Riverside ARTS Center

Michelle Bolinger received her B.F.A. in painting from Indiana University M.F.A. in painting from the University of Washington. She has received additional art training from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the New York Studio School, and in Florence, Italy. New American Paintings and Open Studio Press published Bolinger's paintings, which focus on manipulations of synthetic color and paint density to create an abstract sensation of space, based around the land and cityscapes. Her work has been exhibited nationally at The Gormley Gallery in Baltimore, A.I.R. Gallery, NY, and Afif Gallery, Philadelphia. Additionally, her work has been shown in Seattle at the Jacob Lawrence Gallery, the Henry Art Gallery, and Crawl Space Gallery. Bolinger's first solo show was held at Francine Seders Gallery in 2006.

Skye Enyeart received her B.A. in International Relations from Purdue University and her M.A. in Interdisciplinary Arts from Columbia College Chicago. Skye’s work has been exhibited throughout the U.S. and Europe. She teaches art and languages in the Chicagoland area.

Tami Gagné is an Illinois certified art teacher with experience in curriculum writing and development. She received her B.S.Ed in Art Education from Northern Illinois University and she also holds an A.A.S. degree in Multimedia and Computer Imaging. She has sold her artwork in the U.S. and internationally.

John Harmon – Interim Financial Director/Ceramics Instructor graduated with a M.F.A. in ceramics from the University of Texas at San Antonio and attended the ceramics program in Sun Valley, Idaho. He taught for many years at Concordia University and at the college-level in Midland, Texas and has lectured and held workshops in Ohio, Texas, and Idaho. His pottery and sculpture are widely exhibited and collected throughout the U.S.

Thomas McDonald has been creating art since 1981. He holds a M.F.A. from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a B.F.A. from Northern Illinois University. He currently is on faculty at several local colleges, including the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His painting and sculpture is widely exhibited and collected throughout the United States.

Carmela Rago received her M.F.A. and B.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she also has taught for over a decade. Carmela has had an extensive career as a performance artist, visual artist, writer, and teacher. Her resume includes appearances all over the country, essays in such publications as Art Playground and the New Art Examiner, exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Randolph Street Gallery, and PS 122 in New York, and collections at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Smithsonian. Besides her extensive career as a professional artist, performer, and writer she has a passion for teaching youth and has done so for many years.

Adam Rust received his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his M.F.A. from Columbia College Chicago’s Center for Book and Paper Arts under famed print maker and author, Audery Niffenegger. Adam’s illustrations and comics have been featured in publications such as the Funny Times and Mad Magazine. He has taught drawing and illustration to youth and adults throughout Chicagoland.

Tariq Tamir studied at Columbia College Chicago and has been involved in the fine arts for over 10 years. Tariq has taught young adults ages 14-21 with Chicago’s Gallery 37 and the Boys and Girls Club. In addition to being poetically inclined, Tariq uses art as a medium for self-growth and empowerment.

Juan Tauber Juan immigrated to the United States five years ago from Argentina. He has studied design, visual art, and art education at la Universidad de Buenos Aires, at Instituto Universitario Nacional del Arte also in Buenos Aires, and at DePaul University Chicago. Juan has been creating artwork since he was a teenager and has exhibited his work in various galleries and institutions across the Chicago Area including the Gerber Hart Library, the Landmark Arts Gallery, and Estudio Tres, LaSalle Bank, and the Hothouse.

Lee Tracy attended The Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and The Art Institute of Boston before receiving her B.F.A. in painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. While a student there, Lee's illustrations appeared in the Providence Journal, Harvard Medical Review, Psychology Today, Boston Magazine, Cleveland Magazine, Chicago Magazine, Detroit Free Press, LA Times, Chicago Tribune and other national publications. Lee's talents cover a plethora of mediums; painting, public art, installations, projects, books and writing. Her painting, public art, and projects have been reviewed in Public Art Review, Chicago Tribune, New Art Examiner, and Chicago Reader to name a few. Lee has appeared on WTTW's Artbeat and WBEZ'S Chicago Public Radio, 848 with Steve Edwards. Tracy exhibits publicly and is in numerous collections.

Pat Zmuda holds a B.S. degree from Northwestern University and an M.A. from Loyola University-Chicago. She has taught photography at the American Academy of Art, is a certified PMC instructor, and has studied kiln-formed glass for many years. Her early experiments combining glass and PMC were published in Jewelry Craft magazine. Pat is a member of the PMC guild, the Bead Society of Greater Chicago, and the Glass Art Society.

Alexandra Zonis holds a B.S. in mathematics from Moscow University. Her mathematical inclination can be detected in her highly detailed and patterned fiber art. Her work can be seen in Mostly Glass Gallery in New Jersey, in exhibitions across the Chicagoland area, and nation-wide. Her work was feature in SOFA Chicago 2006 and SOFA New York 2006. Alexandra has taught bead weaving in Chicago for four years.