• Ailene Fields was an English major at Lehman College in the early 70’s, intending to become a writer. However, she then enrolled in a pottery class at Earthworks in New York City and fell in love with clay as a medium. She pursued this experience at Teacher’s College at Columbia in 1978-79 and soon thereafter began exploring other media. Her formal training in sculpture began at the New School under the tutelage of Bruno Lucchesi. Since 1985 Fields has taught numerous sculpture classes at the Sculpture Center & The Compleat Sculptor for both children and adults. As well as showing her artwork in galleries across the country, her museum show “ Allegory: The Timeless Truth” toured The Eastern Seaboard. In addition, she has executed many commissioned works as well as finding the time to pursue her own interests in sculpture.

• Rita Hosdaghian is the newest technical support representative at TCS, as well as the education coordinator. She graduated from William Paterson University with her BFA, concentrating in sculpture. Although she has demonstrated working with a variety of different mediums, her specialty is clay.  She enjoys sharing her knowledge of the fine arts with all ages including children.  This year we had a very successful children's summer arts program that Rita has organized to run annually.  Rita teaches off-site at almost any location, and offers custom classes to sculptors of all skill levels.

• Laura Gravenstine is a New Jersey based artist and graduated with a BFA from William Paterson University.  She studied the disciplines of Painting and Sculpture, and grew to have a love and respect for castings of the human form.  Her experience with materials is extensive including, but not limited to iron, bronze, aluminum, resin, crayon, chocolate, paper, wax, plastics, and soap.  She has taught Life casting privately & has done numerous jobs for clients seeking to preserve the image and essence of themselves and their families through the art of casting.

• Anthony Jones is a local New York City mold maker and effect maker artist working in the industry for over thirty one years on creatures and make – up effect movies like “Predator Island” (full foam latex costume) released by synthetic cinema and this years upcoming “The Killing ofJacob Marr” (221 films) and “Schism” by Derek Purtell.

  Anthony has worked in stone restorations at Towne House Restorations for more than a decade making Ultracal 30 & Polyurethane molds on everything from THE Lyric Theater in Times Square to the recreation of the Prow sculpture on top of the Flatiron Building.

• Mr. Carter Jones, FNSS has studied at The School of Visual Arts & The Boston Museum School as well as being sponsored in Paris. He began with clay figurative work and then, inspired by the animals around him as he grew up, he turned to sculpting animals. In 1979, he began teaching Human and Animal Anatomy for The School of Visual Arts. Over the years he has done commissioned prototypes and finished models for Walt Disney, Warner Brothers, Henson Associates, Viacom, and Elizabeth Arden. He has executed over 30 medallions and commemorative coins for various mints, as well as sculpted illustrations for books, magazines, and movie posters. Mr. Jones was president of the American Medallic Sculpture Association in 1984-85 and is currently a fellow at the National Sculpture Society. A professional sculptor in New York City for over 25 years, Carter has earned the credentials necessary for teaching his craft as well as being able to impart a commercial knowledge to the student. Through all of the business, he continues to enjoy sculpting his own works.

• David Klass is a sculptor and anatomist who has taught at the University of the Arts, Pratt Institute, Parsons School of Design, Bennington College, New York University and the New York Studio School. He is a recipient of the National Academy of Design Helen Foster Barnett Prize. David Klass graduated with a BFA from Pratt Institute in 1966 where he studied art and architecture. He went on to work with Theodore Roszak, and then set up his own studio in New York City. To further his understanding of the human body in 1973 and 1974, Mr. Klass studied anatomy at Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. Through his deep understanding of anatomy he developed a unique sculptural approach of teaching anatomy and has instructed other artists for over 25 years. His work is known for its powerful realism. In addition to his human figures his knowledge of anatomy and structures has allowed him to create animal sculptures with equal ease and facility. In 1991 the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City commissioned him to create two life size horses for their Arms and Armor Wing. David Klass is a member of the National Sculpture Society and has been showing his work professionally since 1962. His work is in numerous private and public collections.
  Website: www.davidklass.com

• In the early 80’s, Guy Louis-XVI started a Special Effects company called Louis-XVI SFX. He specialized in foam latex appliances, props and make-up for the film and television industry. Over the years, Louis-XVI SFX expanded to include plaster/resin composite sculptures, lifecastings and Hi-Realism mannequins for museums and private collectors. Always striving for realism, Guy began experimenting with silicones as a medium, in the late 90’s. He quickly learned that silicones presented many challenges. For starters, painting a silicone surface to look like human skin was exceedingly difficult. Shine and adhesion, to name a few, also proved to be troublesome.

