Fairmount Art Center

	FACULTY Jill Markovitz is the founder and director of the Fairmount Art Center and a Philadelphia native. She holds a Masters of Fine Art from the University of Massachusetts and a BA in Art Education from the University of New Mexico. She has dedicated her career to art education, holds a K-12, PA teaching certification, and has taught art at every level from pre-school through university. Jill has established vibrant and diverse art programs in many settings bringing her commitment to current theory and best practices to students and teachers, alike. Jill is an accomplished, exhibiting artist with her large-format photographic work. Passionate about the cultivation of community through the arts, Jill led the development of the Fairmount Arts Crawl in 2004 and founded the Fairmount Arts Council in 2005. In 2007, Jill was honored with the Rising Star award from the American Red Cross which distinguishes women who demonstrate outstanding achievements and who positively impact their community. Richard Aldorasi, a master handmade paper artists with over 40 years of expereince, holds a B.F.A. from LA City Collage and has taught students of all ages in hundreds of settings throughout the Greater Philadelphia area. In 1989 he established his own company, Philadelphia Handmade Paper Company and conducts workshops in paper making, letter press printing, book arts, Turkish and Japanese Suminagashi marbling, paste painting, momigami paper design, and making Egyptian papyrus paper, to name just a few! Richard has been a resident artist with the Pennsylvania Arts in Education program for 12 years and he exhibits his work throughout the region. Abbien Crowley, Abs MA ATR-BC holds an MA in Art Therapy from Drexel University and a BS in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Fine Art and Art History from The University of Scranton. Abbien is a practicing art therapist and has provided therapeutic services to both adults and children throughout the Philadelphia area. Abbien leads FAC s early childhood art education program and has been a valuable and dynamic teacher, here, since 2006. Colette Fu received her MFA in Fine Art Photography from the Rochester Institute of Technology, a BFA in photography from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a BA in French Language and Literature from the University of Virginia. A Fulbright Scholar in 2008, Colette has been a resident fellow at institutions including the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center Fellow, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, the Visual Studies Workshop, and the Alden B. Dow Center for Creativity. In addition, Colette has received accolades from organizations including the Sovereign Foundation, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Virginia Commission for the Arts, Constance Saltonstall Foundation, The Butler Institute of Art, En Foco, the Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester, Photographer's Forum, Nikon, the Puffin Foundation, the Society for Photographic Education, and Fleisher Art Memorial. Jennifer Gin received a BFA in Fibers/Crafts from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia with a concentration in Fibers and Mixed Media. She has extensive experience with textile printing and fabrication and has taken additional coursework at Temple and Drexel Universities in graphic art and pattern drafting. Jennifer also enjoys freelance work creating digital archives, designing costumes for local dance groups, and teaching English as a second language. In addition to her classes at FAC, Jennifer is the Senior Secretary/Assistant in the graphic Design Department at UArts. Johanna Hertz is the happy and proud owner of Cloth & Bobbin (clothandbobbin.com), a fabric store in Narberth, PA. Johanna learned to sew many years ago in junior high school and has loved fabric and sewing ever since. With a Bachelor s degree in Psychology and a Masters in Library Science, Johanna spent most of her career in real estate. In 2007 Johanna decided to go back to sewing and the idea for her fabric store was hatched! She enjoys assisting customers in choosing fabrics, working creatively, and sharing her knowledge through teaching sewing to others. Miranda Hitzemann has worked at FAC in many different capacities and comes to us with diverse experience. She earned a masters degree in Urban Spatial Analytics from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelors of fine art in architecture from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. She earned many scholarships and accolades throughout her studies. In Boston, Miranda worked as an architect for many years. She also studied under a master porcelain artist for six years and exhibited her ceramics and furniture design throughout the Boston area. Additionally, Miranda has served on the Fairmount Arts Council and worked as the Business Liaison to develop and nurture the Fairmount Arts Crawl, yearly arts event. Sarah Horne is a graduate of the University of the Arts, Fibers and Glass Department and has taken additional course work at Tyler School of Art, among others. She has received awards for her creative work including a Kimmel Scholarship. She has both adults and children in a variety of settings including UArts and teaches at the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts. Sarah s diverse experience also includes work with the International Opera Company of Philadelphia creating set designs and costumes. Sarah s fine art is in numerous private collections and she exhibits throughout the Greater Philadelphia area. Carole Loeffler is an artist who creates sculptural installations. Carole, a native of New Jersey, received her B.F.A. from Rutgers University and received her M.F.A. from University of South Florida in Tampa. Previously, she taught and directed the Foundations