FACULTY - SPRING 2010
Renato Abbate discovered his love of ceramics while studying under master potter Hiroshi Sueyoshi. He received his BA from the University of North Carolina-Wilmington in 2006 and is a recipient of the Anne Leck Boseman scholarship. Renato moved to Wilmington 15 years ago from Italy, and his international background enhances his life and work; he regards clay and ceramics from an anthropological perspective. Renato has been teaching and showing pottery in the Wilmington community for several years, where his work is currently for sale at the Cameron Art Museum. His latest collection is a series of magical cups of all shapes, sizes and colors.
Matthew Baumgardner is an innovative freelance photographer, designer and multimedia artist whose resume lists national and local companies such as Random House Publishers, Time Life Books, Avalon Publishing, AnimEigo and Wrightsville Beach Magazine. Drawing on his extensive knowledge of the arts and talent, Matt creates an experiential classroom where students can work with digital photography and film. He utilizes the camera to help teens see the beauty of the ordinary. Matt holds a BA in Public Communication from The American University. His personal interests include recording original experimental music, creative photography, mixed media art, and trying to get a bigger publisher to take on some of his mother’s wonderful children’s books.
Jeneen Cleare of Brooklyn, NY, is a graduate of the High School of Performing Arts and has a BFA from Tisch School of the Arts, New York University. Her training includes African dance, Flamenco, Jazz and Tap. Jeneen has studied on scholarship in her youth with Ballet Hispanico, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and the Martha Graham Conservatory. Jeneen has taught dance and drama in both the New York and North Carolina public school systems. She also teaches at DREAMS and the Wilmington School of Ballet. As a professional dancer, Jeneen danced with several NYC dance companies and is now with Forward Motion Dance Company of Wilmington, North Carolina.
Sai Collins is a published singer-songwriter who arrived in Wilmington, North Carolina from Brooklyn, NY in 2002. His involvement in music and live performances has greatly contributed to his musical experience, performing with national & international touring artists. In 2005, Sai began studying African percussion under DREAMS teacher Cheick Sissoko. The following year, he began working as an assistant teacher in the youth African Drumming program at the DREAMS Center. He has since trained and performed with the Soko African Dance Ensemble, in addition to his work as a recording artist and performer. Sai currently holds a teaching position at DREAMS, working to aid the development of knowledge and confidence in community youth.
Amy Conry holds a BA in English from the University of San Diego, where she minored in Italian. She completed the Certificate program at Duke University’s Center for Documentary Studies, and recently started her own freelance business, Gypsy Pye Photography: www.gypsypye.com. Amy especially enjoys teaching children about the fun of photography, and working with non-profit organizations to document their cause.
Cynthia Cooke has been a theater director and a visual arts teacher for 25 years. She obtained her BA in Fine Arts and completed a two year degree in Education from Indiana University. She has worked in schools K-12 and numerous grant funded programs. While teaching fine arts in the schools, Cynthia was the Drama Director and worked with casts as large as 270 students creating Broadway musical reviews that represented over 30 musicals and included full stage sets, costuming, sound and lighting designs. During the summer she had a company called "Kids Bandshell Theater" where she staged 4 original shows and numerous musical reviews. Cynthia is the playwright of 5 children's shows and 8 teenage shows, all of which focus upon social justice issues, including violence, racism, ecology, and health. Cynthia is known in Michigan for workshops on "engaging teens" and a traveling teen street theater troupe comprised of HS dropouts. Today, Cynthia teaches master painting and social justice theater at DREAMS. She is an avid painter working mostly in acrylic on canvas. She also continues to write social justice plays for teens and is working towards publishing her plays.
Sarah Dobens received a BA in Special Education with a minor in Studio Art from Goucher College in 2002. She went on to study Art Therapy and Mental Health Counseling at Lesley University and completed the program with an MA in 2004. Sarah currently works as a family counselor for a local non-profit agency and is working towards becoming a licensed counselor. She is excited to have the opportunity to work with the Teen Council in developing leadership and in helping the group find new ways to give back to the community.
