Teaching Artists
Teaching Artists
Artists listed on this page have completed Lifetime Arts’s Foundation in Creative Aging course and are endorsed by the Utah Division of Arts and Museums. Artists have been trained to provide sequential learning opportunities to older adults (55 and older) with an emphasis on mastering an art form and social engagement. If you are interested in hiring one of these artists, please contact them directly.
Utah Arts & Museums provides funding to support arts engagement activities. For more information about UA&M’s creative aging program, please click this link to visit their Creative Aging page or click this link to visit their funding opportunities page.
Deja Mitchell
Deja is a Utah native who grew up in its rich dance culture. While pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Modern Dance at Utah State University, she was introduced to African dance. That serendipity became one of her passions, and she continued to seek opportunities to study with many African artists. In 2006, Deja put down roots in the Ogden community and began teaching at Eccles Community Art Center. In 2008, she became an adjunct instructor at Weber State University and expanded her range by adding classes for senior citizens at Weber County Library and children at the Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind, as well as being an artist in residence at schools and many local groups. Deja performed with Africa Heartwood Project and Wofa Afro-fusion Dance Company. She was honored with the Ogden Mayor's Award for the Arts in 2008 and has been a member of Ogden City Arts Council and a board member for Imagine Ballet Theater since 2013.
Dana Worley
I am an artist and educator creating primarily in kiln-formed glass. I make my home
in the foothills of Northern Utah. This beautiful high mountain desert, its surrounding
areas, and my travel experiences provide inspiration for my creativity. Using a variety
of techniques, I convey the sense of wonder I find in these experiences using color,
shape, visual and physical texture in my glass art. I share my passion for this artform
through blogging, writing for industry-specific publications, and teaching.
Donna Pence is an artist that specializes in public art, often in the medium of glass
mosaic or in collaboration with youth groups.
Ruby Chou
Dr. Ruby Chou is a classical pianist, educator, and arts executive based in Salt Lake City. She was one of 14 speakers selected out of 364 applicants for TEDxSaltLakeCity 2019– she shared how intergenerational learning fosters social empathy and mitigates social isolation (available on TED.com). Her expertise on adult learners and intergenerational learning environments developed through her doctoral research studies at the University of Texas at Austin. She is familiar with the nonprofit sector through her work as the executive director of Mundi Project, a community music nonprofit organization, and as the board member of Utah Nonprofits Association. Dr. Chou can actualize your organization’s creative aging initiatives through curriculum development, compiling research data, and make music with your adults within your community.
Janeal Johnson
I am a certified art teacher for Weber School district. I have taught all ages, from
pre-k all the way to adult. I love working with all mediums. I have a kiln and a wheel
at home, but love painting and drawing just as much as ceramics.
Carrie Trenholm
Stefanie Dykes
Stefanie Dykes is a co-founder of Saltgrass Printmakers. Saltgrass Printmakers is
a non-profit studio dedicated to the art of fine printmaking located in Salt Lake
City, Utah. As an instructor or invited artist, Stefanie has taught drawing or printmaking
at the University of Utah, Westminster College, Utah Valley University and Snow College.
She has been awarded Artist In Residency opportunities at Banff Centre for the Arts
and Creativity, Canada, and Anderson Ranch Art Center, CO, PLAYA, WA, Carrizozo Colony,
NM & Surel’s Place, ID. Dykes received her MFA from the University of Utah, 2010.
Shelby Rickart
Shelby Rickart is the director of Puppets in the City, a non-profit puppet company.
After twenty-seven years of teaching jr. high school language arts, she turned to
a passion she had as a child; puppetry. Puppetry is a great way to help everyone and
anyone express themselves and tell stories. Shelby teaches classes for all ages in
puppet building, script writing, mask making and puppetry skills. She has consulted
churches, businesses, libraries, theatre companies, and musicians making videos, helping
them to include puppetry in performances and advertising. Her favorite thing to do
is introducing people to the art of puppetry to foster creativity and help them tell
their stories.
Kathy Cieslewicz
As a certified Montessori teacher ages 2-7, I always included art in my curriculum.
I taught art in the communities of SLC Co. and Sanpete Co. I returned to DSU and then
SUU for a BS in Art in drawing, painting, and printmaking. I taught at the Mohave
Community College for 15 years. I taught students from high school, college, and returning
students; including art history, drawing, watercolor, design, and oil painting. I've
taught for Creative Aging seminars, taught at the Mesquite Museum, and art organizations.
