City of Tempe, AZ

Meet our teaching artists! 

Led by local professional artists and performers,  classes at the Edna Vihel Arts Center invite discovery, creativity and learning through the dynamic skills and passions of our teaching artists.

@apolloawakeningacademy | apolloawakeningacademy.com 
Tot Music

Alexis Edmonds is a Tempe based music therapist and music educator. Alexis is an alumni of Arizona State University, earning her Masters in Music Therapy. She is the founder of Apollo Awakening Academy, offering music therapy and music lessons to people of all ages, as well as hosting community singing circles to make music together. Alexis is passionate about the many benefits of music and is excited to bring classes to all ages.

 @alimarilesceramics
Adult Ceramics

Ali Mariles Golamb is a ceramic artist from Tijuana, Mexico. Ali’s ceramic work is inspired by the cultural richness of her country. She also creates functional ceramics and encourages people to enjoy healthy, locally grown foods in one of a kind made pottery. Ali feels there is another level of satisfaction when fresh, healthy, local food is experienced and enjoyed out of a handmade ceramic dish. Her love of ceramics began in high school and she went on to graduate from ASU with a BFA in ceramics in 2007. 

@stillaroundart | alisonstillaround.com
Adult Visual Arts

Alison Auditore is a visual artist and illustrator. She is inspired by the constant state of change in life and expresses this in her art by using delicate line-work and stippling. Alison received her BFA from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts. She has since participated in several art shows and exhibited work in galleries across the country. When she isn’t drawing, you can find her reading, listening to music, powerlifting, or gaming. 

@lachance_amelia
Adult Visual Arts

Amelia LaChance is a multi-media sculpture artist from St. Paul, Missouri, a small rural town outside of St. Louis. LaChance attended the University of Central Missouri where she received a BFA in Sculpture and a BSE in Art Education in 2023. LaChance has exhibited in a variety of spaces across Missouri, as well as Phoenix, where she is now based and is pursuing her MFA at Arizona State University and will be graduating in 2026.

caitlynswift.com
Adult Visual Arts

Caitlyn Swift is a multimedia artist based in Phoenix, Arizona. Early in her education, Caitlyn was awarded with Best of Drawing and Best of Painting by the Luis Bernal Gallery at Pima Community College. Swift graduated summa cum laude with her bachelor's degree in two dimensional studies from the University of Arizona in 2020. Caitlyn is a published artist, and has work featured in Sandscript Magazine (2019 Edition), Polaris Magazine (Spring 2020 Issue), as well as Persona Magazine (2021 Issue, Vol, 42 and 43), two of which she was awarded first place in the visual arts category. She attended artist residency Chateau d’Orquevaux, France in June of 2022, was awarded the Denis Diderot Grant in support of the residence and has a piece in their permanent private collection. Caitlyn is a second-year MFA student at Arizona State University and is set to graduate in Spring of 2025.

@chrisvena.art | chrisvenaart.com
Adult Visual Arts

Chris Vena is a painter, photographer, filmmaker, and educator with an exhibition record spanning 25 years, 6 states and 4 countries. He received a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2003 and an MFA from Arizona State University 2017, having studied painting and drawing at The École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France on exchange in 2001. He has taught at NAU, ASU and various community colleges in the Maricopa Valley since 2014. He was a recipient of the inaugural Lehmann Emerging Artist Award in 2021 and has work in the collections of several museums and arts organizations. He currently resides in Tempe, Arizona. 

Adult Visual Arts

Christine Gin is a traditional and digital artist who specializes in realism and portraits. She is a graduate from Arizona State University with an emphasis in drawing and began teaching in 2017. Christine aims to teach others how enjoyable art can be and to help others creatively express themselves. She has taught drawing classes and has helped students explore other media such as watercolor and acrylic. In her spare time, Christine enjoys painting digital portraits and views her work as a celebration of other people's uniqueness. 

@colespencerheck | colespencerheck.com
Adult Visual Arts

Cole Heck is a visual artist with a focus in printmaking and painting. He received a BFA from the University of Kansas in 2015. Heck recently relocated to the Phoenix metropolitan area from Lawrence, KS where he served as the Assistant Art Director and Instructor at VanGo, a non-profit organization that works with youth and young adults. He has worked as a teaching artist, mural painter, and as a facilitator of various community-based projects. 

