Wilson Center Teaching Artists

Irene Angeles

Irene Angeles loves to teach art! A native of Milwaukee, she has been teaching adults and youth for many years (including five years at Alverno College). Irene received her BFA in Painting and Drawing from UW-Milwaukee. The recipient of the AOP Fellowship as well as multiple other honors, she has completed extensive graduate level work in Adult Education and Art Education. She enjoys a very diverse studio practice, occupied in many different media. She is primarily a portrait and figurative artist, but also is fascinated with jewelry-making. You will find her volunteering her time to help Milwaukee's homeless.

Jennifer Breitbach

With 18 years of experience in the floral industry, Jennifer Breitbach is a seasoned floral artist and educator specializing in dried and pressed flower art. She is a two-time winner of Milwaukee Art in Bloom and a two-time recipient of the Wisconsin Professional Designer of the Year award, achievements that highlight her artistry and innovation in floral design. Jennifer is the owner of Zinndahlia Designs, a floral art studio in Hartland, where she creates custom works that celebrate the beauty of botanicals in both contemporary and timeless forms. Her expertise spans traditional floral arts, permanent botanical installations, and fine art pieces crafted with preserved and pressed flowers. Passionate about sharing her craft, Jennifer brings a balance of technical skill and creative inspiration to her teaching. As an instructor, she guides students in exploring both foundational techniques and artistic expression, encouraging them to discover the transformative potential of floral art.

https://www.zinndahlia.com/

Beki Borman

Beki Borman lives and works out of her studio in West Allis, Wisconsin. She attended the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design where she received her BFA in Painting in 2004. Since graduating, Beki has exhibited her work both locally and nationally. For Beki's studio work she paints colorful landscapes in oil using a palette knife. Some of her influences include Vincent Van Gogh, Wolf Kahn, and Wayne Thiebaud. Beki's work is represented by the Woodwalk Gallery in Egg Harbor and the Dooryard Gallery in Elm Grove. See more of her work at www.bekiborman.com

Nina Ghanbarzadeh

Nina Ghanbarzadeh is a visual artist who emigrated from Tehran, Iran in 2001. She earned her BFA in painting, drawing, and graphic design from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee in 2013 and completed a two-year AIR Program with Redline Milwaukee in 2015. In addition to participating in a number of group shows, Nina received the Student Silver ADDY, Fredric R. Layton Foundations Scholarship, and the winner of best in show in Wisconsin Biennial 2020. Nina launched ARTkee Educational Toys in December 2019, which produces SOFTwords, kits of basic shapes that allow children to explore the shapes as images as well as text. Nina draws inspiration for her educational toy business and her art from cultural differences and the limitations of language. me. See more at www.ninaghanbarzadeh.com

Alyssa Schwab

Alyssa received formal floral design training from the Floral Boss Academy and The Milwaukee School of Floral Design prior to opening her own floral business, Vines and Violet in July of 2023. She infuses garden, classic, and modern styles into her creations.
With years of experience in the event industry, Alyssa has honed her skills in creating memorable experiences and seamlessly incorporates this expertise into her workshops, with a focus on design fundamentals, artistic expression and human connection. 

Through her unique blend of storytelling and botanical artistry, Alyssa is excited to share her floral design passion in a fun and welcoming environment at Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts. To learn more about her, visit vinesandviolet.com.

Tiffany Knopow

Tiffany Knopow is a Wisconsin native, residing in Burlington, who received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Printmaking from UW-Madison and her Master of Fine Arts from the UW-Milwaukee. Knopow has actively exhibited in the United States and South America. She was one of UW-Milwaukee's nominees for the 2007 National Dedalus Foundation Master of Fine Arts Fellowship and received a Layton Fellowship from UW-Milwaukee in 2008. Tiffany also teaches for Artists Working with Milwaukee’s Homeless and is the co-founder of ArtMovz. See more at www.tiffanyknopow.com

Jeanne Kollmeyer

Jeanne Kollmeyer is an Art Educator specializing in art programming and instruction for children. She has many years of experience working in non-profit organizations in the Milwaukee area. She currently works for Danceworks teaching in their summer camps, School Day off program and intergenerational project. She has an enthusiasm for connecting literacy to art and recently joined the staff of the Wilson Center as a Beyond the Classroom educator.

