About the Instructors

Suzanne Binnie

Suzanne grew up in a family of artists as her mother and two sisters are talented watercolor and pastel artists. Suzanne was educated at Penn State University and Tyler School of Art, and has also studied with Janet Walsh, Tom Lynch, Stephen Quiller, Margaret Huddy, and Susan Abbott.

Watercolor is Suzanne's medium of choice because she loves the effects and luminosity it can achieve. Her subjects are varied and range from landscapes and seascapes to florals and wildlife.

Suzanne believes that her art is a journey in self-expression. She believes we all see things differently and she tries to convey her perceptions through her paintings. Although she has been painting since childhood she is still fascinated by watercolors and every painting is a challenging experience.

For many years Suzanne has been teaching watercolor painting to beginners, intermediate and advanced students. Her style of teaching includes art theory and her goal, especially for beginners, is to ensure a thorough grounding in watercolor technique using sample paintings allowing students to quickly produce finished products. She teaches primarily in her home studio and always welcomes enquiries from new students.

Recently Suzanne became enthralled with the art form Zentangle® (see page in this site for details) and has quickly adopted it as an outlet for her talent, creating her own patterns and pieces of art. Suzanne is a Certified Zentangle Teacher registered in New Hampshire and Virginia. www.culhavenstudios.com

Anna Birch

Anna is an artist who has successfully run her own one-woman art company, Queen Oscar Designs, creating hand-painted greeting cards and journals, for 15 years. In addition to paper and book arts, she also enjoys works in other mediums – including various forms of printing, painting, jewelry and fiber arts. She has worked with teenagers and children in many settings over the years, from outdoor adventure programs to pre-schools to homeschooling groups, conducting art and creativity workshops incorporating bookbinding, art-journals/creative writing, jewelry-making, printing and collage art. She is also a writer, working on her first manuscript of poems, and lives in Hollis with her husband, oil painter Christopher Volpe, and their 5 year old son Max.

Kristine Brock

Kristine L. Brock is the owner of Harmony Studio in Brookline, New Hampshire where she offers private art instruction for children and adults. Kristine has studied under several artists in the New England area and is a member of the Hollis Art Society and the Nashua Area Artists' Association. Following her art training at Raritan Valley College in New Jersey, Kristine was selected as a mural artist for the 1994 Musikfest celebration held annually in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She enjoys working in watercolor, oil, colored pencil and acrylic media. Her subject matter focuses on realistic and abstract portrayals of florals, landscapes, and wildlife. www.harmonyartstudio.com

Mary Broden

Mary’s love for nature has inspired her in many different directions. She draws, paints, and loves crafts that reflect her passions. Fifteen years ago, Mary decided that making jewelry was such a huge part of her, she needed to express that in her life. She believes it is so rewarding to see her work being paraded through town by another person and just “sugar to her soul” when someone enjoys it as much as she does! She has shared her love of arts and crafts in many community areas, including Mason Elementary School, Boynton Middle School with special need students, Mason Library, Townsend Recreation Dept., Manning Manse for Victorian Crafts, Mason Historical Society for the Children’s Area, and Appleton Elementary. She set up a studio in the “White House” (this has several small rooms for artists) in Wilton, NH and another in the 1808 House in New Ipswich. As well as teaching at Wild Salamander, she is currently selling her crafts at Auntie's Attic in Manchester, NH.

Cindy Dahlstrom

Cindy has been sewing since she she was 7 and sat by her grandmother's side and asked to use her sewing machine. Graduating from U Mass with a degree in Fashion Merchandising she went on to a great career in the fashion industry. Cindy has designed for Talbots, New Balance, Adidas and The Limited. Most of all Cindy loves to sew! She is eager to share her life long love with her students through some of the many projects she has been collecting for years.

Alexander Davis

Born and raised in Hollis, Alex has had an extreme interest in theater, dance and art since he was young. Alex has been doing theater and improv for almost ten years. He is currently studying modern dance and choreography under Marcia Murdock and his mentor William Seigh at Keene State College where he is also studying secondary english education. Alex is also the artistic director of local theater company The Hapless Homespuns. He is very excited to be working with the Wild Salamander, and can not wait to see all of the positive opportunities it will provide for the community.

