Faculty

Prashani Chandrasena | MFA

Prashani Chandrasena is an artist and a designer currently based in Detroit. Her work concentrates on processes in craft, architecture and design. Prashani is currently focused on interlacing materials to make fibrous sculptures using excess yardages of elastic from manufacturing facilities. Her previous work include avant-garde garment pieces that perform in reference to the constraint that garments impose upon the body in order to conform with culture, style or for modesty. She received her MFA in Fiber Art from Cranbrook Academy of Art in May 2018.

Kären Childs Elder | BFA

Kären graduated with a degree in Fine Art from Toronto’s OCAD. Kären’s work is focused on landscape with a human element, as well as collage with miniature painting, sculpture and found objects, and is currently exhibiting at Shoreline Arts in Suttons Bay. She has found delight in teaching art to both children and adults for the last 29 years.

Evan D’Orazio | BFA, MFA

Evan D’Orazio (American, b. 1983) is a contemporary visual artist. Primarily working in clay, he views the ceramic object to be not just about formal considerations, but his lived experience in the world. His forms and glazes carry with them an investigation of his own place and identity; the form as a body, the surface as skin. He currently keeps an active studio practice and teaches ceramics of all levels. D’Orazio received his M.F.A. from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2016.

Mary Dudek | BFA

Mary Dudek is a sculptor, painter, ceramicist, jewelry maker, and visual artist working in Metro-Detroit. She holds a BFA from the University of Michigan Stamps School of Art and Design. Her passion for her faith and awe of the human body fuels her work and prompts her to primarily create liturgical art and representational figure sculpture. She has helped teach drawing at the Stamps School of Art and Design pre-college prep program and now teaches at PCCA. In addition to teaching, she works on commissions for the Church and other clients.

Marigrace Francis | BFA

Marigrace graduated with honors from Oakland University holding a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art with a concentration in Painting and Drawing and a minor in Graphic Design. Although primarily an Oil painter, she works in a variety of mediums ranging from ball point pen drawings to mixed media and found object work. She has spent time studying abroad in Italy, and has shown work in the Detroit area. Her work centers around expression by means of the human figure.

Ceara Hillary | BFA

Ceara has an honors degree in Visual Arts Education from Wayne State University, with minors in Studio Art, Art History, and Psychology. Her previous teaching experiences have led her to rehabilitation hospitals and non-profit organizations, focusing on the healing arts. Although her concentration is in painting, Ceara enjoys experimenting with a variety of media.

Shelley Malec Vitale | BFA

Shelley Malec Vitale graduated with her Bachelor of Fine Art Degree in Painting from Eastern Michigan University. She has also studied under some of the most noted artists and instructors in Michigan at Wayne State University, College for Creative Studies, and Henry Ford Community College. An accomplished artists active in the Detroit Art Community, Shelley has shown throughout the state and New York, and has work in many private and corporate collections throughout the country.

Sara Nishikawa | BFA, MFA

Sara Nishikawa was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. She received her Masters of Fine Arts from The Cranbrook Academy of Art.

Elizabeth Person | BFA

Elizabeth graduated from Allegheny College with a BFA in fine art and a minor in computer science. She is a freelance illustrator, animation artist, and digital painter currently living and working in Rochester Hills. She is primarily motivated by her love of storytelling, and much of her work has been as a fantasy mapmaker and cover artist.

Jenna Petrenko | BFA

Jenna Petrenko had studied art all over the world and is a Military Veteran. She earned her BFA in Sculpture and Functional Art at Kendall College of Art and Design. Her work tends to portray her journeys through life and finds inspiration in nature. She enjoys working with clay, metal and wood. Jenna loves to share her knowledge with students of all ages, while helping them find “their voice” through art.

Mariana Pinar | MFA

Mariana Pinar was born in Spain and she recently graduated from an MFA in Fiber at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. She has exhibited her artwork internationally and has been invited as a lecturer to art seminars in Brazil and Portugal. Mariana has also worked in cultural institutions in Berlin and Mexico City and has extensive experience in costume design and making. She currently combines her studio practice with her job as a sewing and weaving instructor in different institutions in the Detroit metro area.

Charles Pompilius | BFA, MFA

Charles Pompilius is a figurative painter based in Detroit. His paintings have been shown in exhibitions throughout the United States including New York, San Francisco, Milwaukee, Scottsdale, and Birmingham, MI. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Central Michigan University and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Iowa. In 1984 he attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture on scholarship. Pompilius has taught painting at the university level, and is the recipient of a Pollack-Krasner Award and a Michigan Council for the Arts Creative Artist Grant. In 2011 he completed the official portrait of Michigan’s Governor Jennifer Granholm, which now hangs in the capitol rotunda in Lansing. In 2013 he painted Allan Gilmour, President Emeritus, Wayne State University, and in 2016 he completed a portrait of Congressman Fred Upton from Michigan’s sixth district. It hangs in the Rayburn Building in Washington, DC.

