FALL 09

INSTRUCTOR BIOS

Meredith Blackmore has been "drawn" to the arts from a young age. From the ages 9 to 13, she trained in professional dance. In her later teens, she worked as an airbrush artist. In the ten years since completing a Fine Arts degree at the University of Guelph, she has specialized in portrait and mural painting. She has delivered many a music, movement and art program to a diversity of ages, and has witnessed the magic of stick-people coming to life. http://gallerymeredith.googlepages.com

Anastasia E. Edwards has a Bachelor of Design Degree from Ontario College of Art and Design, majoring in Ceramics/Pottery, including a year away in Florence Italy for Fine Art. Anastasia recently received her Bachelor of Education Certificate at the University of Western, in the Intermediate/Senior Program, and has been teaching for private and public schools in and around Wellington County.

Sylvia Galbraith is a recognized professional photographer whose work sells worldwide. She has taught photography to all age groups in many locations, including the University of Toronto, Humber College, and the University of Brandon, MB. She has won many awards for photography, and occasionally shows at various venues, Insights 2007 & 2008 at the Wellington County Museum, Summer Sensations Artwalk in Fergus and most recently, Sylvia won the “Juror’s Choice” at the Centre’s Art in the Yard, 2009.

Phil Irish, B.A. in Fine Art and English Literature from the University of Guelph. He has exhibited extensively across Canada and the United States, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Lonsdale Gallery in Toronto, the Tom Thompson Memorial Art Gallery in Owen Sound and recently the Kitchener Waterloo Art Gallery. Phil was an Artist in Residence in Newfoundland, Quebec and the City of Kitchener and has been curating art shows at the Centre for many years. He has been teaching art to children and adults since 1999. www.philirish.com

Eileen MacArthur completed her Masters in Painting at the University of Guelph in 2005 and received a BFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in 2003. Eileen has had exhibitions in Halifax, Calgary, Toronto, Buffalo N.Y and Guelph at the MacDonald Stewart Art Centre and the Sichuan Fine art Institute in Chongqing, China. Recently, Eileen has been named one of the 30 finalists for the Kingston Prize (2009) for portraiture.www.eileenmacarthur.com

Thea Mallett has a Bachelor of Education from McGill and has been teaching children of all ages for over twenty five years, in both the public and private systems. Needle working has been an important part of her life. She feels that it is a useful skill to pass on to young children and allows them to explore their creativity.

Leslie Miles holds a BA in Fine Art from the University of Guelph, Fashion at Ryerson and an Advanced Certificate in Fashion Illustration and Design from St Martin’s School of Art, England. Leslie has taught drawing and pastels for the City of Guelph, Wellington County Museum, and Macdonald Stewart Art Centre. She is a member since the year 2000 of the Guelph Studio Tour.

Bronte Vincent is a vocalist with experience in various musical genres including opera, Broadway and classical. She is a figure skating coach at the Fergus Skating club and has plenty of experience teaching children and adults. Bronte is currently in her last year of high school and is fluent in both French and English.

Roisin Gormley-Young has been involved in facilitating and instructing creative arts programmes for children, teens and adults, privately and throughout Guelph, Toronto and Elora for the past 16 years. A graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design, majoring in illustration, Roisin has been a part of the Guelph Arts festival, Art on the Street, group shows, including Insights, at the Wellington County Museum, 2006/07. Formerly a Manager at Wyndham Art Supplies and Director of the Guelph School of Art, she is now the Education Programme Coordinator for the Elora Centre for the Arts.