The St. George Art Museum commissioned me to create 3 installations. I founded WOW:
Women Out West Professional Artists of Utah and The Business of Art. I create curriculum
and programing for Evening for Educators. I develop programing and helping artists
through my job at DSU as the Director/Curator of the Sears Art Museum. I retire in
Feb 2023 when I turn 70. By then my studio will be finished and I plan to make my
own art again and focus on teaching Senior Citizens!
Juan Carlos Claudio
Co-founder and COO of Minding Motion for Graceful Aging, and the Founder and Co-director
of GREY MATTERS: Dance for Parkinson’s- Utah, the first program of its kind in the
State, Juan Carlos has been teaching dance and creative movement to all ages for over
twenty years. Juan Carlos obtained his Master of Fine Arts degree from the University
of Utah, Department of Modern Dance, where he also later held the position of Assistant
Professor from 2009-2016. He serves as an Adjunct Faculty at Weber State University
in Ogden, Utah. He holds a Creative Arts and Aging Teaching Artist Certification from
the National Center for Creative Aging, Basic Life Support Certification from the
American Heart Association and The Basics from the Alzheimer’s Association which include:
Memory Loss, Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease, Effective Communication Strategies
and Understanding and Responding to Dementia Related Behavior and The Many Faces of
Dementia.
Maddie Micheal
I’m an artist, photographer, creator. and art teacher. I was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. My passion for art and creating has taken me down so many incredible paths and continues to do so, which has lead me to where I am today. I am teaching at local art studios and teaching private art lessons to all ages. I am creating commissioned pieces, working on murals for individual clients and interior designers, booking photo shoots, and designing websites with companies and individuals. When working with students, clients and companies, I strive to provide a positive, fun, friendly and relaxing atmosphere for a successful and creative experience. I believe art is both powerful and empowering. It’s a form of therapy; a stress reliever + that the-doing-of-art is healing.
Jennifer Love
My name is Jennifer Love and I have been a Woods Cross City resident for most of my
life. I graduated from Woods Cross High School and attended Westminster College of
Salt Lake City where I earned a BS in Marketing with a Minor in Spanish and a Teaching
Minor in Fine Art. I later returned to Westminster to earn a Master of Professional
Communications.
Kandace Steadman
Kandace Steadman has worked in the visual arts for most of her professional career,
either as a curator, educator, or professor. She has an understanding of art history,
what works aesthetically, and how art continues to push boundaries from what was previously
created. She has moved from the classroom to the studio. Kandace has taught workshops
through Lifelong Learning at the University of Utah, Art Access, and attendance at
Summer Snow at Snow College. Each class has taught her new skills and opened my eyes
to the possibilities of creation. Since she started making art, she has exhibited
in group shows at the Springville Museum of Art Salon, the Utah Arts Festival Gallery,
Art Access, the Eccles Art Center, Salt Lake Community College President’s Art show,
the Utah Cultural Celebration Center, and Salt Lake Acting Company, among other venues.
A solo exhibition of her work was held in the Salt Lake City Library in 2018.
Elizabeth Gunter
Elizabeth Gunter, aka EL, believes art can transform the world by forging new connections within a single mind, a small group, or an entire community. This led her to open ART Provides, her studio, event space, and gallery in the heart of Saint George’s historic district. Raised in New York, educated in Chicago, and drawn to the red rocks of Utah, art has been a part of her life from the beginning and shapes her present. She enjoys art, of course, but also traveling, the outdoors, meditating, spending time with two adorable children, and meeting real people with flaws, dreams, and talents all their own. She swears in Spanish when surprised, breaks into solo dance parties to de-stress, and obsesses over fancy inks. She can’t help it. Art supplies and those who use them have her heart.
Meghan Wall
I am a dance artist, educator, advocate, and scholar with over 25 years of experience as a teaching artist. I am both a professional dance artist and a certified speech and language pathologist. With this interdisciplinary perspective, I remain passionate about the various forms of human expression. My creative research focuses on “the unexpected dancing body,” advocating for underrepresented bodies in the field of dance. I am currently the chair of the dance program at Westminster College, and have enjoyed dance faculty positions at The Ohio State University, Princeton University, Temple University, University of Utah, Bates Dance Festival, Now + Next Dance Mentoring Project, and BalletMet’s Summer Dance Intensive. As a teaching artist, I carry experience working, teaching, learning, and playing in non-profit early intervention, educational, and mental health sectors as well as a variety of community and professional dance settings.
