“Whatever you do, don’t become an artist!” These were words of warning from my German mother who was raised by two artists. Fortunately for me, my grandfather took a different approach. From an early age on, I received art lessons from this well-known professional graphic designer and art school instructor, and was surrounded by his illustrations and paintings, as well as artwork from his colleagues.
By the age of 18, I was ready to pursue a career in art, which led to a BFA (Design and Illustration) and BA (German) from The University of Akron, painting courses from Cleveland Institute of Art, and eventually an MFA from Indiana University. I have illustrated and designed material for publishing and design firms in Akron and Cleveland, in Bloomington and Indianapolis, Indiana, and in Ames and Des Moines, Iowa.
Eager to spread my enthusiasm for all things art to the college age population and to continue my own explorations in art, I taught graphic design and illustration courses at Indiana University, Miami University, and Iowa State University (ISU). I expanded my teaching, administrative and research interests to painting and drawing, and directed the Graduate Program in Visual Arts and the Biological and Pre-Illustration Program. Two career highlights at ISU were teaching in Rome and creating drawings and watercolor that recorded the beauty of the “Eternal City”, and participating in and creating a series of watercolors chronicling the Smithsonian Institute’s Annual Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C., which was purchased by the ISU Alumni Association.
My current work represents a multi-layered history of significant architectural and natural settings, which would include Northeast Ohio industrial and nature settings. Previous themes have centered around landscapes and architecture of the “Heartland” and of Rome.
I have exhibited in the following annual juried shows: Butler Institute of Art Midyear Show, Ohio; The Canton Art Institute All Ohio; Octagon Center for the Arts National Clay, Fiber, Paper, Glass, Metal, Wood Exhibition, Iowa; Louisiana State Archives River Road Show, Louisiana; Nicolet College Art Gallery Northern National Art Competition, Wisconsin; Northwest Art Center Americas: All Media, North Dakota; Buchanan Center for the Arts 64 Arts National Juried Exhibition, Illinois.
Invited exhibitions have included: Lanzhou University, China; Brunnier Art Museum, Iowa; International Wolf Center, Minnesota; MacNider Art Museum, Iowa; Indiana Graphic Design Annual Show, Indiana; Miami University Art Faculty Show, Luxembourg; Pensacola Illustration and Design Invitational, Florida; All America Cities Conference Exhibit, Pennsylvania; Ball State University, Indiana; Cincinnati Art Directors Show, Ohio; University & College Designers Association Annual Show, California.
Jeff works both in collage and sculpture and each medium is a journey into discovery. His collages are created landscapes of balance and energy, and his intuition guides the work as order emerges from chaos driven by the use of color. Jeff’s sculpture develops spontaneously and is followed by his close attention to the work as it speaks. From that beginning, a process of elimination provides him with a map toward the finished piece.
Jeff earned a MFA in Sculpture from Washington University in St. Louis. Born in Michigan, he spent part of his childhood in Colombia, South America and has lived, studied, and taught in Colorado, Texas, and Ohio.
In addition to exhibitions at Group Ten Gallery, Jeff has had several solo exhibitions including the Moos Gallery in Hudson, the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, The Amarillo Art Museum, and the Eells Gallery at Blossom Music Center.
Judy works primarily in oil on canvas. Always compelled to express herself visually, her paintings describe mythology, religion, dreams, and imagination as well as landscapes, still life, and figurative life studies. Judy sees her paintings as poetic expressions of her mental state.
Judy earned a Master of Studio Arts from Case Western Reserve and the Cleveland Institute of Art, although her academic background also includes literature, drama, and education.
Her work has been exhibited in numerous galleries and has earned various awards. Judy considers the most meaningful of her awards to be the National Art Education Teacher/Artist Award (1993) through the Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation Fellowship.
