Our Artists
Art House contracts with a wide variety of artists specializing in varying media. We are proud to have some of the best printmakers, ceramicists, and mixed-media artists in Cleveland! All of the artists working with Art House have a high level of training and bring a wealth of teaching experience.
Current Artists
Chris Young expresses herself through acrylic paint, mixed media, 2D and 3D works inspired by everyday life. As an educator, her work inspires imagination and sparks ideas to help people through their creative journey. Her business allows her to combine the art that she loves with the teacher in her. Chris is a big fan of trying new things in unconventional ways. Usually there is some texture in her work and many layers, Often, she works on found surfaces such as castoff cupboard doors, ceramic floor tiles, mirrors or whatever discarded gem comes her way. If there is anything lying around her studio too long individuals will soon find it wrapped in wire, on its way to becoming jewelry, tucked away in a painting or as part of a mini sculpture. She can only go so long without a creative outlet of some kind. It can be about anything but the reason she paints is to free my emotions. It really helps to get lost in the process of making something. Chris enjoys bold colors and working with complementary combinations mostly her work comes out being impressionistic or abstract with a nod toward a warn, tattered, or weathered feel. Her business gives her the vehicle needed to help others and her art is what she does to help herself. She works with local artists, small business owners, family, friends and her community because she wants to be that neighbor who cares and will go the extra mile. Her background is in education and for over 40 years have worked as a teacher in some capacity. Her mom used to say that she was born teaching and finding ways to help others learn. She loves to see that light bulb come on and know that she provided the spark.
Mark Yasenchack graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology, and during his last year of college he was inspired to start his career as a ceramic artist. The focus on glazed wheel-thrown shapes gradually evolved into hand-built vessels with small details of glaze. Experimenting with clay types led to the skull talismans and an interest in mosaic tradition led to creating mosaics from clay fragments and tiles. New materials and subjects intrigues him while he experiments with collage and en-caustics. The ability to overlap images, thereby linking them visually and relating their meanings inspires him. Working with words, from prose poems, and text fragments from old books, he can address some of the more personal themes and ideas my work has needed. This experience with collages has become especially valuable to the mosaics, both in the composition and the unique tiles made for each one. The shards of ceramic work were a natural trail to follow into the fine craft of mosaics. He looks for flow and movement in mosaics and non-traditional use of materials. His exploration into mosaics was a turn off the main road he has not regretted it. The experience of working as a queer artist and teaching artist has shaped what he does. It has alerted him to the active and passive exclusion of groups of people represented in the Cleveland art community and activated my work to be inclusive in my artwork, facilitating classroom experiences and curating exhibits. It has also created an awareness of my own bias I could not ignore and work to address. As a co-owner of Gallery 202 my partners and I are dedicated to exhibiting challenging work by under-represented and mis-represented artists.
Guy Vincent is an accomplished multidisciplinary artist whose work encompasses mixed-media painting, public art, photography, video, and digital media. His art has gained recognition and been collected in the United States and across Europe, with prominent exhibitions in Italy, Germany, and France. Vincent's work is included in notable collections such as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Spoleto, Italy, Eaton Corporation Headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio, Hotel Giardino in Pisa, Italy, Key Bank Headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio, and SAP America in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Vincent's artistic excellence has been recognized with two Individual Artist Excellence Awards from the Ohio Arts Council. Beyond his visual arts practice, Vincent is the creative force behind Infinite Twelve, a music project that merges alternative rock, ambient soundscapes, and intricate rhythmic patterns, offering an immersive and transformative listening experience. Additionally, Vincent is a committed educator who has facilitated art programs for incarcerated individuals, public safety departments, inner-city schools, families of homicide victims, and other underserved communities, harnessing the power of art to foster creativity and healing.
Chi-Irena Wong earned her BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 2020 and is currently based in Cleveland, OH. She specializes in watercolor drawings and public installation. Wong’s drawings depict a fantastical world that is play, humorous, and absurd by posing “what if?” and “why not?” questions. The goal of this work is to question the idea of “normalcy” and challenge the human perception of reality by presenting a world that is very absurd in our eyes but appears ordinary to the characters that exist in this fantastical world. She encourages viewers to question their own perception of reality and ask themselves, “Is the world we live in actually the absurd world?” Chi has worked with organizations: MoonCat Boba Cafe, Massillon Museum, Cuyahoga County Public Library (CCPL), Art X Love: Akron On Deck, Cleveland Public Library, AsiaTown Cleveland, LJ Shanghai, Asian Services In Action (ASIA), Cleveland Metroparks, Piano Cleveland, Waterloo Arts District, Art House, Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA), City of Parma, Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), and Baker-Nord Square. Chi is part of Summa Health’s private Healing Art Collection.
