Krisztina Toth is a photographer based in Cambridge, England, specializing in portrait photography.
Krisztina studied to be a lawyer in her native Hungary but after moving to the United Kingdom, she chose a more creative path and became a portrait photographer.
Krisztina continues to take photography courses to develop her craft; it is her opinion that photography is a profession where improvement is constant and innovation is key.
Kristina is a visual artist, a professional photographer, an arts educator and mom to Olive, her wildly-creative, scientist-in-the-making, young daughter. Kristina holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech Language Pathology/Audiology and Special Education from Marymount Manhattan College. For the past 20 years, Kristina has developed and implemented arts-integrated educational programming for public schools, at community centers, and for the early childhood program, Creative and Curious, that she founded in Wayne, New Jersey – all while maintaining a career as a professional photographer and visual artist. Kristina currently serves as the the Arts Integration and Steam Education Director at Appel Farm Arts and Music Center, located in Elmer, New Jersey.
Gretchen McGinnis – a 1987 graduate of the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia – loves the process of painting. Her paintings are always painted from life or en plein air and are filled with color, light and joy. She paints in both watercolor and oil and her subjects include figures, landscape and still life. She often employs the alla prima technique of painting which involves starting and finishing a painting in one sitting. Alla Prima is a direct and instinctive way to paint: each brushstroke matters and the finished painting is as much about the process of painting as it is about the completed work of art.
Gretchen maintains a studio at her home in West Chester, Pennsylvania, where she also grew up. Her work has been included in numerous regional exhibition and she has painted many commissions including West Chester’s historic Barclay Building (pictured below). Each year, she invites the public into her studio as part of the West Chester Open Studio Tour.
Frederick, Maryland, based artist, Lisa Tarkett Reed, explores ideas about sacred space, light, and connection in her nature-inspired drawings, paintings, and sculptures. Reed cultivates observance and practice as she creates collaged surfaces to which she responds with drawings in India ink and acrylic paint. Reed’s line work is inspired by her love of children’s book illustrations and by artists like Robert McCloskey. Her large works pay homage to the painted movement and gesture of the Abstract Expressionists and her subjects of sky and natural forms are informed by meditation and observation. Reed earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting in 1987 at the Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA. where she studied abroad in Rome, Italy. In 1992, she earned a Master of Fine Arts in Painting at the San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA. Reed has been an art educator for over two decades and currently teaches at Carroll Creek Montessori Public Charter School and Frederick Community College in Frederick, MD.
Ellen Rubin is the owner of Jenkintown’s Luv2Knit & More. In addition to selling knit and crochet materials, Luv2Knit & More specializes in the therapeutic and community-building benefits of the fiber arts. Ellen learned to knit as an adult almost 20 years ago, and has taught knitting and other fiber arts to hundreds of children and adults.
In addition to being a maker and an artist, Ellen is also a trained scientist – she graduated from Drexel University with a degree in Biology. She credits her scientific mindset with the ease with which she learned to knit and in her ability to break down the process of knitting and crocheting to make learning easier for others.
As a true “social entrepreneur”, Ellen envisions knitting and crocheting as part of the solution to mainstream patient-care and as an integral part of a patient’s treatment plan, particularly in the field of cancer treatment. Her vision is to create more and more therapeutic partnerships between Luv2Knit and area hospitals, domestic abuse homes, treatments centers, and nursing homes and to build dedicated “Makers Spaces”.
Anne Cecil is a maker, seller, educator, consultant, champion of the Artisan community and DIY movement and the founder and visionary behind Roxannelava.
In 1970, Anne first fell in love with shoes. She’s been an avid admirer and collector for many years. Anne enrolled in a shoe-making workshop in 2014 whilst in London. There she learned how to make sandals from component parts using the cement construction method. This class was the first step on her journey to launch her own brand of handmade, sustainable shoes – RoxanneLava.
In addition to launching her shoe start-up, Anne also consults with independent makers, small batch manufacturers and retailers through her consultancy, ONO made in the 191. Her 32-year professional career in Merchandising included positions as professor and program director of Design & Merchandising at the Westphal College of Art & Design at Drexel University. Because she loves to learn, she continues to teach as an adjunct instructor in the Retail & Merchandising Graduate Program online at Drexel University and in the Fashion Merchandising & Marketing program at Community College of Philadelphia.
Anne grew up in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania, and went to college at Drexel University where she studied Design & Merchandising. She has been a maker/seller for over 40 years exploring Knitwear, papermaking, millinery, web design/development/training and shoe making disciplines
Robyn Smart was born in Australia but spent her formative years in Pennsylvania and the UK. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. Utilizing her degree in illustration, she worked in various positions from illustrator to graphic designer in marketing and communications. She has worked and lived in California, Washington, UK, and Florida.
Robyn stayed home after her two boys were born. She went back to school and earned her teaching license for K-12 art and has taught art for the past 10 years in Florida and North Carolina.
Robyn is an exhibiting and professional artist who enjoys all media of art making from painting, ceramics, printmaking, and creating murals. Her inspirations for her work come from her love of nature and travel. She is constantly exploring new mediums and and getting excited about learning new techniques to create her visions.
Melissa Borko Tevere lives and works in Jenkintown Pennsylvania with her two kids, two cats and two parakeets in a tiny two bedroom apartment where she creates art in whatever room she happens to be in.
She is also a writer and an entrepreneur and is the author of the blog The Ladies who Launch.She is the editor of two fine art and creative writing compilations, Extraordinary Gifts: Remarkable Women of the Delaware Valley and Forgotten Philadelphia: Art and Writing Inspired by Philadelphia Heritage Sites.
MamaCITA 