Associate Member
Tina works in a variety of media including oil, watercolor, bound graphite and mixed media collage. Her paintings are inspired by natural and urban environments and by conditions of their transformation. She rearranges multiple sources and reconstructs fragmented worlds in which the pieces don’t exactly fit together anymore. She works in layers which are concealed and exposed, thus documenting her creative process. Art, like life, is a process of transition. Her work explores states of fragility, endurance, order and chaos which occur with change. Through the landscape, Tina responds to human experience where life changes, parts are discarded, rearranged, transformed, and we begin anew. The narrative may change based on the viewer’s reflective experience.
With a degree in Art Education and a Masters in Art from Kent State University, Tina enjoyed many years as an art teacher and continues to work from her studio in Garrettsville, Ohio.
Tina’s paintings have been exhibited at numerous area galleries including The Butler Institute of Art National Mid-Year Show, Lakeland College May Show, Group Ten Gallery, Summit Art Space, Fairmount Center for the Arts, Valley Art Center and The Box Gallery. In addition to being an associate member at Group Ten Gallery, Tina is a member of Artists of Rubber City. You may contact Tina Grondin at tina4art@gmail.com
Or visit her website: http://tinagrondin.com
Marianne Hite, a native of Akron Ohio, was born in 1962. She started as an enamellist on metal but upon seeing a cover of a magazine with Dominick Labino's glasswork she searched for a place she could study glass as well as enameling.
While attending Kent State University, she was exposed to glass artists not only from America but from all over Europe as well. The glass program was under the direction of Professor Henry Halem. He was instrumental in providing the opportunity for the student's exposure to a very rich and diverse array of world class talent.
Marianne Hite received her B.F.A. from Kent State University in 1987. Since then she has operated her own studio where she resides in the City of Green. Her expressive style employs a variety of techniques such as fusing, enameling, sandblasting, laminating glass, mosaic and stained glass. She teaches small classes in her home studio and also teaches at the Peninsula Art Academy, where she was board chair from 2016 until 2022.
http://www.hiteofglass.com/
Associate Member
Carol works primarily in oils and acrylics. She is fascinated with the play of light across objects landscapes, and faces. Consequently, the viewer encounters realistic shadows in unusual vantage points in Carol’s work.
Carol earned an MS in Education from the University of Akron, following her BA in Art Education from Kent State University. A teacher for many years, Carol taught in the Medina Public Schools, Brunswick High School and at Akron University. In addition, she has led a wide range of workshops on creativity and drawing.
Her work has been included in numerous group and solo exhibitions include juried shows at Akron’s Summit Artspace & Box Gallery, Lakeland Community College, Chagrin Valley Art Center, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, the Butler Institute of American Art, Medina Library, Mesa Public Library Gallery in Los Alamos, NM, and most recently a duo exhibit with master bird carver, Tom Baldwin, in December 2017, at the Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation in Hudson, Ohio.
Nationally known artist, Carolyn Lewis is inspired by nature, wildlife, and people. Her painting is sensitive without being overly sentimental. “Capturing the mood of the moment and the effect of light is an important goal in my work,” she explains.
Carolyn’s first book, Land and Light Workshop – Painting Mood and Atmosphere in Oils, was published by North Light Books in 2005 and was available internationally. Her work is published in several books including The Ultimate Guide to Painting from Photographs and has been featured in The Artist’s Magazine. Carolyn has also written articles published in Paint Magazine for the Society for All Artists, UK. She frequently teaches classes and workshops in the US, as well as in Italy
Along with many solo exhibitions, Carolyn has been selected to exhibit in numerous national art competitions including the Oil Painters of America, Ohio Plein Air Society, Carmel Art Festival Invitational Competition, and the American Impressionists Society. She also has participated in the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club National Exhibition and the National Oil & Acrylic Painters Society annual, to name just a few.
Carolyn also has served as an Awards Juror for countless exhibitions, including the 2016 Oil Painters of American Salon Exhibit and their Eastern Regional Exhibition. She is a Signature member of the Oil Painters of America, Emeritus member of the Akron Society of Artists, and Charter member of the Ohio Plein Air Society. Other memberships include the Portrait Society of America, American Impressionists Society and the National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society.