Rebekah Wilhelm is a professional installation artist and printmaker. Her work is conceptually based and is mostly produced through installation and print. She has shown her work in multiple group and curated shows as well as traveling portfolios both nationally and internationally. She has traveled to Germany and Taiwan for residencies and has shown in multiple group shows internationally. Rebekah specialized in green printmaking and is involved in researching and developing green practices in printmaking.
Eileen Whitacre's art is a reflection of the world as she sees it, surreal and in motion. She find life’s offerings, beyond all other challenges it may face; a gift to be adored and transformed into a compilation of visual experiences. To ponder the connectivity of earth’s elemental properties to each other, is an amazing puzzle to decode within her paintings. Eileen is grateful that teaching art allows her to give the students the ability to do this too.
Gina Washington was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, and graduated with an MFA in Photography from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. She considers herself A Child of the Universe, collecting images and connecting artists while making art “by any means necessary”, and exhibiting her work nationally and internationally. In 2023, chosen by Mayor Bibbs, she became a part of the Transformative Arts Committee to create and implement monumental change in the arts ecosystem in Cleveland, Ohio. Gina is the founder of Mateza Gallery LLC online and, as a master collaborator, co-founded The Visit Arts Collective. She is also proud to be a part of the selection committee and programming short films for the Oscar® qualifying CIFF. Ultimately, her goal is to bring clarity and solutions to the chaos in the world through art. And to make art accessible to all people, especially the disenfranchised and underrepresented in the global community.
Meri Ruble has worked with Art House as a teaching artist since 2010, and was a Program Coordinator from 2012-2016. She loves to explore the intersection of nature and visual art, whether in her own practice or when working with students and families. During the spring semester in 2024, Meri guided Kindergarten and first graders at Denison Elementary as they created a large scale, mixed media collage exploring pollinator habitats. It will be installed in the school for all the enjoy. When she’s not teaching after school programs or ceramics classes, Meri is a naturalist at a local nature center. She enjoys watercolor painting and upcycling objects in her artwork, most recently integrating cardboard and aluminum. Her recent work can be viewed on Instagram @supinetree_art
Miranda Reynolds is always trying to get crafty. She loves the messy tables overflowing with arts and craft supplies, but her favorite art medium is fuse beads. Miranda uses fuse beads to create stunning portraits made out of beads. She has been teaching after school art programs and crafty workshops in communities of Northeast Ohio for 3 years. She is even from a large family and spent most of my days growing up entertaining my younger siblings. Her family is used to me bringing crafts for the kids instead of food to cookouts. When she's not spending time crafting with friends you can find her on some adventure exploring parks, creeks, or any hidden gems in Ohio.
Angelica Pozo is a native New Yorker of Cuban and Puerto Rican parents. In addition to her studio work, Angelica has been creating commissioned and community based public art for more than 30 years. These works have ranged from murals to sculptural outdoor seating, often memorializing places and people. Themes have included the history of aviation at the Cleveland Hopkins Airport, and of African American Education in Huntsville, AL She also worked on a memorial to Councilwoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones as part of a mosaic depicting the history of University Circle, Inc and Glenville neighborhood. In other works she has also given recognition to the neighborhoods of Fairfax, Clark Fulton, Westpark and that surrounding the Gateway Sports Complex. Her most recent project was creating the art tile elements for the Jesse Owens Memorial Oak Plaza in Rockefeller Park. She is an author, a lecturer, and curator, and has often been an Artist in Residence in various programs including the Ohio/Chili Artists Exchange. Awards include the Ohio Arts Council and Art Midwest Fellowships. She received her MFA from the University of Michigan and her BFA from Alfred University in New York.
Photo Credit: Mark Giangaspero's
Joyce Morrow Jones is a mixed media fiber and textile artist who works with 2d and 3d art forms. She is also a Professional Storyteller. Her art practice encourages the “art of story” for all ages. Story informs the context for her work. Everyone loves a good story. Her media of choice for classes: Paper, Scissors and Glue. With these three, she believes that there are infinite possibilities for creating art: like dioramas, shadow boxes, book art, paper dolls and sculptural constructions. She primarily uses repurposed paper: Tissue paper, Paper bags, Cardboard, Boxes, and foam core, Handmade papers, Craft and construction paper.