Nancy Fillip

Nancy is a life-long artist and teacher with a passion for both. Having grown up with a father who was determined to make her an Olympic champion at something and under the tutelage of a mother who was a professional artist, Nancy was experimenting with oils, pens and ink and watercolors with a canvas down by the shores of Buzzards Bay at a very early age. After college, her love of teaching drew her to the classroom and over the past 34 years she spent teaching science and math to high school and middle schoolers. Always thinking outside the box, many times she was able to incorporate art into her curriculum and make the students aware that art provides innovation for science and math to happen.

Recently retired, Nancy now runs her own studio, Muses and Music, at her home in Pepperell where she offers classes and private lessons in all art mediums (except oils) and private lessons in piano, clarinet and flute. In addition, she offers acrylic classes at The Lunenburg Public Library and The Leominster Senior Citizen Center. She has run several local area workshops on Zentangle and has had her paintings on exhibition at The Lawrence Library Art Gallery and The Lunenburg Library Art Gallery. Nancy’s biggest strength as a teacher is that she inspires and motivates the students to be confident and creative. “My biggest pleasure from teaching is seeing my students, young or old, delighted with their own work because they created and designed it; they produced something they may have thought they never had the ability to do so. They’re having fun, learning, exercising that right brain, and all the imaginative juices are just flowing in the right direction. How can you not call that passion?” You can find her work on www.fineartamerica.com.

Rick Freed

Rick has been educated at Carnegie-Mellon University and Pratt Institute and holds a Masters in Printmaking. He is a visual artist that works in most two-dimensional mediums. He has also taught all of these mediums to about every age from children to college and adults. Currently he is teaching art and graphic design at Nashua Community College as well as lending a hand with the college clubs and student publications. He also teaches in the Summer at the Comp_Camp at the Brooks School in North Andover, MA a full range of computer art and photography to middle schoolers. Rick has also created murals with all age groups, especially kids at risk. His process allows the children to design and paint their own mural with his ‘invisible hand’ guiding the way and making the project also be professional looking and archival. He has also done murals professionally in museums, homes and businesses. Though a successful freelance graphic designer with a number of well-known clients, his own fine art takes a very different path from what it takes to satisfy a client. Rick’s own work is a playful exposé on the inner mind and the world, through color, texture and line. Likened to seeing images in the clouds, his images betray the hints of many little thoughts or images, none of which he admits to.

Kyle Goleman

Born and raised in Nashua, NH, Kyle grew up acting, singing and dancing at his local community theater, the Peacock Players. When he turned 15 years old he moved to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career. In LA, he worked on films, commercials, music videos, and television. Some of his most prominent work was on Nickelodeon’s hit show “iCarly”, in Toby Keith’s “Beers Ago” music video, in Bridget Mendler’s “We Can Change the World” music video, in the short film “The Kids Don’t Like It”, and in various commercials for Doritos, Porsche, Best Buy and Nintendo DS. Kyle on IMDb

Suzi Grossman

Suzi Grossman is excited to be teaching photography in her home town this summer. She recently graduated from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston with a BFA concentrated in photography and Tufts University with a BA in English Literature. Suzi grew up in Hollis and is currently living in Boston, working and making art for a few years before going on to grad school for photography.

Suzi is trained in all aspects of photography including, digital, film, lighting, model direction, fine art digital printing, creative project planning, critique, and curation. She is interested in both the technical challenges of photography and its potential for conveying powerful emotional and conceptual messages.

She has worked as a teachers assistant in both photography and art history, an artist assist, a freelance photoshop guru and digital printer, and has volunteered in many youth, nature, and art programs over the years as a teacher and mentor.

She loves to share knowledge and explore new challenges and is excited to see what new questions her students with bring to light. You can see her work at www.suzigrossman.com

Sue Hurwitz

Sue Hurwitz is an active, professional chamber musician. She is the founder of Resonance, a chamber group. Sue is the flutist in Sunflower Fusion, a World Music group with Rahel and Marie Mendelow. Sue and Marie also play in Lyric Duo, which plays at weddings and other special events.

