Artist Blogs

Karen Canning is an ethnomusicologist and educator, and has worked with students and communities in western New York for the past 16 years. She holds a Masters degree in Ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University, with a specialty in indigenous Mexican popular music. Since 1997 she has been Director of the Regional Traditional Arts Program for Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming counties, a collaborative program of the counties’ arts councils. Karen’s work in this area includes school residencies and public programs on diverse folk arts of our region, such as Hispanic holiday traditions, American folk music, world dance traditions, Native American arts, and occupational folklore. She has been a visiting artist since 2008 at Watkins Glen Middle School, focusing on Mexican “Day of the Dead” foodways and arts. Karen has developed integrated residencies with traditional artists and teachers in several local schools, including Caribbean steel drum construction and performance (Mt. Morris, 2007), square dancing and calling (York, 2009) and Mexican folkloric dance (Geneseo, 2009). She teaches cello and beginning violin at Geneseo Central School, and performs regularly on cello and steel drums.

Percussionist and Teaching Artist TED CANNING, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, has done extensive freelance work in the northeast United States performing classical music, theater, big band and jazz, and has presented performances, workshops and residencies in schools throughout Western New York and Pennsylvania. Ted has used music to teach fundamental curriculum skills such as math, language skills, social studies, history and science, illuminating concepts to students and opening doors to other styles of learning. He performs on the steel drum here in the US as well as in Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. Ted now leads the Panloco Steelband, and the “Steel Alchemy” Community Steelband. He performs with the Trinidad and Tobago Steelband, and has performed with “pan” players from Trinidad and around the world.

Jamie Carestio grew up in Canadice and went to Livonia High school. He graduated from Alfred University in 2008 with BFA and minor religions and philosophy. While in school Jamie was active in printmaking, ceramics, sculpture. He also started a material reuse center with fellow students and was instrumental the planning and construction of a new bus stop for the village of Alfred. Since then he has been building a passive solar, rammed earth home for himself in Hemlock. Jamie has also held community pot luck and slide presentations to benefit an orphanage in Thailand and a community arts organization in Indonesia. He also traveled this past winter to Thailand to sea kayak and volunteer at the orphanage, Indonesia to teach rocket stove construction, and Italy to learn about sustainable farming. Jamie is an avid traveler and outdoors-man and enjoys singing and playing the mandolin, guitar, and piano with friends.

I grew on on Air Force bases and now reside in Springwater, NY with my husband Coby Schultz and our 3 sons Ceilidh, Garth and Oren. I have always been interested in artistic expression and got my start at a young age making beautiful murals on the bathroom wall with my mother's coral pink lipstick. I loved the way the waxy color would adhere to the smooth surface of the wall. After some traveling and raising children, I earned a BFA from the New York State School of Art and Design at Alfred University and then a Master's degree in Art Education at Nazareth College. I have taught art to students of all ages and capabilities in area public schools while employed by Genesee Valley BOCES including the Summer Institute Program, the Regional Program of Excellence and Summer Scholars. I especially enjoy working with clay making tiles for installation. I also create artistic books and hard cover cloth bound books. I think it is important to recycle and reuse art materials and I often use found objects in my work.

Miché tried taking guitar lessons as a kid. But, unless he agreed to play right-handed, they wouldn't teach him. So, he went home, flipped the guitar back over and taught himself. Playing left-handed and upside-down, Miché was destined to have a unique sound - one which continued to evolve as he borrowed freely from Latin, Jazz, and Flamenco to create his innovative guitar style. Adding to this a crooner’s voice, an astonishingly versatile repertoire, and a quirky sense of humor, Miché creates a truly memorable performance – one which has been enjoyed by audiences throughout the US and Canada. With a number of CDs to his name (including his most recent, "Cafe Vignettes," a collection of songs and stories about life on the road), Miché is also the producer of the online video series, "Guitar Lessons" – an entertaining, behind-the-scenes look at the life of independent musicians through interviews, sketches, and real life hilarity - at http://www.miche.com

I grew up in Nunda, attended Nazareth College with a major in Theatre Arts and went on to receive an MFA in Acting from the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. The main thrust of my study in graduate school involved creating new theatre pieces, and the mind body connection. Work was often focused on incorporating world events into already written works in an effort to speak to a modern audience. After graduate school I returned to western NY where I was the drama instructor at the Harley School in Rochester. Life then led me to New York City where I lived for the next 7 years working as an actor, director and producer. Having returned to Livingston County several years ago I worked with students at the local high school as a director and acting coach. I was also a part of Nunda’s Bicentennial Project Play. I have worked as an actor at many Rochester area theatres including Geva Theatre Center. I’ve been a director at Nazareth College and on several occasions at the High Falls International Film Festival for the Screenplay Live! Finalists.