Heather Molecke
Heather Molecke is a sculptor, installation artist, and educator. She graduated with her MFA in Sculpture from Louisiana State University. She has recently moved back to her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio and has opened Studio Molecke and The Peanut Gallery. Heather’s artistic practice is based on social alienation and the feeling of being an outsider. She has incorporated an ontological philosophy that is dedicated to examining the reality and nature of discarded objects. She discovers, she collects, she archives, she relocates. She rescues things and assigns them new environments and relationships, thus giving voice and meaning to abandoned materials.
Jan McAndrews
Jan McAndrew received her BFA – Fibers/Printmaking/Art Education from Ohio University and her MA – Education, from Kent State University. She worked in manufacuturing for 13 years as a mechanical drafter. She taught Pre-Engineering for 10 years and Visual Art for 10 years at Lakewood High School and Harding Middle School. Her creative work was shared with Ingenuity Fest, The Starwood Festival, Cleveland Steampunk Union Community, Tribe Ostara Tribal Belly Dance, Parma Fine Arts Council, and Art House and its outreach programming. She loves to share visual art and multiculturalism with performance and mixed media in all her classes.
Wendy Mahon
WENDY MAHON: Visual Artist, grew up in Trinidad, then immigrated to the U.S. to earn her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Florida. She has created murals, batiks, costumes, chalk drawings and paintings for Cleveland Museum of Art, Playhouse Square, Progressive Arts Alliance, Cleveland Play House, Art House, Kulture Kids, Hiram College and more. Internationally and nationally, Mahon has brought her unique art forms to festivals in India; Trinidad; Tobago; Helena, Montana, San Diego, California; and New York City just to name a few. With a certificate in Creative Arts, she also provides art therapy to patients at MetroHealth Hospital. Sharing her talents, she has integrated visual art projects into the curriculum in schools across Northeast Ohio. Her public art projects can be seen at MetroHealth Medical Center, Boys Hope Girls Hope, Cleveland School of the Arts, Citizens Academy and more.
Rahamel Hughes is a dedicated fiber artist and children's book illustrator specializing in the creation of unique art pieces using acrylic and wool felt, along with upcycled denim. With a passion for sustainability, Rahamel integrates various mediums such as paint, adhesives, paper, and cardboard into her work, emphasizing the importance of upcycling materials like cardboard. Understanding the critical need for environmental stewardship, Rahamel encourages children to explore alternative art mediums that minimize water usage and waste. Rahamel's artistic journey began with creating felt educational materials, such as feltboards, and has since evolved to include fine art and performing arts. Her fine art pieces made from upcycled denim are displayed and sold at the Framed Gallery in Cleveland, Ohio. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Rahamel now resides in Cleveland, Ohio, after spending most of her life in Youngstown, Ohio. It was in Youngstown where Rahamel's adventures as a storyteller took root, using felt to engage and educate children of all ages. Rahamel continues to inspire young minds through innovative, eco-friendly art practices, storytelling, and her captivating illustrations in children's books.
Jo Lefebvre
Jo Lefebvre is an artist from Oberlin, OH who creates in a variety of mediums. Since day one she has always been extremely creative and was painting on anything she could get a brush on including her bedroom walls, furniture, clothing, back packs, and shoes. She has been a teaching artist for Arthouse going on 4 years and has been focused on ceramics, collaborative art pieces, and murals. She loves teaching kids how to create together and the importance of community. She is also the artist behind Jo-made Intentions crystal Jewelry. But, out of all the beautiful things she has created in her lifetime her two greatest accomplishments are her daughters Penny & Josie. So when she's not in a classroom she is at home creating with her girls.
Tanya Maria Gonzalez is an interdisciplinary artist producing work for her hometown Cleveland, Ohio and surrounding areas. With 29 years of experience in engaging with a variety of communities east and west, Tanya is able to connect through her art with the soul of a person, therefore allowing her art to speak in a way to speak in a way that is unique, fluid and pure. Working as a City of Cleveland youth art instructor while attending the Cleveland School of Arts in 1994, she realized her passion was teaching in the community she was growing up in herself which prompted her to start her own art related business in 2017 called Art from My Heart LTD. While working as an art instructor for various organizations in the Cleveland Area, Tanya has been able to collaborate with the other prominent members of the artistic community. Her passion is bringing the power of art to all areas of Cleveland and beyond knowing that art is and can be an agent for beauty, ingenuity and change.