Sue has a BA in Music Education, and has taken college level courses toward an art degree. She has taught private art and music lessons for several years. Sue also earned her certification in Special Education. She has worked in Special Education for over 15 years.

Sue has yoga certifications from ChildLight Yoga, as well as certifications in yoga for special needs, yoga and music, yoga for babies and mommies, and pre-natal yoga.

She is an active advocate for the arts. In that capacity, she is a founding member and on the board of City Arts Nashua. Sue is the chairperson of the Guild for Performing Arts of the Hollis Arts Society. She is also a member of the Friends of the Nashua Symphony. Sue is a longtime member of the National Flute Association, The Opera Circle, Chamber Music America, and the Society of Childrens Book Writers and Illustrators.

Rahel Limor

Educator, singer/songwriter, guitarist, folk and therapeutic musician, and mother to Inbal and Eran, Rahel holds a B.Sc. in the Arts (Musical and Theater Arts for Children) from Empire State College (SUNY), and a Certificate of Distinction in Barbara Cass–Beggs’ Listen Like Learn music program for babies and young children.

Rahel met Barbara Cass-Beggs (may her memory be a blessing) in 1986 in Israel and worked closely with her for three more years to train students in Barbara's music program. Together they successfully adapted the Your Child Needs Music programs to the needs of Israeli society, translating song repertoire to Hebrew and establishing music classes for babies and young children in day-care centers and schools.

Rahel has been performing and recording since 1976. Her original songs have won awards and been featured on television and radio in the USA and abroad. As a teacher, Rahel facilitates programs and workshops for children and adults alike! www.yourchildneedsmusic.com

Linda Malone

Linda Malone is a lifelong artist and has been a teacher for over 34 years. She received her BA in Art Studio from SUNY Postsdam and received her MEd from Lesley University in Integrating the Arts into the Curriculum. She has recently retired from a gratifying career as an art teacher for the Tewksbury Public Schools. She is passionate about painting and sharing her love of the arts and has a desire to to teach people to paint and experience the joy of painting. She has been painting since a young adult and has continued studying art and taking courses and workshops throughout her life. She has studied and taught color theory extensively. She is a landscape artist who also greatly enjoys painting wildlife and people. She has displayed her paintings in numerous exhibits, including the Fitchburg Art Museum's Regional Art Show, The Worcester Art Museum Student Art Show , and the Concord, Leominster, Newburyport and North Shore Art Associations. "I want to capture moments of happiness and joy in nature and share this creative enthusiasm with others."

Marie Mendelow

Marie Mendelow has been teaching piano and percussion for over thirty years on four different continents. She received her collegiate training in her native South Africa at Witswatersrand University and completed all the piano examinations through the Royal Schools of Music, London.She studied piano under Dr. Adolph Hallis, a World Master, and was invited at the age of seventeen to joing the Primary Orchestra of South Africa (SABC Orchestra) where she performed weekly on national television as one of their four percussionists. She has served on the faculty of the Orange Free State University, and has been living and teaching piano and percussion in New Hampshire since 1991. www.thelyricduo.com

Jill Mudge

As a kid I started taking photos of my friends, family and pets. My uncle first got me interested in photography. He used to show me all his cameras and teach me about the basics of photography. In 10th grade I won my first contest in our paper. That started it all, after that I was hooked.

I studied Photography at Minneapolis College of Art and Design where I received my B.F.A. After college I worked in NYC for photographer Bary Seidman, a well know advertising photographer. I then spent a number of years working on the west coast for various advertising agencies. With a strong desire to learn more about color theory, printing and emerging technologies I went to Rochester Institute of Technology where I received my Masters in Printing Technology. After receiving my M.S. from RIT I moved to New England with my husband and worked for various vendors who provided digital imaging systems to printing companies. My primary focus in industry was customer support and education. Through this work I developed a love for teaching and lifelong learning. In 1998 I left industry to pursue teaching and raising our family. I have been teaching graphic arts, photography, desktop publishing and computer technology in the Nashua area since 1998. Most recently I was the Computer Technology teacher at St. Christopher School in Nashua, NH. I consider myself a fine arts photographer and enjoy taking photos of just about anything. I love working with computer programs, such as PhotoShop and Lightroom to enhance my photos and to create new abstract images. I am active with local photography clubs and enjoy staying current with new ideas. I am a member of NAPP and continue my education through workshops and classes in the area.