Sharon Leary is a potter and teaching artist. She was raised in a multi-cultural, artistic family, speaking both English and German. After years of international travel and artistic exploration, in 2001, she found her true artistic voice in clay. She launched her artistic career with a three-year apprenticeship with ceramic artist Brooke Millecchia of Opal Creek Pottery in Rochester, NY. Sharon now specializes in functional high-fired pottery that weaves together elements of both American and Asian ceramic traditions. Sharon has exhibited in juried shows throughout upstate New York. Sharon has received regional recognition with the Individual Artist Grant from the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts and was awarded a Teaching Artist Fellowship for 2009-10 from VSA, which is an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Sharon's integrated arts work with pottery and literature has immediately captured the imagination of children and adults as she makes ancient societies come alive by recreating the ceramic techniques and designs of each culture within a narrative framework. Sharon works closely with educators to design customized arts integrated lessons that animate core academics with motivational arts activities. Her most recent project, based on the children’s book “A Single Shard” by Linda Sue Park, explores the culture of ancient Korea through the eyes of a child. Though Sharon works mostly with upper elementary and middle school students in her residencies programs, she also leads intergenerational activities that bring people of all ages together in art making and cross cultural learning.

Amy Ludwig VanDerwater is a writing teacher living in Holland, NY. After earning her MA at Teachers College, Columbia University, Amy directed Summer Writing Workshops for Girls for many years and has since has taught hundreds of teachers and children about writing style and process. Amy writes commentaries for WBFO, Buffalo’s local NPR station, writes a quarterly column for Edible Buffalo Magazine, and her poems for children have appeared in several anthologies. Her first poetry book, Forest Has a Song, will be published by Clarion. You can read Amy’s daily children’s poem as well as her WBFO stories at her blog – www.poemfarm.blogspot.com.

Glenn McClure is a composer and Arts Integration Consultant. He currently serves as an adjunct faculty member at the Eastman School of Music and at SUNY Geneseo. His compositions have enjoyed a wide audience in the US (St. Olaf College, Florida State University, Auburn University, San Diego State University, the American Choral Directors Association Conventions in San Antonio, Texas and Orlando, Florida, and the Nat’l Kodaly Conference in San Antonio). Some of America’s finest conductors have championed his music (including Dr. Andre Thomas, Dr. Anton Armstrong, Dr. Paul Smith, Dr. Anthony Leach, Dr. Brady Allred, Francisco Nuñez and Dr. Janet Galvan). Mr. McClure’s acclaimed “Kyrie” from St. Francis in the Americas: A Caribbean Mass has returned to Carnegie Hall in New York City for three performances. His work has also gained audiences in Mexico, Italy, Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic. Mr. McClure’s work was featured by the St. Olaf Choir at the culminating concert of the World Symposium of Choral Music. His oratorio, “The Starry Messenger” was featured on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.” Mr. McClure’s main compositional interest lies in the mixing of classical music with ethnic music traditions. His work is published by Earthsongs (www.earthsongsmus.com) and Roger Dean Publishers (www.lorenz.com). His choral works, written for mixed choir, Treble Choir, Men’s Choir, soloists and children’s voices, use many languages including Vietnamese, Lakota, and Nahuatl. He is very interested in the use of non-traditional languages and music styles from many world cultures. He is experienced in dealing not only with the technical aspects of non European languages, but also in the ethnomusicological concerns involved in writing works that include traditional musicians. Mr. McClure is a two-time recipient of the prestigious Continental Harmony Commission by the American Composers Forum. These commissions, like many of his musical compositions, have been born out of community initiatives and collaborations. He often works with a variety of community organizations to mold and shape his music into genuine expressions of the goals, interests and hopes of the communities from which they emerge. Furthermore, Mr. McClure used artistic activities to build bridges between diverse populations. Two current international projects include “Galileo’s Universe” (students, artists, educators in the US Italy and Germany explore the artistic influences on Galileo’s scientific work), and “Retelling the Story: From Slavery to Freedom.” This program allows participants in the US, England, and Ghana to share their perspectives on their shared history of the Atlantic Slave Trade. His world music opera, “Imoinda”, combines the creative efforts of artists and students in the US, Europe, and West Africa to retell an early slave story. His leadership has helped to establish numerous projects that place the Arts in service of community needs. Mr. McClure is also a passionate advocate for the integration of the Arts into the education of children. He offers 300-400 concerts and workshops annually that animate a variety of areas of learning with hands-on musical activities. His award winning work in designing and implementing these programs in both mainstream and special education environments has gained the attention of numerous grants and foundations. He has developed customized arts integration programs that have served multiple schools for up to 10 years. These programs reach out to both mainstream students and special needs students in rural, urban, and suburban environments. In addition to arts based curriculum, his programs also use video conferencing and web based applications to link students and teachers with the counterparts around the world. Mr. McClure lives with his wife and two children in Livingston County, NY. To learn more about Mr. McClure’s work, check out his web site at www.artforbrains.com.