Gina Gambony is a certified teacher whose course offerings include art, drama, puppetry construction/manipulation, and creative writing. Formerly Thalian Hall’s Director of Education and Outreach, Gina currently works for UNCW’s Office of Cultural Arts. She’s also the Artistic Director for Stageworks Youth Theatre and the Director of the Puppeteers of America Puppet Festival-Southeast 2010, right here in Wilmington, North Carolina! Gina has taught for DREAMS since 2002, and works with many organizations in the area, including public schools, theatre companies, after-school programs, camps and museums. In 2003, the Star News named her one of Wilmington’s Top 50 Arts Leaders. Oh yeah—and she’s also a snazzy dresser.
Lisa Haskins' love of sewing and textiles began with scraps of fabric at her mama's sewing table. She studied fashion design, art history, and anthropology at The University of North Texas (BFA 92), and also played viola from age seven until her 30's when she finally switched to more forgiving instruments. Her love of fashion, music, and history led to a career in costuming where she worked at UNC's Playmakers, and Maine State Music Theater among others. Her 13 years in Wilmington has been spent as a freelance designer and craftsperson making everything from home furnishings to wedding dresses. She enjoys life on her mini farm in Wilmington with her little girl and many pets.
Mitzy Jonkheer holds a BFA in Metal Design from East Carolina University School of Art and Design. She has studied at Penland School of Crafts and co-owned two art galleries: Bauhaus Gallery and Bijou Gallery. Her work has been shown in a variety of forums, including American Folk Gallery in Asheville, North Carolina, Hands Gallery in Boone, North Carolina and ArtShack in Southport, North Carolina. She specializes in gold and silver metalwork and incorporates poetry into her pieces. Her work extends to additional media, including mosaics, paint, pottery and sculpture. She has designed jewelry for many films and television series.
Allison Mason is proud to be a Pirate: She attended East Carolina University School of Music, graduating in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in Music Therapy. Allison is a North Carolina native who teaches piano and guitar lessons to students of all ages, and provides group and individual music therapy sessions in preschools, public school, special education, assisted living facilities, and hospital settings. She uses her credentials as a Board Certified Music Therapist and Certified Child Life Specialist to teach children strategies to cope with anxiety and to facilitate appropriate emotional expression. She loves to travel, especially with her husband Gregory and her daughter Callie.
Georgia Mastroieni's love of art education began with a teacher's assistant position at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. After graduating from Bard College with a BA in art history, she has worked at different galleries and museums in upstate, NY, displayed her own work in upstate, NY and Montreal, Canada, and curated a show of her mentor, Andree Ruellan's, work. She is currently the youth educator at the Cameron Art Museum.
Branson Moore's interest in filmmaking began when he and his fellow grade-school friends "borrowed" his parent's VHS-C camcorder and attempted to shoot their own short film based on The Goonies (of course, there was no pirate ship). Since that time, he has worked on several feature-length films, as well as commercials, music videos and documentaries. Branson studied filmmaking at North Carolina School of the Arts and creative writing at UNCW and is now the Senior Producer at AnimEigo, where his responsibilities include graphic design, film editing, copywriting, and coffee-brewing.
Abby Spangel Perry’s art is inspired by our biological world. She often focuses on nature’s fragile beauty and the tension between concepts such as hope through nurturing and creation, and fear through neglect and destruction. Abby holds both a BFA and an MFA in Painting from East Carolina University. She was also a 1996 and 1996 Americorps participant with the City of Wilmington, an experience that taught her the value of grassroots community organization and action. The recipient of a 2004-2005 NC Arts Council Regional Emerging Artist Grant, she currently teaches at Cape Fear Community College and has exhibited work in solo and group exhibitions at locations throughout the state, including the Cameron Art Museum, the Greenville Museum of Art, Wilmington’s Independent Art Company, and the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher. Through studio practice, conceptual thought and teaching, she works toward giving visual form to current ecological issues. www.abbyspangelperry.com
Stephanie Rackley received her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Ceramics from East Carolina University and is currently working towards a Masters of Arts in Teaching with a focus on Elementary Education from Liberty University in Virginia. Her ceramic work consists mostly of sculptural pieces created using a slab-building technique. When not at DREAMS, she works as a paraeducator at Murrayville Elementary School.