Sherree Ferrato opened Vérité Stained Glass Inc. (vérité meaning truth) in 1994, after working with glass for 19 years. Her studio offers clients and students a glimpse into her work and the opportunity to learn about glass through her workshops. While art is Sheree’s passion, art education is her focus. Sheree has been teaching for 26 years, most recently with The Center for Arts Inspired Learning (Young Audiences), and Arthouse, both nonprofit organizations with a mission to “help make the arts an essential part of young people’s education.” Sheree also teaches at many local school districts within their art and science programs. Besides her studio collection, Sheree’s artwork is seen throughout the community with her donated pieces to the Avon Library, Ireland Cancer Center in Lorain, North Ridgeville Library, the South Lorain Library, as well as Parma General Hospital and Mercy Cancer Center in Elyria, Ohio, among others. Sheree’s credentials are extensive, covering a 40 year career. She studied at the Cleveland Institute of Art, attended glass seminars in Arizona, California, Colorado, and New Mexico. She also apprenticed for 4 years under renowned artist Narcissus Quagliata in San Francisco. Sheree draws from these experiences to continue expanding her portfolio, and to help students immerse themselves in this fantastic medium.
Marjorie Falk
Marjorie Falk has always loved colors and drawing. Beginning with sorting and organizing her grandmother's button collection and coloring by their heater (ruining our carpet with melted crayons). In kindergarten her teacher told her mother that she was an artist ( the power of a teacher’s compliment ) and the dye was cast. With degrees in art history and printmaking her first job allowed her to begin a parent child art class in D.C. at the Smithsonian. From there she has taught in other museums, and public and private schools for 40 years. Currently, she teaches, volunteer as a docent at the Cleveland Museum of Art, and create fused glass jewelry and wall art. If Marjorie is not working with glass you’ll find her baking yummy desserts or pulling weeds!
Dylan Eddy
Dylan Eddy grew up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. He majored in Jewelry + Metals at the Alberta College of Art + Design (ACAD) in Calgary, Alberta, and received his BFA in 2012, where he studied under such internationally renowned jewelers as Charles Lewton-Brain, and Jeff de Boer. He has furthered his education by studying blacksmithing at the Touchstone Center for Crafts, and by working with master goldsmith Orland Larson. Dylan is a practicing artist working out of his home studio. He has been teaching art and jewelry classes for over 10 years, including: Continuing Education jewelry classes at ACAD, workshops at Flux Metal Arts in Mentor, Ohio, and art classes for Art House, Inc. in Cleveland, Ohio. Dylan's work has been exhibited across Canada, the United States, and Japan. Dylan draws inspiration from a wide variety of sources, ranging from archaeological and historic works, to epic literature, like Beowulf, and the Lord of the Rings, in addition to space exploration and cosmology. Influenced by Celtic, Norse, and Japanese aesthetics, Dylan works with ideas related to the passage of time, and identity. He explores these themes through various artistic practices, including: jewelry + metals, textiles, drawings, and painting. Dylan integrates the values of enduring quality and the authenticity of hand-made work into all his pieces.
Natalie Williams is a Cleveland based artist and teacher. She received her BFA in 2010 at the Cleveland Institute of art with a focus in Drawing. Currently she is a painter, mural artist and digital creator. She is also an owner of Creative Mess Studios; a mobile art studio that hosts workshops, classes, after-school programming, team building events, private parties as well as kids classes.
Chris Dodson
Chris Dodson is a ceramic artist with a BFA in Ceramics from Ohio State University. Chris moved to Old Brooklyn and began working as the Ceramic Lab Tech for Art House in 2015. He helps to manage the clay studio and teaches pottery classes for teens and adults. He also works with a group of artists to run wood firings in Ravenna, OH. Inspired by the vessel form, Chris explores the organic, architectural, and tactile qualities of clay. His favorite companions are Lemy and Flyod, a charming Heinz 57 and a feisty Chihuahua.
Jen Craun [BA in Art Education 2000, MFA in Printmaking 2003; KSU] is a Cleveland based artist who worksprimarily in printmaking, mixed media works on paper, and artist book. She has 20+ years teaching experience through various non-profits that service the Cleveland Public Schools, and is an educational consultant to arts education nonprofits, as well as a professional development coach for teaching artists. Craun even has nearly a decade of college teaching experience. Craun makes her work primarily in her home studio, as well as at Zygote Press, where she was formerly the Associate Director. She has exhibited both her print and artist book work nationally and internationally, and is included in the collections of The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, The Vern Riffe Collection of the Ohio Arts Council, The Grafikwerkstatt, among others. She has great hope for the city of Cleveland, and makes her home and studio base in the city proper with her husband and two children to be actively engaged in this optimism.
