Susan Edwards (core teacher) is the founder and Executive Director of The Art Attack. She has been painting for twenty years and now focuses on watercolors and murals. She has a degree in Secondary Math Education and is a trained children's leader. She has worked extensively with children and loves to bring the arts to them.
Jim Smith (core teacher) recently moved to Sycamore with his family from Helena, Montana. He has been in pottery for over fifteen years. He worked under an accomplished potter for five years. He has taken classes and workshops at the Archie Bray Foundation in Montana. He also had his own studio in Philadelphia where he specialized in making large scale, wheel thrown pots. He has used electric, gas and wood fired kilns. He looks forward to sharing his love of pottery and experiences in his class.
Bob Holmes is a local artist who has contributed to World Children’s Day/Ronald McDonald House Charities Silent Auction. He has masters in Art Education and a MA in painting all from NIU. Currently he is the Geneva Middle School Art Teacher and has been there for twenty-two years. He has had one man shows and completed the Tom Lynch watercolor workshop in 2003.
Laura Hansen is a wife and proud mother of four children ages 10 to 1. She is currently a stay at home mom who devotes her time to her family and her true passion of art. The biggest reward to Laura is when she is able to pass her own artistic skills to her own children as well as others by including them in her many projects.
Laura enjoys working with any medium available, and has found pleasure in embroidery, mosaic, and textiles. Years of experience in these areas have led to her new passion of jewelry making.
When it comes to art, Laura has always felt two sets of eyes are better than one, and now works closely with her husband, Karl, designing pendants, necklaces, and bracelets from semiprecious stones. Laura and Karl work together though the entire process, from selecting and hand cutting each stone, to matching colors and deigning the finished piece. They work with a variety of stones including agates, jaspers, jade, and opal.
Laura has found great joy and success in her work, traveling statewide to craft shows and art fairs. She is honored to have her work displayed in the Art Attack gallery, and is very enthusiastic to teach her skills to others. View her fine jewelry at laurasjewelry.synthasite.com
Peggy Pflueger
Peggy writes, "The Art Attack is a great inspiration for me. I am very excited to be an instructor at the studio. I love creating and teaching what I create. I enjoy teaching children and adults."
Peggy has been an artist for over 40 years. She brings her drawings and doodles to life in 3D sculptures with polymer clay. Peggy is an award winning Polymer clay artist, winning awards across the country. She has done commissioned pieces for the Polymer Clay Guild of Etsy and the Sculpty Clay Company. View her work online at peggers.etsy.com
Marilyn Hrymak, B.S., M.A.
Marilyn has taught sewing and fashion construction to 7th through 12th graders for many years in the Elgin School District. After retirement she started a business selling “upcycled” fiber art accessories in galleries, boutiques, and on line. Classes and Workshops.
For teacher, Tonya Hardy, clay and slip have been one of the materials she has worked with since the age of five. Throwing clay came later in 2006, when taking classes with Michelle Ericson-Geottl at Kishwaukee Community College. From that point on I have expanded from slip casting with her mother to wheel throwing, hand building, learning how to make different types of glazes, and clays. During this time, she also was learning how to fire in a few different kilns, such as electric low and mid range, gas for high fire, and a barrel firing. Starting in 2006, I have been a part of the Mudslingers Club, Kishwaukee’s Ceramics club. She and her mother have sold pieces to raise money for Tails and many other organizations helping them out in times of need. It has been a great joy for her to learn and expand these ideas and to share them with the world and help others while doing so. In 2008, she began teaching Community Education Pottery, an 18 and older program for wheel throwing. She also taught U-Pick Kids Camp for grades 4, 5, and 6th teaching hand building at Kishwaukee during the summers. Since then in 2009, she took another class for 7th grade to 18 years old on wheel throwing. As of August 2010 she began teaching at Sycamore Art Attack as the Wheel Thrown Pottery and Hand building teacher. Working at both of these wonderful schools has expanded her knowledge and joy of teaching clay art. Teaching Pottery for Tonya is so energizing; to see the students get their first piece or to make several; the light that that gives them in their life, makes hers so much better knowing that she had something to do with making the students happy. See Classes.