For more information, visit Carolyn’s website at www.lewisstudio.com
Dan works primarily in oil and his work gravitates toward landscape and geometric abstraction rooted in reality. He strives to turn the mundane into the remarkable through his painting. A degree in Physics and a design career at Goodyear Tire taught him the inherent value in shape and form.
Dan has studied with a wide range of artists including Jack Richard, Margaret Kessler, Gary Godbee, Marc Moon, Dino Massaroni, Carolyn Lewis, Judith Carducci, Linda Tompkin, Jack Liberman, Judith Hertzi, Hal Scroggy, Betty Elliot, and Margret Stiles. Also, he participated in workshops at the Seattle Academy of Realistic Art and the Sedona Art Workshop.
A twenty year Signature member of the Akron Society of Artists and a member of Oil Painters of America, Dan has participated in numerous shows and earned several awards. He was selected for the National Midyear Show at the Butler Institute of American Art, and was a finalist in the 2013 Artist’s Magazine “Artists Over 60” competition.
Learn more about Dan’s work at www.DanLindnerArt.com
Mary “Mo” Mosyjowski does not limit her artwork to just one medium, instead she boldly experiments with different combinations of mediums creating works that are unique and transcendent. Her many years of experience in watercolor, acrylic, collage, oil, batik, gelli plate printing, etc., lead her to maintain a successful teaching career. Mosyjowski has been teaching private lessons and workshops since 2006 covering subjects such as alcohol inks, Pysanka, altered books, gelli plate printing, and paper making. Currently at the Cuyahoga Valley Art Center, she teaches an abstraction and embellishments class, essentials of beginning acrylics class and their alcohol ink workshops. She is also a signature member of Akron Society of Artists and Group 10 Gallery. Mosyjowski has won numerous awards across the region for her artwork, most notably winning the People’s Choice Award within the annual Kaleidoscope exhibition at Summit ArtSpace for her altered book of self-portraits. Another interesting fact about her, is that growing up she had a pet chicken named Whitey.
Bill’s work follows two distinct paths. He creates realistic landscape paintings based on personal experience and observation. Also, he works in colored pencil creating tightly controlled renderings on plaster-like surfaces. These colored pencil works are often three-dimensional, and their subjects come from a wide range of visual stimulation. For him neither path takes dominance but each contributes to the development of the other. Color, surface variation, illusion and texture keep the work exciting. In addition to this creative work, Bill also designs and builds furniture.
An art teacher at Parma Senior High School for 32 years, had the opportunity to teach courses ranging from photography, fine art, crafts, art history, and computer art. This breadth of experience informs his wide range of work. He currently serves as docent at the Cleveland Museum of Art, continuing his interests in both education and art.
Bill’s work has been included in numerous juried exhibitions including Summit Art Space, Kent Downtown Gallery, and Lakeland College.
For more information, visit For more information, visit www.wpeckart.com
2020 - Acrylic 22” x 30" - $ 800
2020 - Hydrostone 12” x 18" - $ 400
2020 - Acrylic 20” x 30" - $ 700
Associate Member
Katina balances work as both a painter and a sculptor. Images grow from her meditative sketching technique to develop interest and visual strength. These images are most often abstract in nature although occasionally representational work presents itself. The paintings and sculptures that result from these sketches range through interpretations of political climates, human interactions, and her personal experience. Most often the work is open to the viewer’s frame of reference.
Katina earned a Master’s degree in Art education from the University of Georgia and spent many years in Atlanta before moving back to Ohio. Art has been a lifelong passion for her and, in addition to teaching art in public schools, she taught children’s art and craft classes for various community organizations as a teenager and adult community classes as young wife and mother.
