MONICA PETTY AIELLO is a Denver-based artist known for her lush, mixed-media works on panels that blend her deep interest in astronomy with a love for materials and process. To create her work, Monica conducts extensive research and consults with planetary scientists involved with NASA missions. Her work appears in numerous collections nationwide. Monica and her husband, sculptor Tyler Aiello, enjoy fostering the connection between the arts and sciences by developing unique programs for K-12, college students and adult continuing education. More about Monica Aiello.
TYLER AIELLO has long been an active member of the arts community in Denver. His elegant sculptures draw from the micromorphology within the organic world of biology, botany and chemistry using mathematics. Tyler unites sensual, biomorphic forms using industrial materials such as wood and steel, and is regarded for his meticulous craftsmanship, and attention to detail. His sculpture is prized by architects, designers and consultants internationally, and is often commissioned as public art. More about Tyler Aiello.
KAY CASPERSON has worked in the performing arts for 40 years, performing for and teaching children. She has taught and performed with Colorado Arts Council, Colorado Artist’s Showcase, Young Audiences, the Utah Arts Council and The Colorado Symphony Orchestra’s Concert for Kids. Prior to teaching, she studied and performed in masks, founding The Foolery, a “masked” performance group. She has taught and performed at Metro State, Theatreworks at UCCU, The LIDA Project, The Avenue Theatre, and the Denver Center. Kay currently serves as a botanical illustrator and muralist, as well as creating wearable art/costumes and, as always, wonderful masks.
IVY DELON teaches children’s art classes in her studio in Littleton and at the Mizel Museum. She has extensive experience teaching all levels in the elements of art with remarkable results. Her paintings are in galleries and corporate collections nationwide. She graduated from the Art Institute of Colorado and has a background in graphic design. More about Ivy Delon.
LORIBETH GREGORY is a seasoned music teacher, violinist, and ethnomusicologist. In 2011, she founded the Denver World Music Studio dedicated to providing musical and cultural education to the diverse population of the Denver metropolitan area and teaching students to take a critical, fun, global approach to sound. Loribeth’s musical experiences include Javanese gamelan, Okinawan sanshin, Taiko, Andean folk music, Bluegrass and Celtic/Cape Breton fiddling. Through her diverse musical tastes, Loribeth has met and performed with musicians from around the world. She holds a bachelor’s degree in music from Webster University and a masters in ethnomusicology from the University of California. More about Loribeth Gregory.
SHARONA GRINSTEINER is the co-creator of the ever-popular Stories That Jump Off the Page! program, now in its fourth season. She is a Jewish educator who works with children of all ages. Of Yemenite descent, she was born and raised in Israel and brings a direct, creative approach to learning combined with abundant warmth and welcome. She has taught in many classrooms and camp settings and especially loves working with the youngest of our travelers, exposing them to the richness of Jewish culture and language.
DONA LAURITA graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder, studying photography and creative writing. She has been a professional photographer for nearly 25 years, specializing in documentary and fine art photography. She has provided numerous residencies and workshops to schools, institutions and community groups throughout Colorado for all populations and ages. Dona is one of the lead artists-in-residence for Stories Matter, a new educational project of the Mizel Museum that combines writing, photography and mixed media to tell the unheard stories of young people, a project supported by the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA). More about Dona Laurita.
SCOTT LYON is the lead designer, fabricator and installer of Mizel Museum’s permanent exhibit 4,000 Year Road Trip: Gathering Sparks. His signature, humorous, offbeat style that contributed to many components of our Bridges of Understanding exhibit lent itself perfectly to 4,000 Year Road Trip: Gathering Sparks. Scott received his bachelor of fine arts from Colorado State University in 1990.
ADRIAN MOLINA (Molina Speaks) is a multi-talented art educator, poet, storyteller and hip-hop emcee with a background in history, futurism and youth advocacy. He has co-produced and self-released a string of groundbreaking projects from Hip-Hop/Neo-Soul fusion albums to Spoken Word/Jazz collaborations. Adrian has performed at hundreds of events nationwide and regularly visits schools, student organizations, group homes, and youth correctional facilities to build community across racial and ethnic backgrounds. He teaches Chicano Studies, Hip-Hop Studies, and Media Studies at the college level, and is a lead instructor for Flobots.org. More about Adrian Molina.
BARTH QUENZER is on an ambitious quest to evolve our visual language. He does so by drawing ideas from science, mathematics, literature and art history. Combining these influences, Barth finds abstract connections and represents them in the form of paintings, drawings and collage. Some of his art is small enough to fit inside a book. Other works are of massive scale, reaching 20 feet by 20 feet. He currently works and shows at the Guerrilla Garden and is a visual arts teacher at Brown International Academy. He holds numerous awards and recognitions, works as an adjunct instructor at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, and is a member of the Colorado Department of Education Content Collaborative. More about Barth Quenzer.
SHELDON SAND’S love for the music of the world, and the recognition of music’s ability to unite people of diverse backgrounds, provides the spark for his many and varied creative endeavors. For the past 25 years, Sheldon has been a devoted music teacher inspiring self-expression, mastery and creativity in countless students. He is also a gifted composer, pianist, producer and educator. More about Sheldon Sands.
DARIN SULLIVAN is an artist and instructor at the Arvada Center, teaching art in several different media for the past nine years. He has taught a wide range of subjects including drawing and mosaics to all ages and ability levels. He is currently illustrating a children’s book about adventurous hamsters!
ELAINE STANLEY has taught the art of improvisational theater to children and adults for 19 years. She has performed in over 1,200 shows as a founding member of Comedy Sports, Impulse Theater and Rattlebrain Theater. She created a program called Stages that offered after-school drama club programs at Edison Elementary and North High School, and has taught summer workshops at Rattlebrain Theater, the Avenue Theater, and the Grant Avenue Theater.
ANNE THULSON teaches art education at Metropolitan State University and has taught art to children over the past 12 years at The Odyssey School in Denver, Anderson Ranch in Snowmass, and at the School of the Poetic City in Denver. She has a master’s of fine art in painting from Cranbrook Academy of Art. Along with teaching kids, she practices her own site-responsive art in Denver. More about Anne Thulson.
MARE TREVATHAN has performed Inupiat folk tales in Barrow, Alaska, stage managed dance-theatre in Tokyo, and studied Chekhov in Vladivostok, Russia. Colorado tamed her wanderlust and has been her home since 2001. A member of the esteemed Curious Theatre Company, Mare has received “Best Actress” and “Best Director” nods from Denver’s most noteworthy media sources. She is an audio book narrator and has recorded over 100 books for the Library of Congress. Mare has taught theatre workshops at programs and schools across the Denver area. She trained extensively with masters and creators of the Viewpoints and Suzuki (physical theatre) methodologies.
JACQUIE VAN HORNE is a music and movement performer who teaches Music Together, Zumba and Afro-Caribe. She has performed with Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble in Granny Dances to a Holiday Drum. Jacquie is currently working on her master’s degree at Naropa University studying somatic psychology and dance movement therapy. She has a strong passion for using artistic expression for community building and self-empowerment and is the founder of Artistic Mamas. More about Jacquie Van Horne.
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