Loraine Scalamoni holds a BFA with a concentration in Illustration and Fine Art from Hunter College. Prior to relocating to Wilmington, North Carolina she instructed Model Drawing and Art for the Fashion Designer at Manhattan’s Parsons School of Design and was an Assistant Professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology, also located in Manhattan. Since living in Wilmington, Loraine has focused on fine art and has taught classes at the St. John’s Museum, The Community Arts Center, Cape Fear Academy and DREAMS of Wilmington. www.artbyloraine.com
Cheick Sissoko is from Cote D'ivoire, West Africa. Cheick was raised around music, dance and oral history. At the age of eleven, he was introduced to the world of African dance by his parents. Cheick was later admitted to his hometown dance company, where he had the opportunity to travel around the globe. In 2001, Cheick started his artistic career in the USA. His works include companies and sites such DREAMS of Wilmington, The Dance Cooperative, Wilmington Community Art Center, Wilmington School of Ballet, Chuck Davis and the African American Dance , Super Yankady Dance Company, Mask Dance Company, Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Lincoln Theater, Manhattan Civic Center, The Minnie Evans Cultural Center in Wilmington, North Carolina, Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, Elegba Folklore Society in Richmond, Virginia, Eastern Carolina University, Cape Fear Academy, Wrightsville Beach Elementary School and more.
Dixon Stetler is an artist inspired by what society deems as no longer useful. She has consistently created artworks that are visually engaging, intelligent, and socially responsible. Her innovative use of recycled materials in objects, performances, and installations is widely admired. Stetler is co-founder of Independent Art Company, two buildings in downtown Wilmington that have been converted into 12 artist studios, an intimate gallery, and a 60-seat micro-cinema. The facility’s focus is on emerging artists using innovative processes and new materials. Recently awarded a Regional Artist Project Grant from the North Carolina Arts Council, Stetler created “Many More Miles”, an outdoor sculpture made with used bicycle tire tubes that was installed at a local elementary school. The collaborative nature of this project required the input of many, and brought together diverse segments of the community. In 2007, Stetler proved the sea-worthiness of “Lost Soles,” a raft she constructed with discarded flip-flops and plastic bottles, by sailing across the Cape Fear River. Dixon currently works with at-risk youth through DREAMS, teaches for the A+ Schools Program, and serves on the Board of Directors for the Creative Women’s Exchange. She holds a BA in Art History from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
Michael Van Hout is well-known for his metalwork and sculptures, which are widely exhibited throughout the state. The Cameron Art Museum has hosted a corps of his giraffes and a zeal of his zebras; the education building and library at UNC-Wilmington are home to several of his aquatic installations; and two of the state’s aquariums feature his underwater creations, swimming right alongside the real thing. His recent installations are displayed on site at several area elementary schools—a map of the world at Forest Hills, sea life at Ogden, and a tree of life at Winter Park—as well as at the Children’s Museum of Wilmington and Airlie Gardens. A graduate of UNC-Greensboro, Michael has recently returned to his roots, taking a fresh approach to printmaking. He is a full-time studio artist with space at ACME Art, and his work is exhibited at several galleries throughout the state. To see Michael in action or to check out his painting, prints and sculptures, visit http://picasaweb.google.com/VanHoutM.
STAFF
Matthew Baumgardner, Youth Entrepreneurship Coordinator & Teaching Artist:
Matt is an innovative freelance photographer, designer and multimedia artist whose resume lists national and local companies such as Random House Publishers, Time Life Books, Avalon Publishing, AnimEigo and Wrightsville Beach Magazine. Drawing on his extensive knowledge of the arts and talent, Matt creates an experiential classroom where students can work with digital photography and film. He utilizes the camera to help teens see the beauty of the ordinary. Matt holds a BA in Public Communication from The American University. His personal interests include recording original experimental music, creative photography, mixed media art, and trying to get a bigger publisher to take on some of his mother’s wonderful children’s books.