• David Meditz is a free-lance Make-up Effects Artist that services the New Jersey/Philly/NYC market for films, life casting, window displays and prop fabrication. David graduated with a BFA from Montclair State University and has studied with local FX Artists Jeremy Selenfriend from Monster In My Closet and Tony Mandile from Anatomy FX. He has worked on numerous independent films, shorts, music videos, student films and private commissions. He has over 5 years of working experience in the Special Effects field and is a member of ALI (Association of Life Casting International). David is also an FX Artist for Fright Fest at Great Adventure, located in Jackson, New Jersey.

• Stephen Shaheen is a New York-based artist who specializes in sculpture. While classically trained with an MFA from the New York Academy of Art, Shaheen’s works have an abstract and modernist bent. Prior to his attending the Academy, he received his professional certification in stone carving from an EU two-year training program in Siena, Italy. Stephen Shaheen’s work can be found in private collections in the United States and Europe, where he also shows in solo and group exhibits. He is the winner of a Ludwig Volgestein grant, and a fellowship from the Italian Cultural Institute/La Fortuna Foundation.

Training; B.A. Wesleyan University, Studied Design: Harvard Graduate School of Design, Art Students League, Parsons School of Design, Wayne Barton’s first student, Studied Carving with European, Norwegian and U.S. master carvers.

Teaching; Taught at the Fletcher Farm School, Academy of Classical Arts and throughout the U. S. in carving clubs.

Writing; Wrote for “Woodcarving Illustrated” and instructional manuals, Forthcoming book, “Acanthus Carving & Design” for Schiffer Publishing.

Exhibitions; Carvings have been displayed in the Vesterheim Museum, IA and the Southeast Museum, NY.

Work; Ran furniture building, Art Deco and Art Nouveau furniture restoration shop for Dakota Jackson, Currently carving full-time for private clients, Restoring and building penny arcade games, Designing, building and restoring furniture.

BUSINESS AND OTHER - Founded and ran one of New York’s largest event firms for nearly 30 years, Established New York’s first magic school, Created and hosted an award-winning, first-ever instructional magic video for Viacom, Only magician to perform in both Yankee and Shea stadium for crowds of over 50,000 people, Consulted for and appeared in numerous commercials, films, media and live productions.

• Vanessa Solomon is an accomplished sculptor and sculptural technician as well as a children’s art teacher. She is a native of Tzaneen, South Africa, who completed her Masters in Fine Art (Sculpture) in 1991, at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. During the political uprisings and turmoil of the 1980s, throughout her studies Vanessa taught children art, working with organizations such as the Community Arts Project (CAP) in Woodstock, Cape Town, and the children’s organization Molo Songololo a non-profit that strives to advance children’s rights. Through workshops with teachers and children Vanessa worked to bring the visual arts to the SA black townships were the arts education was denied to black South Africans.

In 1991, Vanessa was the Curator of a South African Children’s Art Exhibition in, Greenwich, London, UK. The art reflected experiences of township violence. The Exhibition garnered International acclaim traveling for several years to various European countries. In 1993 Vanessa came to the US where she was the first International Intern at Tallix Sculpture Foundry Beacon, NY. At Tallix Vanessa perfected her sculpture making skills in Enlarging, Model-making, Wax-making, Plastic Casting and, Metal Finishing and Patina. She worked with top US and international artists developing new sculpture materials, making large-scale prototypes and public works. Working closely with Artists such as Frank Stella and Frank Gaylord, (Korean War Memorial). From 2004 to the present Vanessa is a partner in the company Razortooth Design, based in Brooklyn, NY. USA. www.carbonsculptstudio.com

Both Kiril Kirov and Vanessa Solomon met whilst working for the Museum Industry. They have built a 15-year professional record with leading American Museums, corporations, institutions and artists. Some of their past clients include Jeff Koons, Sony Pictures, Sony Style, Miller Beer, African American Hall of Fame PA, Melvin Van Peebles, Isaac Julien, Tony Matelli, Charles McGill, StudioEIS, Peroni, Do Something, and Bovis Lend Lease.