Cynthia Collins

Cyntha is as taught dance in both the private and public sector for over 20 years, including here at the SLWCA as the dance instructor for our Arts Camp. Cynthia graduated from the University of Wisconsin/Milwaukee with BFA in Dance performance. She has danced professionally with various companies in Milwaukee and has had the privilege of dancing with artists from New York and beyond. Cynthia is currently enrolled in Graduate school for licensure in Dance Education.  She maintains that all of her students have a gift of movement and expression and admits her gratifying moments are when her students realize this too. 

Jennifer Schwane

As a lifelong learner, always up to something, freelance artist, Jenni Schwane has enjoyed exploring many art media. Her passions include painting, pottery, paper engineering, and collage. With paper engineering being rather new on her list of explorations, this art form has allowed her to combine all of her knowledge and passion for fine art into one art form. Her desire is to inspire others to experiment and explore their own creative voice. Jenni has been a participant in many art seminars and classes. She has also led many small group art classes in her own home, at several area schools, and at the Waukesha Public Library. She has also been a volunteer at the Dona Lexa Art Community Center.

Beth Stoddard

Beth Stoddard is a Milwaukee artist who draws and paints from life with a modern sensibility. She’s currently working on a project to paint all 169 of the Milwaukee County Parks. Wisconsin born, she studied in Philadelphia, obtaining degrees from both the University of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
Her painterly realist pieces are continuously exhibited in southeastern Wisconsin, including representation at David Barnett Gallery, and are held in private collections nationwide. In addition to exhibiting work she has experience as a judge/ juror, and as a teacher proficient in observational drawing and painting.

Susan Nolan-Kaczkowski

Susan Nolan-Kaczkowski earned a BFA in Design and a BA in Art Education from UWM. This led to 30+ years teaching art. Most of her experience is with youth ages 3-18 years in public and charter schools. She’s worked in the non-profit sector as well, instructing art and working with youth and elderly adults. She’s learned and taught many media of art, but circles back to painting as a passion. From watercolors or acrylics on canvas, glass painting, or murals and decorative painting on walls and furniture, all are included in her experience. A primary inspiration for her art is nature and multicultural images. She loves the joy the art experience provides and is passionate about bringing out confidence and creativity during the art making process.  

Nanyeli Lay

Nanyeli has been making jewelry for about 9 years, from metal-smithing to beading and wire-wrapping. A class at the Wilson Center for metal forging sparked the love for jewelry making, and have been learning new techniques ever since. She lives in Brookfield with her husband, two kids and their dog. You can see examples of Nayeli’s work here: www.nanyelilay.com

Paul H. Henning

Paul was a professional photographer shooting corporate location assignments for 16 years, followed by 12 years as co-owner and director of Third Coast Stock Source, Wisconsin’s only general subject stock picture agency. After selling Third Coast in 1997 he moved to London where he became Manager of European Operations for Comstock, a New York-based picture agency, followed by a stint as Acting Managing Director at the Robert Harding Picture Library in London. Returning to Milwaukee in 2000 he founded cr8vstrategy, a consulting firm helping small businesses and creative professionals. Paul’s been a frequent writer, panelist, and speaker in the picture industry and has taught photography classes and workshops throughout his career. See Paul’s website for more info: http://www.cr8vstrategy.com/

Karen Athens

Karen has been teaching Art classes to children from ages 5-18. All of the classes are to enhance self-esteem, pride and confidence with their Artwork.The classes are flexible to fit the needs of ages and abilities of each student. Karen earned a BFA in Fine Art & Design, with a Minor in Photography and Printmaking. She began her Artistic career with commissions from prestigious clients and site specific and public works. Karen had the opportunity to work as an Artist in Europe, Ireland, BVI, West Indies and Mexico. Her Artwork has been exhibited across the US and owned by private collectors worldwide. Karen has relocated to Brookfield, and is busy creating in her [Really Fine Artwork] Studio. She specializes in Color Consultation, Art Restoration, Design Direction, Specialty Painting and Fine Art Commissions. For more information, visit her website at: reallyfineartwork.com or contact her at reallyfineartwork@gmail.com

Ritu Parna

Ritu is an engineer by profession and a professional fine artist by passion. After many years of study with well known artists Ritu launched her own studio Ritu’s FineLineArt School out of her home in 2019 with a strong desire to help young aspiring artists to attain their full potential, paint confidently and to create meaningful paintings. Her signature style is represented in her fearless use of colors in any of the mediums, be it acrylic, watercolor, oil painting, or charcoal. When teaching her classes she lets the young artist choose what they want to create and she fosters their skills and abilities along the way.