Adam Brumma
Adam Brumma is a resident artist at Artful Cleveland. He explores traditional paper folding techniques and cutting-edge 3D printing. He has participated in various festivals and maker faires, where he showcases his work and engages with the community. For example: Ingenuity Fest, Cleveland Makerfaire, and CMA Mix. Also he has taught throughout Cleveland in the schools and at Rainey Institute. He continues to inspire and educate, sharing his knowledge and passion for origami and 3D printing with the community.
Leigh Brooklyn was born outside of Cleveland, Ohio. She earned her degree in Biomedical Illustration from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 2011. Brooklyn worked with several hospitals, museums, and research facilities. In 2011 Brooklyn began moving throughout the US gaining inspiration from individuals she met through pursuing street photography in places like Skid Row and downtown Los Angeles. This led her to switch her focus back to figurative art. In 2019 Brooklyn began learning techniques for sculpture, fabrication and welding, earning her lifetime certification in 3G MIG welding. A few years later in 2023 Brooklyn also began an apprenticeship learning traditional and modern techniques for stone carving and masonry. Brooklyn has won countless national and international awards for her art since 2004. Her work has been displayed in galleries, museums, and fairs across the country.
Alison Brady is a Cleveland-based artist. She hails from the slightly tattered outskirts of Cleveland, Ohio, and the image of faded middle-class “coziness” is one that lies at the heart of her photos. Brady exhibits nationally and internationally and her work is featured in many private and public collections such as Elton John’s collection and the West Collection. Her work has been featured in publications such as New York Arts Magazine, Time Out NY and The New York Times. She was named one of the top emerging artists in the world by Saatchi Gallery. She holds A MFA in Photography Video and Related Media from The School of Visual Arts (NYC).
Thalia Arias
Thalia Arias is a Puerto Rican ceramics artist based in Cleveland. She works mainly with functional ceramics and vessels. Her work is heavily decorated with imagery in the style of graffiti and doodles which is influenced by her childhood and early adulthood in Puerto Rico. Thalia received her BFA from Kent state university on 2021 and have been practicing ceramics for 7 years. She even has two pet Rabbits and is an avid D&D player.
Leslye Arian is an artist, arts advocate and community activist. She serves on the Cleveland Institute of Art Alumni Board, the HeightsArts Gallery Committee and the Artist Archives of the Western Reserve Peer Review Committee. She is responsible for retrieving the controversial Trump sculpture which was auctioned off to support public art in Cleveland Heights. In 2015 she initiated a Public Art Mural Project in partnership with the City of Shaker Heights, Shaker Schools and the Fire Department. In 2016, to support economic development in the Van Aken District, Leslye co- founded the Shaker Community Gallery, a not-for-profit fine art Gallery in Shaker Heights. In 2017 she was asked to serve on the Shaker Heights City Government Public Art Committee, currently working on Van Aken District public art and Moreland neighborhood visioning. In 2018 she co-chaired the first Cleveland Institute of Alumni Show since the 1990’s and was an exhibiting artist in the CAN Triennial. Leslye is a part of an Artist Salon, has exhibited her work in juried shows and her work is in corporate and private collections in Cleveland.
Past Artists
Ron Shelton is a graduate of The Ohio State University, BA in Cinematography. He has been selected as one of the nine Circular Ambassadors to work in their communities to galvanize the neighborhood in developing a Circular Economy. A Circular Economy means keeping waste out of the waste stream. He has collaborated with Cuyahoga County Solid Waste Management District and completed the Recycling Ambassador training. He has worked with the Mayor's Office of Sustainability, where he was honored as one of Cleveland's Black Sustainability Leaders. His for the environment has catalyzed a shift in my artistic medium. Ron has been working in plastic for the past five years, creating large-scale installation work and small 3-D works in plastics. He has exhibited locally, nationally and internationally. I have exhibited plastic installation works on local, national, and international platforms: CAN Triennial, 2022 and 2018; Firefish Festivals, 2018 and 2019; Rooms to Let, 2018 and 2019 to name a few. My nonprofit organization, High Art Fridays, is a global network of artist whose mission is to address critical social, historical and environmental issues through art, education, and community engagement.