MEET OUR TEACHERS
Melinda Burkhead
Melinda Burkhead was born in Seattle Washington in 1971. Her love of sculpture and nature started at a young age while spending many hours immersed in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. She graduated from the University of Washington in 1998 with a double bachelor in Psychology and Sociology. Melinda then took time off to become a mother of three. She opened a children’s art studio in 2003 in California, where she taught a variety of classes to adults and children.
In 2009, Melinda was determined to pursue her passion for sculpture and go back to school. She completed her MFA in Sculpture at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco,CA. While in school, Melinda had found her voice as a sculptor exploring organic forms that are intriguing and thought provoking. She has worked in a variety of mediums including drawing, clay, wire, mixed media, metal and bronze.
In 2019, Melinda moved back to the pacific northwest to follow a lifelong goal of opening an art center and sculpture garden, and focus on her own art. She found the perfect serene property in Snohomish, WA and the Burkhead Art Center, LLC was born.
In 2020, Melinda started a new series based on many years of her doodles. They are called MeBots. A fun series that is reminiscent of robots and draws on the impractical part of life, that sole purpose is to bring joy.
Christina Bengtson
“The only thing I love as much as being immersed in my own creative process is to help others step into their own. I've been teaching as long as I can remember, formally and informally. My journey began in Providence Rhode Island, growing up in a jewelry business family. I started creating and selling jewelry at the ripe age of 8. I studied at Franconia College, nestled in the White mountains of New Hampshire, and continued at The Evergreen State College in Olympia Washington, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. My continued professional development includes a mentorship with Regina Bowie of Pratt Fine Arts Institute and numerous independent programs and classes in the Pacific Northwest. I'll always live in awe of the inexhaustible and limitless world of art making. My formal teaching experience began in 2004 and I remain in love with the magic sparked by people coming together to learn and create.”
-Christina
Pat Colyar
Pat Colyar has been working with clay since 1980, and has been teaching since 1988. She has participated in many arts fairs in the area, and exhibited at local galleries. She teaches at Kirkland Arts Center and is the senior ceramics technician there.
Pat makes functional pottery as well as wall art, and enjoys helping students find what areas of ceramic art inspire them to create.
Victor Sandblom
Victor Sandblom is a painter who has shown in the Northwest for over 25 years and is currently represented by IE Edison
Joanne Schoener Scott
A Venezuelan native, Joanne lived in South America and Europe before immigrating to the United States in 1980. The influence of this mixed cultural background plays an integral role in Joanne's vibrant paintings. After receiving a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Art, she spent many years working in Graphic Design for Advertising firms. After raising her family, Joanne returned to Fine Art full time and opened her business, JoArt&Design. Her work combines bold layouts and colors that express strong feelings about her subject.
Her work can be viewed at www.joartanddesign.com
PAST TEACHERS
Denise Richards
Denise Richards is a Pacific Northwest artist working in Encaustic and Cold Wax Medium. Her interest in painting with wax began in 2008 after taking a workshop using plaster and wax. She was taken by the immediacy of the materials and the result of texture and luminosity.
In recent years, Denise has returned to the medium as a therapeutic way to process her life’s journey. She has participated in solo, and group shows in the Seattle area. She also teaches Encaustic painting workshops at Burkhead Art Center in Snohomish Washington.
Denise creates her paintings with many vivid layers of pigmented melted wax, followed by a veil of quiet wax medium. She then scrapes and inscribes into the surface creating texture. The process of melting the wax and applying it to the surface with a soft natural brush brings a sense of calm to her practice. Her intention is to create a sense of wonder at what lies beneath the well-worn surface.
“In daily life I crave order but, in my art, I have found the more I let loose the better the result.” -Denise
Margaret Byrd
The Seattle area is home for Margaret Byrd, but her artistic practice spans the globe with a ‘studio’ built on mobility and designed for her nomadic soul. Graduating from the University of Montana with a BFA in Photography, she discovered her love of mixed media and installation along the way. Weaving her creativity into a daily practice, Margaret is currently working with naturally dyed fibers and dreaming up her next site-specific installation project. Margaret’s work has been selected for juried exhibitions in the Pacific Northwest, shown in gallery spaces in Mexico and California and purchased for both public and private permanent collections. Margaret also shares her love of on her YouTube channel, Margaret Byrd: Color Quest, to build a community celebrating organic color through hands-on tutorials and vlog-style content all about nature's palette.
