual artist who resides and works in Wilmington’s Creative District. She was awarded an honorary award, the Justine Cretella Memorial Scholarship, from Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and was a Dadalus Foundation MFA Award Nominee as well. Her body of work is a theatrical reflection on social behavior through various media such as drawing, sculpture, video, and installation. She has participated in the Reel Venus Film Festival (New York, 2008), group shows such as “Instance, Instants and Distance” at Skybox Galley (Philadelphia, 2008) and Solitary Pleasure at Slought Foundation (Philadelphia, 2010). Currently, she teaches 4D Design at DCAD. In addition, she is a teaching artist at The Print Center and Family Arts Academy Workshops at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts School and Museum in Philadelphia. Torii was selected as one of the “10 Philadelphia female artists you need to know” by online magazine PhillyVoice in April 2015.

John Breakey is the Program Chair for Graphic Design at DCAD. He assists with the running of the DCAD InQb8 Design Group and is a member of the Type Director’s Club and the Philadelphia chapter of the AIGA. His design studio in New York City and, since 1998, in Wilmington, Delaware has created unique environmental design for clients seeking atypical visual solutions. JohnBreakeyStudio has completed icon through branding projects, editorial art, design and advertising for an extensive client list for over 40 years. A graduate of Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, John received his Master’s degree in Studio Arts from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. He also maintains a thriving studio practice at The Delaware Contemporary on Wilmington’s Riverfront.

Jason Olney is an adjunct graphic design professor at DCAD. He has over ten years of experience with branding, print design, web design, illustration and photography. He founded Jason Olney Design in 2008 and works with a variety of clients doing anything from restoring old photos to building websites.

Alexi Natchev was the Area Coordinator of Illustration at DCAD until 2018. Born in Sofia, Bulgaria, he works in printmaking, drawing and children’s book illustration. His work has been shown in solo, invitational, and international exhibits. Since moving to the U.S. in 1990, Alexi has published more than 15 children’s books with major American publishers, including Random House and Simon and Schuster. His work is on display at the National Art Gallery in Sofia, and The Rare Book Collection at the Princeton Library. His latest book is Urso Brunov and The White Emperor, collaboration with acclaimed writer Brian Jacques, world-renowned for The Red Wall series. Alexi has taught at Savannah College of Art and Design, the University of the Arts and the Maryland Institute College of Art.

Ian Tornay is Area Coordinator of Interior Design at DCAD. A painter and architectural designer, his teaching career includes fine art, architectural design, and art history classes at Rider University, Philadelphia University and the

Rosemary Kelly is a residential and commercial designer operating her own business since 1999 and serves as the Area Coordinator for the Interior Design Certificate Program for Continuing Education at DCAD. She also teaches interior design courses in DCAD’s Associate of Fine Arts Degree Program.

Ron Brignac grew up in Seattle and serves as Area Coordinator of Photography at DCAD. A teacher and a working artist, Ron has received numerous grants, exhibited and lectured across the region. In 2009, Ron received a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts to continue with his project of photographing people in their environment.

Leon Syfrit is a photographer who works in the Greater Philadelphia and Tri-State area. His work is included in the permanent collections of the Philadelphia History Museum, the Free Library of Pennsylvania, and the University of Maryland hospital. Leon is also the recipient of an Artist Fellowship Grant awarded by the Delaware Division of the Arts for 2014.

Her work explores the relationship between sculpture and photography through documenting hand-constructed tableaus and manipulating the physical presentation of the photograph. Koelblinger has participated in exhibitions in New York City, Atlanta, Minneapolis, and Chicago; and has most recently exhibited her work at Vox Populi Gallery in Philadelphia and the Phillips Museum in Lancaster, PA. She has attended residencies at The Bakery Photographic Collective in Portland, ME, The Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, VT and is currently an artist member at Vox Populi Gallery in Philadelphia, PA.