Heather enjoys working in gouache and watercolor when she paints.  She generally focuses on animals and pastries.  She additionally works with fiber, knits, crochets, and renovates her clothing.  She often plays with depth and implied texture and movement.

Heather was classically trained in painting, sculpture, and printmaking at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and was a high school art teacher for over 16 years.  She lives and makes things in Libertyville.

A teacher by trade and an artist at heart, I help artists grasp classical art foundations while embracing contemporary methods. I also maintain a studio practice at The Palette and Chisel Academy of Art, focusing on drawing and painting from life.

I want my work to be both accessible and resonant, using the human form as a universal language of connection and expression. Reflecting on the relationship between my teaching and studio practice, I often say, “one hand washes the other.”

I am an alumnus of The Homewood-Flossmoor High School Art Department, earned a B.A. in Studio Art from Beloit College, and completed an M.A. in Secondary Education at St. Xavier University.

www.instagram.com/chris.seidel.art/

Phil is a color pencil artist that paints with the pencil. His botanical renderings are not drawings of plant specimens as seen in scientific books, rather, they are renderings of plants as seen through the eye of an artist. 

In his drawings, he focuses on achieving realism and tries to put in as much detail as possible, wanting the viewer to look and then get lost in the scene as if they were standing in it.

He attended Eastern Illinois University with an Art Scholarship, and received his Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Graphic Design and 2D Studio Art 1984. Since that time he has worked for printing companies and, since 1993, has been a self employed Graphic Artist. 

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Roberta is a working artist who’s media is usually clay, but recently has been welding metal to support, display, and complement ceramic objects. Her path to making has been constant, although circuitous, with professional time being applied as a potter, graphic designer, and art educator.  Her hope is to create work inspired by subconscious and intuitive leanings with triggers from gestures, memories, and patterns.

“Why do I make objects? It is a way for me to express feeling and thought about my experience as a human; it connects me to the earth, her inhabitants, and my own shadowed light.”

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Ellen Williams serves as the Programs and Marketing Director, as well as the Curator, at the Adler Arts Center in Libertyville, Illinois. In her role, she curates diverse programs and oversees various art exhibitions and collaborations that engage the community in artistic and cultural experiences.

Beyond her administrative duties, Ellen is an artist specializing in mixed media, digital, and ceramic works. Her art is characterized by vibrant colors and whimsical themes, aiming to evoke joy and nostalgia. She studied ceramics at the College of Lake County and also maintains a freelance art practice, collaborating on various projects and commissions. In addition to her professional pursuits, Ellen enjoys spending time with her dog, Einstein, taking long walks that inspire both her personal life and creative endeavors.