Faculty

Tim Ebneth

Tim Ebneth is a contemporary abstract painter and designer residing in Columbia County,     New York. A New York City native, he created installations at luxury retailers such as Bergdorf Goodman’s, Gucci, Barneys NY and Studio 54 while attending art school. Tim was a sought after set designer and interiors stylist for fashion editorials, advertising and commercials. Ebneth studied Fine Art at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY and The Art Students League. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from The School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, NY. Tim Ebneth’s artwork has been exhibited throughout the Hudson Valley; New York City; East Hampton, NY; and juried and invitational exhibitions.

Mary Flinn

Teaching at ASCC for Adult classes as well as the Art of Summer Children’s Program teacher

Mary earned her BFA at the Swain School of Design, New Bedford MA and her MFA at Queens College in NYC. Mary has been teaching children since the 90’s in programs such as the D.A.R.E. Program in NYC at the Bronx Housing Project, and at the Ancient Oaks Farm creative arts program in Baltimore MD. She organized and taught art classes at the Bapuji Orphanage in Mysore India with the children at the orphanage for many years. She has had three solo exhibitions at The Prince Street Gallery in NYC, and at numerous group shows. Two-person shows include the Joyce Goldstein Gallery in Chatham NY; Baltimore City Hall,, and at Dartmouth College ,Hopkins Center curated by Ben Moss, as well as numerous inclusions in the Jason McCoy drawing challenges.

David Lesako

David Lesako received his degree in Art Education from Penn State University. He taught for 30 years in public school and on the college level for 8 years at Waynesburg University in. PA.  He has taught and exhibited his artwork as a landscape painter in watercolor, pastel, oil and he has a gallery in Ghent, N.Y.

David is the Volunteer Gallery Coordinator of Art School of Columbia County.

Ameila McIsaac

Amelia McIsaac is an artist and craftsperson living in rural New York, who is deeply passionate about creating beautiful and useful items from natural materials. She spent her formative years attending college with her mother as her mother got a B.S. in design. During that time, Amelia got the full benefit of watching her mother and her classmates create art in so many ways, while Amelia made a little nest underneath the loom and listened to the wonderful rhythm of threads being woven into cloth. Amelia has since earned her own B.A. in fiber arts. She feels that we understand our world more thoroughly when we create with our hands, we become better problem solvers and more resilient. As she creates, she experiences a great sense of peace, happiness and satisfaction. Amelia leads workshops and classes for folks of all ages and walks of life,  exploring diverse disciplines such as traditional feltmaking, paper making and paper art, spinning, weaving, puppetry, embroidery, basketry, sewing , plant dyeing and anything else that entices her curiosity. We can all make useful things with the materials we have at hand.

Lizbeth Shelley

Lizbeth Shelley has a BFA from Arizona State University where she studied painting, textile design and ceramic sculpture. She has an MA in Art Education from New York University. For the past 27 years Lizbeth has taught art at a progressive K-8th grade independent school in New York City while pursuing a career as a painter with an art studio in Copake, N.Y.. Her most recent “house series” conveys the essence of each painted structure through her use of color, texture, and brushstroke.

Bob Watkins

Bob Watkins has always been interested in the fine arts. When he was 11 years old, he went to the Metropolitan Museum and was impressed by the Rembrandt portraits, “I felt like the eyes followed me”! This experience remained with him, and became the foundation of his fascination with art. Bob became a potter after studying and attending workshops. He was able to move to the beautiful Berkshires and was a successful potter for 17 years. He painted florals and landscapes on white porcelain, so it was a natural progression to paint with oils on canvas when he was ready to explore other areas of artistic expression. Bob says, “My landscapes are an attempt to capture the effects of fading light. The elusive hours of dawn and twilight, when light is just washing over the landscape, are the most interesting to me. –that intrinsic something that is never definable, but always recognizable when seen. Since we all have an internal sense of landscape, many of my paintings come from memories of things I’ve seen and thought to be interesting. I am fascinated by low light conditions when the landscape dissolves into misty half-seen forms. On any given day, I could be painting from life, my imagination, photo references, or any combination. After my initial inspiration, I rarely refer to my reference. Something internal takes over, and the painting becomes the force which directs me. My still lifes are done from life. Artists have the gift to make people see the underlying beauty and poetry in everyday life, and to make ourselves and others aware of the wonders of being alive. The joy of being an artist is being able to take the time to explore the things that interest us personally and share that vision with others. Bob has extensive teaching experience and we welcome him to ASCC.