Jason Bowcutt
JASON BOWCUTT - Completed the University of Utah Actor’s Training Program in 1994. Upon graduation he moved to Washington DC and spent two years with the Shakespeare Theatre and then began working with Virginia's Signature Theatre. At Signature, Jason starred in "Never the Sinner" for which he was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award. The show subsequently moved to New York and during that run Jason was nominated for a Drama Desk Award and the play won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Play. After that Jason began working as an actor for Theatres across the country including: The Shakespeare Theatre, Guthrie Theatre, McCarter Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Rep Theatre of St Louis, Pioneer Theatre Company, and many others. Jason moved to Utah in 2008 and has continued to work as an actor and director for many companies including; Pygmalion Productions, Plan-B Theatre, The Lab Theatre at the University of Utah, and Salt Lake Acting Company.
Maxine Long
Maxine Long
Maxine grew up in a small rural town in Central Utah. (Richfield) She loved art from the moment she met a crayon. Throughout Maxine's school days, she loved school especially art class. While taking art classes at BYU, she found Watercolor to be a favorite artform but enjoys everything art related. After graduation, she began her career of teaching. She had the opportunity to become the art specialist for Morgan Elementary. She worked with students of all ages, in many mediums and all skill levels. She also served as the district Art Specialist. Maxine received Eastern Utah Art Teacher of the Year. (2000) Students in her classes learn the elements of art and the basics of design. It's what she calls the ABC's of art. Maxine believes that everyone is an artist and just needs to create. Her goal is to light the spark in the student and then let them shine, loving every moment.
Dennise Gackstetter
Dennise Gackstetter
Dennise Gackstetter is a visual artist, writer, and educator whose current day job
is Principal Lecturer in the Department of Art & Design at Utah State University.
Her artwork has been exhibited in venues regionally and nationally. Her writing has
been published nationally and regionally including Studio Potter magazine, Blue Mesa
Review, and A Celebration of Cache Valley Voices. She has taught in public schools,
colleges, and universities nationally, and internationally including Japan, Cuba,
and Czech Republic. Always interested in narrative, she seeks the stories hidden beneath
the surface and in the folds of everyday life. Her spirit calls Dennise to action
in many ways and for many reasons. She feels it is essential to a meaningful life
to be an active contributing member in the many communities in which she lives and
works. As she serves alongside others, she witnesses the impact of empathy, the importance
of integrity, and the value of personal connection.
Nila Jane Autry
Nila Jane Autry
Finding my way in this world in which we are all interconnected, woven together with
the heavens and the earth and all that lies between, I feel an urgency to paint ‘a
visual love letter to the world’ before I pass through the veil.
In addition to many other hats and hobbies, I love being a wife, a mother, a grandmother and an Art Teacher of 30 years in the public school system. I’ve come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as a balanced life. It’s controlled chaos all around me and inside of me. Sometime chaos reigns, then control must step up to the plate. Control is diving into the realm of focus, all other cares flee and the creation of the current painting, or project is all consuming. I love being in the zone, that addictive place where I long to stay.
There is great peace in realizing that chaos is inevitable, and within my heart is always an assurance that what I’m trying to express is crucial.
Gratitude for and faith in my amazing support structure of family, friends, and God also grounds me.
A ‘Beauty Hunter’ and ‘Old Fashioned’; these are terms my colleagues have assigned to me, and I embrace them. In standing apart as an Artist, I refuse the modern search to say something weird and new, and long to embolden and emblazon the values and morals of the past deeply into the core of my artwork. I grew up without a clue that I was born to be an artist. It wasn't until my junior year in high school that I took my first art class, and although greatly intimidated by other students in the class, I did my best and found the process thoroughly enjoyable. Today I find and make time to paint, loving every minute of it.
My belief is that we can all be great, we can all put our best foot forward and seek inspiration and guidance from our higher power on a daily basis. One does not need to be perfect to be wonderful. What I want out of my artistic life is to leave a legacy of faith, determination and courage. I want my art to be collected and treasured by those who seek beauty, peace and fulfillment from the visual images they surround themselves with.
Visual imagery is a language all its own, a method of communication that transcends all language barriers, but has some barriers of its own. What I am trying to communicate with my artistic expressions isn't necessarily what the viewer will feel. Each artwork being observed is understood by a unique individual with your own set of interpreters and carries a different message, perhaps even at different crossroads for the same viewer, like rereading a book and understanding it differently on the reread.
My work is highly idealistic, much like the old masters with an emphasis on eternal themes, using age old techniques, but employing modern tools and supplies. This includes a much brighter color palette, with an old fashioned twist, which I love! I admit, I am an idealist to the core, an artist who cherishes high and noble principles.