Gabrielle Smith
“I have been working with Ceramics and loving it since 2017. After living abroad in New Zealand, I returned to Snohomish and started working in a Pottery Studio for the first time. I didn't have much experience with clay, so my job consisted mostly of making clay, loading kilns, and glazing. After-hours, I worked alone on the wheel, teaching myself what I had observed through the workday. Within 6 months I had been promoted to a full-time Production Potter and spending my day making planters for our clients.
Since then, I've had the opportunity to make all sorts of wonderful things, and meet many other talented artists. I’ve learned so much in the last 6 years, not only about ceramics but about myself as well. I look forward to guiding you through all the lessons clay has to teach you. Learning Pottery is like learning a language. The clay will tell you everything you need to know, and its my job to help translate.
I believe that ceramics should be accessible to everyone, no matter your race, orientation, disability, gender identity, or beliefs. My class room will always be a safe space to be yourself and learn. We will work together to overcome any specific challenges you have to help you achieve your creative goals”
-Gabi
Rebecca Hall
Mixed Media Artist, Rebecca (Becca) Hall has 30+ years of experience creating, teaching, and learning about art forms and their techniques. She has been recognized and awarded for her collages, large scale mixed media paintings, and book binding. She has been an artist-in-residence for 3 years at Camp Cheerio in North Carolina during Joyce Teta’s calligraphy camps for adults. Her work is identifiable by her use of brilliant color and her love abstraction and whimsy.
Sarah Lavin
“I am energized by the spirited exchange of expression and ideas. I am a metal worker, sculptor and installation artist. I have always worked with my hands; gardening, farming, fabricating. I took my first metal working class at Pratt Fine Art Center nearly 25 years ago and went on to get a certificate in Welding/Fabrication at South Seattle Community College specializing in non-ferrous metals and blacksmithing. I have been a metalworker in various industrial and artistic capacities ever since: I ran public art programs in SE Seattle high school and middle schools, as well as worked alongside established artists and builders. Presently I have returned to Pratt teaching forging and welding. I maintain a shop/art practice on our family farm amongst the goats in Woodinville, Wa.”
-Sarah
Jan Powers
Jan was born in Brazil and lived there until she was 7. Her family then moved to Kansas. She remained in the Midwest until 1999, when she moved to Washington State. She has lived here since, with the exception of a 2-year stent when she and her husband lived on a sailboat in Mexico.
She has an AA in business and was employed at the Monroe Senior Center for 10 years, as a bookkeeper.
She has always had an artistic flair and has a background in Computer Graphics. Several years ago she developed an interest in watercolor and has been honing that skill since. She is looking forward to helping others discover and develop their own artistic interests and gifts.
Crystal Bailar
“I’ve always loved making things, and have dabbled in many artistic mediums, such as watercolor, fabric, digital design, ceramics, and glass, but started wood burning in 2017 and have focused most of my time as a pyrographer since then.
I began teaching pyrography in 2018 at local shops and venues, but in 2020 pivoted to online classes, and video tutorials. I was so excited to start teaching in person again in 2021. There is incredible joy to be found in leading and inspiring others to explore pyrography.
My goal as a teacher is to give you the tools that allow you to enjoy pyrography as a relaxing, meditative art form where there are no mistakes. My classes provide a safe, nurturing environment where you can explore and expand your own creativity.”
-Crystal
Les Norton
Potter and Composer: I grew to understand the value of working hard and learning everything I could about things that interest me. Over the years I have become totally immersed in pottery and music having both a clay and music studio in which to work.
Potter: I started my education as a potter in 1971 after watching a local potter, as if by magic, turn a lump of clay into a beautiful object. From all those years in studying I knew the “magic” I saw that day was a result of many years of his learning and practice.
Composer: When I was young my grandmother taught piano and my mother played the organ at our church. Having both a piano and organ in my home I began to learn how to play at around 4 years of age. throughout the years I learned saxophone, guitar and bass while continuing to play the piano. I started writing my own music while in high school and I played in rock and jazz bands throughout my life. I currently have a music studio full of synthesizers where I compose my music.
Nathan Gulick
“From a young age I always had a desire to pursue the creative endeavors. Through my art I’ve received multiple scholastic awards as well as some small community installations in Everett. I want to see ideas flourish, manifesting into something wonderful. I strive to help people tap into their ideas and refine them. I’m currently taking courses to teach high school art in the future. In the meantime, I have experience with a wide amount of materials and I’m always happy to teach and learn.”
-Nathan