Along with several group exhibitions, she has had several solo exhibits including 2016 Red Twig Gallery, Hudson, OH; 2014 Hudson Fine Art Gallery, Hudson, OH; 2012 Akron Woman’s City Club Gallery, Akron, OH; 2011 Summit County Offices Gallery, Akron, OH; 2011 Akron Bar Association Gallery, Akron OH; 2010 Hudson Fine Art Gallery, Hudson, OH; 2010 Studio 2091 Gallery, Cuyahoga Falls, OH; 2010 The Box Gallery, Akron, OH; 2008 City Art Gallery, Cuyahoga Falls, OH; 2006 Strawberry Fields Gallery, Alpharetta, GA; 2004 Good Karma Gallery, Buford, GA. Katina works in her studio in downtown Akron, often creating work on commission.
For more information, visit www.cpastisradart.com
Oil on canvas 24" x 24" $ 700.00
Concealed Carry Series, oil on canvas 16" x 16" $ 600.00
Concealed Carry Series, acrylic on canvas 8" x 8" $ 400.00
John P. Smolko, CPSA
John P. Smolko spent 35 years teaching secondary school art education to talented young artists in Ohio and retired in 2008. He is presently enjoying his life as a fulltime artist and continues to be recognized for his unique colored pencil style. John has exhibited his art throughout the United States and has work in the permanent collection of the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio, the Sargent-Laessig Museum of Fine Arts in Hinckley, Ohio, and the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio in Columbus.
A Colored Pencil Society of America Signature Member, John has been juried into eleven CPSA International Exhibitions. Recently he won Best in Show honors in the 3rd Annual Regional Juried Show at Group Ten Gallery in Kent, Ohio. In CPSA exhibitions John has received the District Chapters Award for Exceptional Achievement at the 22nd Annual CPSA International Exhibition in Ormond Beach, Florida. In his home state of Ohio at the “2013 Colored Pencil Exhibition,” sponsored by the CPSA District Chapter #119, John’s work took First Place honors. His art continues to be recognized in regional, national, and international exhibitions and he strives to share his enthusiasm for mark making everywhere he travels.
If you would like to see a more detailed list of John’s exhibitions and awards, and more of John’s work, go to smolkoart.com and scrutinize his website.
Associate Member
Frank is a ceramic artist whose pots are unique and vigorous. To achieve a finished work that satisfies his aesthetic priorities, he plans and sketches with great care seeking to explore the expressive opportunities available with clay and glaze.
Holding a Ph.D. degree from The Ohio State University, Frank is a Professor of Art Emeritus at Kent State University. He also served as Interim Associate Dean in the College of the Arts.
Frank’s work is has been accepted in shows at the Akron Art Museum, Canton Museum of Art, Cleveland Museum of Art, Massillon Museum, the Butler Institute of American Art, and in many galleries across Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. His work is held in the collections of the Canton Museum of Art, Canton, OH; State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, Columbus, OH; Muskingum College, New Concord, OH; American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, CA; and the Massillon Museum, Massillon, OH.
Carol creates art in several mediums, including drawing, clay, and encaustic painting. Her large-scale drawings may be in graphite or colored pencil. Dreamlike images, rich with patterning, invite the viewer to form their own interpretation as to its meaning. Her clay sculptures are generally figurative, often nearly life size. For these works, Carol uses a mix of clay, wire, wood and paper, as well as found objects such as old metal fittings and rusty gears, to create original wall pieces or free-standing artwork. Recently, Carol has begun working in encaustic painting as well, using wax-based paints to create mixed-media collages.
After earning her BFA from Kent State, Carol worked in graphics and advertising for several years. Looking for something a bit more creative, she later found work as a designer of giftware and character dolls for an import company. She continues to explore many other artistic venues, including textiles, jewelry, and illustration, and painting.
Carol is a signature member of the Colored Pencil Society of America. Her work has been in dozens of juried shows across the country, including the Oregon School of Arts and Crafts, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in galleries from Florida to California.
In 2009, her colored pencil drawing was chosen as the official poster for the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC.
Many of her current small pieces may be seen at www.onedegreeeast.etsy.com
Jana Volkmer became an artist because she admired their ability to “capture something- a likeness, an essence, the atmosphere a subject inhabits or the rhythms of lines and patterns” she says. As a child she delighted in the paintings of Thomas Cole and Albert Bierstadt at the Cleveland Museum of Art; later she was mesmerized by Seaside, Jean-Jacques Tissot’s famous portrait of a red-haired beauty daydreaming in a sumptuous white and yellow ruffled dress.