Sue Martin
Sue Martin
Sue Martin is a late-blooming artist who turned to art as a second career just before
she retired. She took informal classes and workshops for about ten years before finally
deciding to enroll as an art major at the University of Utah. She earned a Bachelor
of Fine Art degree at the age of 66. Sue paints using watercolor, acrylic, mixed water
media, and oils. She is past president of the Utah Watercolor Society and has won
many awards in UWS competitive exhibitions. Her work has also be shown at the Eccles
Community Art Center, Bountiful-Davis Art Center, Springville Museum of Art, Alice
Gallery, and many other venues in Utah and beyond. Sue is often described as an "experimental
artist" because she loves trying new media and techniques and her work is always evolving.
She teaches watercolor classes and workshops, as well as workshops in collage, oils,
and oil and cold wax.
Elaine Jarvik
Elaine Jarvik
Elaine Jarvik was a newspaper reporter for 30 years, specializing in long-form stories and profiles. A few years before she left journalism she started writing plays, beginning with the form known as the 10-minute play; and in 2008, one of these little plays was chosen for the Humana Festival of New American Plays at the Actors Theater of Louisville. Since then she has written 8 full-length plays, which have been produced at the Salt Lake Acting Company, Plan-B Theatre, and Pygmalion Productions, and at Teatro Paraguas in Santa Fe. In 2021 she co-taught a Creative Aging Playwriting class with Julie Jensen, Debora Threedy and Kay Shean.
Jo Winiarski-Linnane
Jo Winiarski-Linnane
Jo is a scenic designer and art director for theater and television. She was the original art director on Late Night with Seth Meyers through episode 882. She has since been back to NBC to work at Late Night episodes 1127-1154, and on the The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon episodes 1609- 1668 as an art director. Jo has designed off Broadway including HYPROV, Accidentally Brave, The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey; and Love, Loss, and What I Wore. Her regional theater design credits include: The Guthrie Theater; Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; Dallas Theatre Center; Utah Shakespeare Festival; The Old Globe; Pioneer Theater; Berkeley Repertory Theatre; and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Jo designed Wishes for Disney Cruise Line. Jo has taught for both NYU’s Playwrights Horizons Theater School and for Ramapo College. Jo has an MFA in design for stage and film from NYU.
Jane DeGroff
Jane DeGroff
Jane Roberts DeGroff is a textile artist based in Spring City Utah. She studied art
at Brigham Young University where she received a BFA in printmaking. Jane was born
and raised in western Wyoming and has always loved art and working with fabric. She
eventually discovered the art of shibori and has spent the last decade mastering her
skills. Jane enjoys harvesting local plants to use for her dyes. Jane has extensive
public school teaching experience and has taught shibori workshops for numerous universities
and arts organizations throughout the state. She currently teaches community education
courses at Utah Valley University. Her work was recently featured in the Springville
Museum of Art’s 48th Annual Quilt Show and 36th annual Spiritual and Religious Art
of Utah exhibition.
Alise Anderson
Alise Anderson
Alise Anderson currently lives and works in Salt Lake City, UT. She received her BFA
from the San Francisco Art Institute, where she primarily focused on video, performance,
and sculpture. She has exhibited in group shows and a solo show around the Bay Area
and Utah since 2017. She has participated in residencies at CalArts, San Jose Museum
of Textiles, Recology in San Francisco and the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art in
Salt Lake City Utah. Anderson was awarded outstanding student in the sculpture and
new genres departments at San Francisco Art Institute and was nominated for student
achievement with the International Sculpture Center. She has a forthcoming show in
2023 at Finch Lane Gallery in Salt Lake City.
Doug Allen
Doug Allen
Doug Allen - BFA, MS, Educational Administration – University of Utah Doug has taught AP* Studio Art and Design classes for over 25 years and currently works with BYU in providing professional development for teachers in a university-public school partnership. He was an adjunct professor teaching art courses at BYU Salt Lake Center while being the Fine Arts Consultant (K-12) for Jordan District. Doug received the Utah State Sorenson Legacy Award for Arts Administration in 2020 and the Arts Lifetime Achievement Award from the Utah Art Ed. Ass. in 2021. Doug began his teaching career in Melbourne, Australia and then at Alta high school in Sandy, Utah. Doug is an AP exam Reader and Consultant and facilitates workshops and institutes nationally. Doug provides enriching opportunities for teachers and is also an accomplished artist having many commissions for his paintings. He, and his students have received numerous awards in local, state, and national exhibits.
Susan Snyder
Susan Snyder
Susan is an artist and naturalist who brings her observational and artistic skills
to students in an effort to help them observe and illustrate the natural world around
them. Her journaling workshops capture what a camera lens cannot: a compendium of
sights, sounds, smells, and personal reflections during a moment and place in time.