Brennan Riley

Brennan Riley is a graphic designer based in Nashua. While his career is design, his passion is art. Brennan was drawn to digital art at a young age, and enjoyed the medium's great capacity for innovation and expression. Recently, Brennan has taught classes at local elementary schools and business workshops. Teaching comes naturally to Brennan; he feels that there is little in life more rewarding than guiding people to discover new talents and techniques.

Alene Sirott-Cope

Alene Sirott-Cope is a professional graphic designer, potter, multi media artist, art director, and art educator in several universities in the New England area. She uses her experience with graphic design concepts, including color, shape, and texture, in all of her pieces. She enjoys experimenting with assorted production techniques and tries to find new combinations that produce interesting as well as functional pieces. A Raku potter and a convert to polymer clay, she also teaches kids and adult classes/workshops in Polymer clay and Photoshop.

Alene's work has been highlighted in publications such as “The Crafts Report”, “Art Calendar” cover, Boston Globe, The Nashua Telegraph, The Lowell Sun, Funeria “Art Honors Life”, Polymer Cafe and an HGTV segment on “That’s Clever”. Her work appears in galleries and gift shops throughout the USA. Selected works are showcased in several celebrity homes, as well.

You can find her work on www.fineartamerica.com and www.youclayme.com.

Kimberly Stanizzi

Kimberly Stanizzi is so excited to be spending her Summer in her hometown, Hollis, NH, after spending the past two years at the Young Americans College of Performing Arts in southern California. She is twenty years old and has been performing in musical theatre nearly her entire life. She worked with several of the community theaters in southern NH, including the Actorsingers, Stagecoach Productions, the Peacock Players, and others, until she graduated high school. After, she continued to pursue her passion of the performing arts in California. Throughout the past two years in the Young Americans, she has shared the stage with Broadway stars including Kelli O'hara, Hugh Panaro, Carol Dennis, Jeffrey Polk, and many more. She just finished an Intensive Course where she was coached by Tony Award winner Susan Egan. Not only has Kim recieved many great experiences in performance, but in teaching as well. She participated in a national music outreach tour along the East Coast of the United States this past fall, and spent three months on an International tour in Japan this past Spring. www.youngamericans.org

Christopher Volpe

Christopher Volpe seeks to inspire and instruct through demonstration of technique and individual coaching based on participants' skill level and creative goals. A recipient of artist grants from New Hampshire and Massachusetts, he conducts oil painting classes and workshops from his studio and has been a part-time college art history teacher for close to a decade.

Barbara Warnke

Barbara Warnke has been working as a Graphic Designer and Illustrator in New York City for the last 20 years — most recently as Senior Art Director for The Media Group at Condé Nast, publishers of Vogue, Wired, Glamour, Vanity Fair and many other titles.

Sherri Woolsey

Sherri Woolsey has been stamping and scrapbooking for 14 years. A self described “craft-matically challenged” person, she fell in love with rubber stamping because it made her creations look and feel as if an artist had done them. She was introduced to rubber stamping through a friend and became a Stampin’ Up demonstrator 12 years ago. Over the years she has taught hundreds of people, from young to young at heart, the art of rubber stamping. Her joy lies in seeing another craft-matically challenged person pick up a stamp, make a creation and admire with astonished amazement that they created it. She is very excited to share her stamping knowledge at Wild Salamander Creative Arts Studio and hopes to find a new group of stamping enthusiasts to share the fun with. Sherri lives in Hudson, NH with her husband, Jim, three teenagers, Katie, Tom and Maggie, two cats and two guinea pigs.