Emily Colin, Associate Director:
Emily holds a BA in Psychology and a BA in Literature/Media Studies from Duke University, and was a 2001-2003 William C. Friday Human Relations Fellow. Prior to coming to DREAMS, she worked as Editor-in-Chief of Coastal Carolina Press, a nonprofit publishing company dedicated to preserving the history, culture and activities of the North Carolina Coast. She also co-founded Carolina Women’s Partnership, a nonprofit organization through which she published two books featuring women leaders throughout the state of North Carolina. She is currently a freelance writer and editor, as well as a candidate for her MS in Family Studies and Human Services, with a concentration in Youth Development, through the Great Plains International Distance Education Alliance (GPIDEA) at Kansas State University. Emily lives in a renovated Craftsman bungalow with her partner, Neil, her son, Lucas, and two good dogs gone bad, Jabba and Zoe.
Carol Crate, Program Administrator:
Carol came to DREAMS in 2006 to begin her “2nd career.” As the mother of 3 grown children, she was committed to using her empty-nest years to benefit others. She is a lifelong volunteer who returned to school as an adult to gain the necessary skills and knowledge for a career in nonprofit public relations, and now holds a BA in Communication Studies from UNC-Wilmington.
Carol was drawn to DREAMS specifically because of her first-hand experience with how the arts impacted her children. As a military family, constant moves and new schools were a part of their lives. Their involvement with music and visual arts allowed them to not only have the self-confidence to greet new people but to have a common connection with a group in new surroundings. Carol wants every child who has the interest in the arts to have the same opportunities as her children did.
She lives in Wilmington with her husband Bob and her dog Finn.
Blair Fetner, Program Coordinator:
Blair graduated from the University of North Carolina-Wilmington with a BA in Communication Studies. Originally from the small town of Rockingham, North Carolina, she has a passion for “kids, the arts, live music and the outdoors.” For four years, Blair worked as a kayak tour guide and camp director at Carolina Coastal Adventures in Carolina Beach. When she’s not working at DREAMS, her favorite thing to do is to check out local live music. Blair’s interest in international service has also led her to work alongside Paul Wilkes as the administrative assistant at Home of Hope India’s U.S. office. She truly adores the children at DREAMS and enjoys helping others find their happiness!
Teresa Pittman, Grants Finance Manager:
Teresa Pittman is a finance and human resource professional with over 20 years of experience in corporate accounting and employee management; the proud mother of Lily; and owner of Toro, who is 100% Carolina dog and proud of it. She embraces her alternate identity as Trixie, lounge singer extraordinaire, performing around town and making special guest appearances at DREAMS events. Teresa is addicted to the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle, loves cooking, and indulges her passion for creative writing whenever time allows.
Jill Tefft, Lead Program Coordinator:
A New England native, Jill was drawn to DREAMS because of her passion for the arts and her love of children. She holds a BA in English and Theatre from Russell Sage College in Troy, NY, and an MS in Theatre from Illinois State University. Before coming to DREAMS, Jill worked with several professional summer theatres, including the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Conference and the Dorset Theatre Festival. Today, she works as an extra for local film productions as the spirit moves her. When she’s not acting out, Jill enjoys power-walking her exuberant, dappled Dachshund, Buddy, with her husband, Ben.
Tracy Wilkes, Co-Founder and Executive Director of DREAMS:
Tracy received a BS in communications and theater arts from Emerson College and a Masters in Social Work (child psychotherapy) from Boston College. She has received the YWCA Woman of Achievement Award in the Arts and was voted by her peers and named by the Wilmington Star-News as one of the top 50 most influential people in Wilmington. Prior to her work in the non-profit world, she was an advertising executive for a theatrical ad agency in New York City, where she developed marketing campaigns for Broadway shows, Alvin Ailey Dance Company, and Radio City Music Hall. Tracy lives in Wilmington with her husband, Paul, and her officious Corgi, Gwen.