Vanessa’s personal sculptures have been exhibited in the US and internationally, notably at the United Nations, NYC, and in the permanent collection of the South African Embassy in London.

Eleanor was born and raised in the south of France by her parents, Jeffery and Sally Stride; two devoted and internationally recognized landscape painters. Her passion for sculpture led her from art school in England to the ‘Institut Nationale des Arts’ in Bamako, Mali, (where she learned wood carving), and to the ‘Accademia di Belle Arti’ in Bologna, Italy where she studied for five years. Then the Greek National Academy invited her to spend a year in Athens as an Erasmus Scholar. She was awarded her MFA in 2008 after a further two years study as a scholarship student at the New York Studio School. Eleanor has a passion for making art out of the everyday life that surrounds her.

Her present work is based on scenes of New York and features sculptures and reliefs in terracotta, plaster, fiberglass, resin and bronze. The collection of reliefs focuses on the relationships of the human figure to an urban or subterranean environment in an effort to combine the subject matter with the abstract values of sculptural form.
Eleanor’s sculptures have been exhibited in Europe and the US. She is now based in New York.

For any information or to view Eleanor s work, please go to www.eleanorstride.blogspot.com.

• Mira Welnowska, a renowned sculptress, is creating award-winning works of art in the Realist Tradition. She has studied at The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, the New York Academy of Figurative Art, and the Art Student League of New York. Her lengthy education has provided her with a meticulous academic background for undertaking virtually all classical and figurative forms. Her work is represented by Gallery 53 in Sarasota, Florida. Ms. Welnowska is a highly versatile and creative artist who is able to work in different mediums and subject matters. She creates landscape, still life, portraiture and three-dimensional figurative pieces. She also teaches a Sculpture Modeling Class in her studio in Jackson. She provides demonstrations and individual instruction, references to anatomy and proportion, illustrations from classical text, and composition of the figure, as the students work from a model. Website: www.mirawelnowskasculpture.com

• Judy's joy is in the Spirit and Art of Creativity. She is the author of The Tao of Living on Purpose (Published by Humanics Press 1998), The Creative Genius Book, Creativity Therapy, and Getting Stoned: The Tao of Sculpting. Judy has fallen in love with both sculpting and the philosophy of the “Tao”. She combines them in her work as well as in her teaching. For Judith, sculpting is a meditative process in which she enters into a state of oneness with the stone or wood and allows a dialogue to take place. Her sculptures are in many collections around the world and in Gallery 71 in NYC. The Wheelhorse Gallery in Greenwich , Conn. and Boston Art, Inc. in Boston , Mass.

She has been in many juried and group shows and has had solo shows at the Southern Vermont Center, the Beside - Myself Gallery, the Garden Gallery and the Mari Gallery . Judith’s small sculptures have been part of the Art-o-Mat Project at the Whitney Museum of Art. At the Creative Education foundation she was trained to facilitate creativity workshops and, as a result, she has taught creativity workshops in a variety of conferences and settings around the world. Judith is passionate about the ability of art to transform people’s lives and teaches workshops that help people tap into their creativity, expand their ability to be self expressive and find their voice and talents. Among the workshops that she teaches are: “Art For Bliss Sake”, “The Tao of Sculpting”, “Taking a Line for a Walk”, “Surrealistics: A Pathway to the Creative Subconscious”, “Empathic Creativity” and “Modern Art and The Creative Process”. Judith is also the Co-Director of the Creativity Institute in New York City, whose purpose is to celebrate and spread the Creative Spirit and organizes an annual creativity conference in which twenty leaders present workshops throughout a weekend in late October. Her sculptures and the conference can be seen at www.creativityinstitute.net