I was an elementary and middle-school teacher for many years. Three years ago I went back to college to earn an associates degree in Fine Arts at Genesee Community College. This education gave me a solid overall foundation in the methods and materials of visual art. I also have a lifetime of experience in the Theatre as a director, producer, set designer/builder and an actor. I have also read and studied voraciously on my own. I have had many years of exhibiting and commissioned work. I am certified in elementary education, reading and science. As a teacher I wrote and illustrated a comic book to help teach sixth graders Newton’s laws of motion. In Language Arts class we acted out scenes from stories we read using props and costumes. In Math class we ran a modest baked goods business. I am currently employed part-time as an arts administrator at the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts and the Wyoming County Council for the Arts. Services offered: As a painter, illustrator, set-designer and director I can offer services that apply these knowledge bases to a variety of topics. As a long-time teacher I know how to integrate the arts into the classroom. All curriculums can be accessed through the arts. Whether it is Math, Science, Social Studies or English. The overall type of program I offer is visual- a visual interpretation and understanding of topics through art and/or drama. Both can often be combined to enhance the program.

Kristin Rapp, LMSW has a degree in graphic design and a background in the arts (writing, theater, music and visual arts). She also has a Bachelor’s in Psychology, with several years of schooling in Special Education and a Master’s in Social Work. Wanting to combine her interest in the arts with being a social entrepreneur, Kristin founded ArtPeace, Inc., a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization with the mission of cultivating positive living and working by transforming education and creating social change through the integration of arts, technology and entrepreneurship. One of the projects won a New York State Creative Ticket Award in 2006 for excellence and another won a Neighborhood United Award. Kristin also has the opportunity to use her visual arts, writing and digital media skills within the programs ArtPeace runs and enjoys the role of creative direction on various projects.

David Rapp is a multitalented computer artist adept at IT, design, animation, photography, film-making and multimedia/computer-based training development. He is passionate about helping people of any age find new ways to learn and has been teaching digital media with ArtPeace for 6 years. Dave is an artist that comes from the fast-paced corporate world of adult education and design. David has been employed in the field of computer-based training by many of Rochester’s leading corporations, including Xerox, Kodak, JAM, Inc., Ziff-Davis Education, Element K, Rochester Exhibit Services (RES) and Bergmann Associates as a graphic designer, Sr. Graphic Designer, 3D modeler and animator, multimedia developer, Art Director and Manager (Interactive Products and Special Projects). Dave designed multimedia programs, buildings and national advertising for AT&T, Ford Motor Company, Lexus, SeaLand, DuPont, Colombo (Frozen Yogurt), Kodak, Ray Ban, Bauch&Lomb, WalMart and FootLocker.

Kala Stein is a ceramic artist who explores the limitless potentials of clay through slip casting, throwing, hand building, and tile work. Kala’s education in ceramic art spans from academia to apprenticeship. She received her undergraduate degree in ceramics from SUNY New Paltz. While a ceramist at Moravian Pottery and Tile Works in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Kala made historical tile while teaching others the art of tile making. Her apprenticeship under Donna Polseno and Richard Hensley, of 16 Hands Pottery in Floyd, Virginia, was a pivotal for her ceramics career. After receiving her Master in Fine degree from The New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University she was invited to stay as a visiting instructor, where she now balances full time teaching and her own studio practice.