Debora Threedy
Debora Threedy
Debora Threedy has degrees in theatre arts and law and recently retired after thirty years of teaching law at the University of Utah to spend more time writing plays. After a lifetime doing theatre primarily as an actor and director, about twenty years ago, she turned to playwriting. Since then, she has had eight full-length plays produced by various theatres in Utah, as well as a number of shorter plays. She has been invited three times to workshop her plays at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, in 2006, 2016, and 2022. In 2010, she won a national playwriting contest, the Fratti-Newman New Political Play Contest in New York City. Most recently, her play for children K-3, Alli and #3, toured the state in the 2021-2022 school year and was seen by more than 15,000 students in person or virtually. She co-taught a virtual Creative Aging Playwriting Workshop in 2022 and will be co-teaching it again in 2023.
Lanell Dike
Lanell Dike
I currently teach visual 2D and 3D art - watercolor, acrylic monotypes, drawing and hand built ceramics. I also incorporate art history and examples of current artists into each lesson as inspiration for the students. My teaching focuses on making art accessible for everyone - regardless of experience.
Linda Rios
Linda Rios
I am Linda Rios, Certified Zentangle Teacher.
I discovered the Zentangle Method in January of 2016. Through my daily practice
I regained my focus and love of life after the loss of my husband to cancer. I knew
that I had to share the benefits of Zentangle with others. In the spring of 2017,
I traveled to Providence Rhode Island to become a Certified Zentangle Teacher. Now
I share this fun, healing art form whenever possible. Teaching classes at libraries,
community centers, kitchen tables and online, to groups both large and small. If I
am not teaching I am taking Zentangle classes from other wonderful teachers.
In addition to my love of Zentangle, I enjoy gardening, traveling, music, spending
time with friends, family and the spoiled dogs.
You can see my art on Instagram: moondancetangles
Looking forward to sharing Zentangle with you!
Beth Boho
Nina Miller
Nina Miller
Nina Aerin Miller is an interdisciplinary artist born and raised in Long Beach, New
York. In 2020, Miller obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Sculpture, Painting
and Art History from Boston University, College of Fine Arts. Miller is currently
based in Utah. Her work has been exhibited at Gallery 5 in Boston, MA, Shelter in
Place Gallery, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, Gallery 236 in Boston, MA, Create
PC & Prospect 5, in Park City, Utah. Most recently, she exhibited her work in the
Park City Kimball Arts Festival in 2022 & 2023. Currently, her work can be viewed
in Create PC Gallery, an artist collective run by the Park City Arts Council. She
has sold a number of works and commissions to individual patrons.
James Rees
James Rees
Art has been a part of my life from a very early age and everything thing I do has
something to do with art. From the moment I could hold an object in my hand I was
using it to express something about my world and myself. I studied art in college
simply because there was nothing that piqued my interest more than expressing myself
through art. I could never see myself doing anything but art.
I didn’t set out to be an art teacher although I have taught it for over twenty-seven years at the university, college and high school levels. I did want to invite others to explore the unique way that art allows one to discover self and our place in time and existence. I’ve discovered the pivotal domain art occupies in my life. Art connects everything for me.
Matthew Brasher
Matthew Brasher
Matthew Brasher is a teaching artist born and raised in Tooele, Utah. He works in
a variety of mediums, including watercolor, collage, ink, drawing, and pyrography.
Krista Gillson
Krista Gillson
I have a passion for exploring the beauty in peoples' faces. I am inspired by the
shapes and colors of the natural world around me, which finds itself in my abstract
work. I love comic illustration and find myself doodling faces and bodies all of the
time. I believe in teaching students to explore their own creative interests while
developing quantifiable artmaking skills and techniques.
Karl Jackman
Karl is a retired engineer who has lived in the Rocky Mountain and the American West
for nearly 70 years. His landscape paintings reflect the various visual experiences
he has cherished in the Rocky Mountains and in the surrounding deserts and high plateaus. 
Wu Xu
Wu Xu
Dr. Wu Xu is a Chinese calligrapher. She learned Chinese calligraphy from her father
and at the 3rd grade of elementary school in China. She practices Chinese calligraphy
through her life into her retirement. She is the founding President of the Salt Lake
Eastern Art Club since 2019. Her artworks are exhibited in public libraries in Salt
Lake County and sold at festivals. She has been the lead coordinator for the Utah
Children Chinese Calligraphy and Painting exhibits at Salt Lake City Public Library
- Main Branch since 2011, and taught calligraphy for children and adults more than
a decade in private and public settings. She has created teaching videos, which are
used in her teaching and by her colleagues.