It’s easy to see these influences in Jana’s style, which ranges from naturalistic to impressionistic, and in her subject matter. Whether landscape or seascape, portraiture, still life or florals, she strives to capture the visual pleasure she discovers in her subjects, from geranium leaves fluttering in the breeze to the symphony of pinks and purples at Monet’s famous Giverny garden.
Jana began her fine art training at Ohio Wesleyan University, where she majored in interior design and studied painting. Her early works were primarily in watercolors, during which time she studied under renowned watercolorist Florian Lawton. She now works primarily with oils and pastels. While her medium has changed through the years, her favorite subjects have not, her primary focus being figurative, portrait, still life and landscape.
In recent years her works have begun to gain much recognition. She strives to be artistically and technically accurate, while creating rich pieces that make a bold statement.
Jana is a signature member of the Akron Society of Artists, and is currently a member of the Board of Directors. Her paintings have won awards in juried shows at The Massillon Museum of Fine Arts and The Canton Museum. Her works are in private collections throughout the United States.
Gwen Waight/ found object assemblage:
Gwen has been a collector of found treasures for many years. She creates unique assemblages with these found objects often using boxes, ephemera, rusty metal and coveted old hardware. Gwen has been an active artist since her early years working in her father's pottery studio where she learned her appreciation of 3D space. She completed her art degree from the University of Iowa, studying sculpture and ceramics. Her assemblages and construction are sometimes figurative, but more often abstract.
The roots of Larry’s art go deep into every major art movement since the Impressionist of the late 19th center to the Minimalism of the late 1960s. He works in several media, resifting and reevaluating ideas that appeal to him. The threads that run through his two dimensional work are design with a bold use of color and visual and/or tactile texture. Larry’s three dimensional work reflect the Minimal concepts that combine Dada and Bauhaus influences.
Trained in Graphic Design, Larry had a long career in advertising at The Akron Beacon Journal, the J.C. Penny Company, and as a full partner at Team 4 and Company. In addition, he was a passionate art educator, teaching at St. Joseph’s School, Cuyahoga Falls High School, Central Hower High School, and The University of Akron. Larry also earned an MFA in Studio Art from Kent State University in 1976.
Larry’s work has been included in many prestigious exhibits including the Cleveland Museum of Art May Show, The Butler Show, the Ohio Designer Craftsmen Annual, and the Akron Society of Artists Membership show among others. Also, his many one man shows include those at the Mansfield Art Museum, Case Western Reserve Mather Gallery, Don Drum Gallery, the Cuyahoga Valley Art Center, and the Stan Hywet Annuals. In 2015, he was commissioned to design the logo and art for the Akron First Night celebration. In addition to his membership in the Group Ten Gallery, he is a member of the Akron Society of Artists and served as the ASA President from 2013 through 2016.
Helen has taken a non-traditional path through the art world. It all began, she claims, in her family’s lush garden in Southern California. There she encountered beauty everyday and learned to love it. Her art making began as a middle school student doodling on everything that didn't move. At the age of 16,she was given a rapidograph technical pen and her doodling became intricate, fanciful drawings. After high school Helen left the artistic path to pursue her education, career and family.
Jump ahead several decades and a couple thousand miles, and in the 90’s, Helen and her family moved to the edge of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Her childhood fascination with the natural world was rekindled and she found herself needing to give voice to the botanical world around her. So in her mid-fifties, she began to take art classes searching for her path. She experimented with several different mediums before finding her voice in mixed media collage. From there she spent several years developing her own unique semi-abstract, 3D collage style, also considered as a low relief sculpture.
Helen uses acrylics, inks, along with mono-printing, intricate cutting, folding, sgraffito and metal gilding in her work. Recently, she began to use her process to create free standing paper assemblages.
Find out more about Helen at her website:
helenwilsonart.com