program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and is currently teaching Sculpture and coordinating the Foundations program at Arcadia University. While residing in the Mid-west, Carole had numerous solo and group exhibitions in New York, St. Louis, Chicago, Cleveland, North Carolina, Indiana and Florida. Since relocating to the East Coast, she has had regional exhibitions in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland and Philadelphia. Her work is driven by intuitive process and play with various materials. Lisa Learner received her B.F.A. from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University and a Master's in Fine Art from the University of Pennsylvania. She has taught at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Tyler School of Art, the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, Cabrini College, University of the Arts, Akiba Academy, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the Main Line Art Center. Lisa has exhibited her paintings nationally and has an impressive collections list; purchasers of her work include the American Council on Education, the Federal Reserve Bank in Philadelphia, the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, Hahnemann School of Medicine, Blue Cross, and Settlement Music School of Philadelphia. Additionally, her work has been published including in a textbook on literature along with paintings by Edward Hopper and Georgia O'Keefe. Sarah Lewis is a graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts certificate program in painting. Working with a juxtaposition of simple materials used in new ways to create conceptual installations, Sarah has exhibited her work in annual exhibitions at PAFA. She is versed in traditional approaches to painting and drawing and has experience teaching people of all ages. Sara McLaughlin comes to us with passion for knitting, interior design, and architecture. She holds degrees in communications, interior design, and most recently earned a Master's Degree in historic preservation from the University of Pennsylvania. Sara currently works in the preservation studio of a Philadelphia architectural firm and moonlights as a knitting instructor to feed her love for the arts! She is an accomplished knitter with over 7 years of teaching experience in Boston, New York City, and Philadelphia and has designed and knit sweaters for Barney's New York. Stephanie Nolan is an early childhood music teacher with over 10 years of experience including parent/child settings at Sally's Music Circle. Additionally, she has taught/teaches at Montgomery Early Learning Center, BZBI Synagogue, the Phoebe Thorn School, and other enrichment programs throughout the area. Stephanie holds a BA in Dance & Literature from Goddard College and has additional training in early childhood music theory from The Settlement School of Music, along with voice training. Stephanie also brings her energetic and developmental teaching style to families through concerts and benefits and she is the founder of Stevie and the Bluescasters, a four piece, acoustic blues and R&B group that has been performing for 20 years from Philly to New York and is the headlining band for this years' Riverhead Blues Festival in New York. Rachel Polizzi holds a BFA from The Fashion Institute of Technology, NYC in Graphic Design/Display and Exhibition Design. Originally hailing from Buffalo, Rachel was brought to Philadelphia to design custom letterpress/engraved wedding invitations and stationary for Two Paperdolls LLC and Louella Press. She is currently in the process of receiving her Art Education certification at Moore College of Art and Design and is also a teacher with their Young Artists Workshop program. John Ryan is a Philadelphia photographer with a B.A. in sociology and philosophy from Temple University. He has studied photography and art history at Drexel University, Mason Gross, University of the Arts, and Temple University. John teaches youth art at several community centers throughout Philadelphia and volunteers as a tutor for high school students. John’s interest in childhood development compliments his approach to art as a valuable source of problem solving skills for enriching personal growth. Alexis Schaffer is fashion designer with a BFA from Moore College of Art and Design. She has worked in research, design, and creation for a number of companies including Rasta Imposta (kids costumes), Goodland Apparel (kids clothing), Andrew Sportswear (embroidery specialist), Michael Simon (women s sweaters) as well as interning at Anne Klein and House of Field in New York. In true Philly style, Alexis has created costumes for Mummers groups including a fancy brigade. Laura Velez has studied art at a range of institutions including the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts, New York Academy of Art, and The Arts Students League. She received her undergraduate degree in Fine Art from Louisiana Tech. Laura is a talented portrait and figure painter, who, in graduate school at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, shifted her focus to sculptural installation. Laura has exhibited her work widely and has received honors including the Eagles and Angels Award from PAFA. Ananda Wiley received her B.F.A. in photography from the University of the Arts in 2000. She became involved in community based art outreach working with non-profits and volunteering. After several years she decided to cement her commitment to art education and is currently pursuing her Masters in Education at the Tyler School of Art. She recently participated in the summer enrichment program offered by The Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership as a teaching artist. She continues to be active as an artist in printmaking and book arts. Fairmount Art Center 2501 Olive Street Philadelphia, PA 19130 215.765.ARTS info@fairmountartcenter.com