@daintist | daingore.com
Adult Visual Arts

Dain Q. Gore is a painter, college art instructor, and puppeteer. He received his MFA (ASU) in 2009 and teaches at Phoenix College. Dain has shown his art all over the world, including Beijing, Himeiji and at Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He makes and performs with puppets at the Great Arizona Puppet Theater and the Phoenix Art Museum with collaborator Tommy Cannon: His puppetry is generally sassy. Both his paintings and puppetry are generally colorful, surreal and narrative in nature, which shows up in his hobbies, too; He's been painting fantasy/sci-fi gaming minis since 1988 and has recently won awards at GenCon and Everchosen.

@dylan.fitzart
Adult Ceramics

Dylan Fitzgibbons is a multimedia visual artist hailing from Chaska, Minnesota. Dylan has explored various fields of study before rekindling his passion for the arts during his undergraduate degree, which in turn became the reason for his move to Arizona in 2020. He attended ASU’s MFA program in ceramics and earned his degree at the end of 2023. His work varies in mediums and styles, but his themes and concepts remain persistent. Through his work he examines the play between the physical world and the imagined, primarily taking inspiration from folklore and mythology. Dylan’s sculptures play heavily with light, shadows, and perception to create unique individualized moments for the viewers. 

@_greenhouse_studio_ | greenhousestudio.shop
Youth Ceramics and Adult Visual Arts

Frances Garcia is a visual artist and creative reuse designer. She loves crafting functional art from upcycled materials and filling her home with plants. Frances received her BFA in Design from The School of The Art Institute of Chicago. Through GreenHouse Studio, a design brand she started during her studies, Frances has hosted DIY workshops about fibers arts, terrarium building, and spends time vending at art local fairs. When she isn’t immersed in her craft you can find her hiking, enjoying the sun, eating a tasty treat, or tending to her many houseplants.

hanasarder.carrd.co
Adult Ceramics

Hana Sarder is a ceramic artist and photographer. Born and raised in Arizona, she finds inspiration and beauty in the resilient desert landscape. A focus on form, simple lines, and balance is at the heart of her work, which she approaches with an intuitive mindset. She has a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Arizona State University.

@jschwarzart | jschwarzart.com
Youth and Adult Ceramics

James Schwarz is a native Arizonan who grew up in Sierra Vista. His primary focus is in ceramics and photography. James’s work focuses on contrast and connecting with others through empathy and shared experiences with physical/mental trauma. 

Youth Visual Arts and Ceramics

Jaqueline Serrano is currently pursuing an Associates in Applied Science in Animation and Time based media with an emphasis on Animation. She believes art is a great way to tell stories and express one's inner feelings and thoughts. She hopes to introduce and share methods of expression through visual art to the community.

@katearford.studio | kate-arford.com
Adult Ceramics

Kate Arford is a ceramic artist studying at Arizona State University. She has taught wheel throwing and designed classes for various studios across Arizona. Kate has also created site-specific installations at locations like Cosanti, Danelle Plaza, and Ice House. Her work focuses on kinetic objects, drawing inspiration from the playful nature of toys. Through these pieces, she explores themes of nostalgia, loss, and the whimsical nature of childhood.

@stubborngladness_ | kennaconnelly.squarespace.com
Adult Visual Arts

Kenna Connelly is a visual artist that specializes in printmaking, watercolor painting, and fiber arts. Their work is heavily inspired by the natural world, mythological creatures, and connections between people. Kenna is an Arizona State University graduate, with degrees in both Printmaking and Painting. In her free time, Kenna runs Stubborn Gladness Studio, where she sells her prints and paintings and runs creative workshops. Their work is on permanent display in Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport and have had the pleasure of exhibiting their work across the Valley for the past 8 years.

@dejartchive
Adult Visual Arts

Ladeja Standifer is a Tempe raised, self-taught visual artist passionate about self-expression, creativity and building community through art. Their artistic practice spans clay, crochet, needle felt, painting, drawing and paper crafts —each offering unique ways to explore material, technique and artistic development. Outside of teaching arts, they run their own small art business and regularly vends their work at local art markets. Whether they’re curating art centered gatherings with friends or participating in art-based community events Ladeja is committed to making art accessible, collaborative and transformative for everyone they meet.