Pompilius is currently developing a series of paintings inspired by the Great Lakes.

David Prescott | BFA

David Prescott (Rochester Hills, MI) holds a Bachelor’s in Art from Wayne State University and works as a product designer for FCA. A talented artist in many mediums, David has participated and displayed his work in several exhibitions at PCCA. He currently teaches pen & ink and printmaking workshops here at Paint Creek Center for the Arts.

Mary Reo | BFA

Mary holds degrees from Wayne State University and the College for Creative Studies. She worked in advertising for several firms in layout design and illustration. Mary has been an ‘All Media’ instructor for the Flint Institute of Arts and has worked as an automotive technical instructor. She is a qualified judge and juror for gallery and Plein-Air exhibitions.

Brian Rubenacker | BFA

Brian is a full time artist who studied at CCS, Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Design and the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. He holds a BS in Graphic Design with a focus on illustration. He specializes in animal portraiture and works in oil, acrylic, watercolor and digital mediums. His work has been exhibited in galleries across the U.S. and hangs in homes and businesses in over 30 countries. His clients include Square Enix, BTCA, the Animal Welfare League of Arizona and CBS Television where you can see his work on the set of Two Broke Girls. He has been published in Books, magazines and numerous pop culture blogs and websites. His work is a top 20 seller on iCanvas.com and can be seen in major department stores such as Khols, TJMaxx and Home Goods. He was an accomplished instructor at Oakland Community College where he taught drawing and design. He loves to share his artistic knowledge and experience and looks forward to fostering a supportive and nurturing learning environment at PCCA. Brian shares a home with his wife Rene and a studio with his two Boston Terriers (the muses) in southeast Michigan.

Kris Schaedig | BFA

Kris received her BFA in drawing and painting from Wayne State University. Her goals in teaching art are to foster personal creativity, as well as to assist students in increasing their skills through the proper use of materials, methods and studio practices. Kris believes that it is important to let the individual discover their artistic voice through creating a caring but challenging environment.

Anatoliy Shapiro | MFA

Anatoliy graduated with honors from Leningrad State Pedagogical University. His work has been exhibited internationally. In the Detroit area, he is best known for his mural work, which includes murals at the Holocaust Memorial Center, Motor City Casino, The Chrysler Museum, Palladium 12 Cinema and Comerica Park.

Carolyn Shoemaker | BFA

Carolyn always knew art would figure prominently in her life, professionally and personally. She earned her degree from College for Creative Studies in Detroit. She worked as a professional graphic designer for over 25 years and was always painting in her free time. In the last three years she has been focusing on painting and began a new passion for teaching.

Carolyn loves to share her knowledge and enjoys seeing the outcome of her students accomplishments.

She has exhibited her work in a number of galleries in and around this beautiful state of Michigan where she and her family love to travel. Gardening is another passion, which is why painting florals is one of her favorite things to paint along with landscapes and abstracts.

Amanda Trotto | BFA

Amanda holds a BFA in Studio Art with a specialization in drawing and painting from Oakland University. She enjoys working in a variety of formats, from mixed media collage to pen in ink drawing and digital illustration. Amanda’s fine art explores process-based techniques while remaining decorative and laced with tradition. She also enjoys graphic design, creating custom portraits and typography. In addition to her full-time job, Amanda works as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer. Since art is her passion, Amanda is excited to share her enthusiasm for all things creative with the Paint Creek Community.

Carol Ward | BA

Carol received a Bachelor of Arts in Photography from Columbia College Chicago after realizing a passion for photography in high school. Her career began with a focus on commercial advertising but transitioned in 2003 into opening a wedding photo documentary & portraiture business.

Carol is an active member in several professional organizations and volunteers her time and expertise to Flashes of Hope. She looks forward to inspiring her students’ creativity while providing the necessary technical skills needed to complete their vision.

Dalton Warden | BFA

Dalton graduated from Northern Michigan University’s School of Art and Design with a focus of drawing and painting. After graduating he gained professional experience as an artist assistant in Europe. A majority of Dalton’s work consists of drawings mixed with another medium such as ink, acrylic, gouache or watercolor. He spends most of his time in his home studio working on commissions, preparing for contests, and pursuing editorial illustration.

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