@li.rothrock | lirothrock.com
Adult Visual Arts

li rothrock’s work investigates inheritance across diaspora and the generative capacities of invasive species. She has taught at the university level and led workshops with the Osher Lifelong Learner Institute. She has exhibited across the US and Canada, held residencies in Scottsdale, Phoenix and Sisters, Oregon, and her work has received multiple awards and appeared in Glamour Magazine. She received her MFA at Arizona State University and lives and works in Phoenix, Arizona.

@megagizzi | meggizzi.com
Adult Ceramics

Meg Gizzi is a ceramicist and educator born and raised in Michigan. She currently resides in Phoenix, pursuing her Master of Fine Arts at Arizona State University. Meg received her Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art and Design with a concentration in ceramics from the University of Michigan Stamps School of Art and Design, where she went on to teach before moving to the southwest. Her work explores intentionality and ways of being through the use of interactivity, performance, and metaphor. Most recently, she was included in the Michigan Ceramics Biennial.

@studiohennessy
Tot and Youth Visual Arts

Megan Hennessy is a recent graduate from Arizona State University, where she received her BFA in Sculpture. Born and raised in Arizona, she began her art journey as a painter and potter, discovering her love for sculpture through a class at ASU. Working with neon, wood, and tufting, Megan creates whimsical and inviting spaces that beckon viewers to explore and engage. Her vibrant color palettes and playful expressions draw inspiration from childhood memories, spiritual motifs, and architectural design. Megan's interactive, ethereal spaces encourage tactile interaction, inviting viewers to immerse themselves and feel a sense of wonder and joy. In her free time, she loves to roller skate, bringing the same playfulness to her hobbies as she does to her art.

@4sureceramics
Ceramics

Philip Henry V is an Arizona native born in Peoria in 1998. Growing up across the country in Delaware and Georgia Philip took a liking to the arts painting and animating. Coming back to Arizona he found ceramics in 2018 as an elective for his Communications degree at Paradise Valley Community College. Learning under professors David Bradley and Frank Krevens, Henry learned to hone his skills and build his reputation in the field of pottery, teaching and selling his own work specializing in vases, mugs and 3D printed pottery tools.

rachelhutzenbiler.com
Tot Performing Arts

Rachel Hutzenbiler is a recent MFA graduate from ASU's Theatre for Youth and Community program and originally hails from Northern Virginia.  Her work centers on theater and dance for young audiences including devising new work, play-based educational practices, interactivity, and engagement.  Alongside teaching artistry, she is a performer, director, and creator working on productions such as WONDERland., an interactive performance for young audiences based on Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella: Youth Edition (TheaterWorks), and Anthropocene, a high intensity, devised performance about the climate crisis.  Rachel received dual bachelor degrees in Vocal Performance and Theatre Education from East Carolina University. 

@rebv_art | rebeccavmancia.com
Adult Visual Arts

Rebecca Mancia graduated from ASU with a Bachelors of Fine Art in Drawing but currently works with watercolor and gouache. This shift brought a focus to bold colors and saturation that lends itself to her stylized realism and dreamy subject matter. She uses surrealism and humor to discuss memory, nostalgia and our modern dichotomies. She currently participates in group shows, art fairs and markets around the valley.

@sarahdipitouscrafts
Adult Visual Arts

Sarah Criscuolo is a newly transplanted, Scottsdale-based artist who grew up in a small town in Connecticut. She began her crafting business in the fall of 2020 when she taught herself how to wrap crystal necklaces and make candles and now enjoys spreading her love for art to others through teaching. In her free time, you can find her climbing, hiking, volunteering with exotic birds and playing her ukulele.

@ksfwglass

Sarah Oliver is a stained glass artist from Mesa, AZ with over 15 years of experience. She sells her finished pieces at markets around the Valley as KSFW Glass and teaches her own stained glass classes. Whether it’s bold designs or beginner friendly vibes, she's all about making stained glass fun, social and totally unforgettable. When she's not playing with glass, Sarah loves spending time with her husband and children, eating tacos and going on vacation.

@littlepatchofhell | littlepatchofhell.com
Adult Visual Arts

Timothea Haider is a book artist, printmaker and painter based out of Mesa, Arizona. Her work connects modern events to historical context using traditional methods such as letterpress and woodblock printing. She earned her BFA in printmaking at Arizona State University and teaches bookmaking workshops across the valley.

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