Ocean City Arts Center
Call: 609-399-7628
Board of Trustees
President:
Dr. Jack Devine
Vice President:
Marian Talese
Secretary:
Jane Charles
Treasurer:
David Nahan
Jeff Barnes
Joanne Coffman
Tim Faherty
Suzanne Forrest
Mary Garrett
Sara Grant
Hillary Heywood
Susan Matthews
Allison Southard
Patti Speed
Mary Emilie Steinacker, Ed. D.
Our Staff Members
Executive Director:
Chase Jackson
chasej@oceancityartscenter.org
Bookkeeper:
Jill Watson
Office Manager/Front Desk:
Lynn Sullivan
Promotions Coordinator/Front Desk:
Paula Popilock
Paulap@oceancityartscenter.org
Front Desk:
Merryl Cool
Gail Beckley
Our Teachers
Karen Abraham
A former classroom teacher, Karen has taught art in a variety of settings, including a boarding school in Switzerland, and at the DeCordova and Danforth Museums in Massachusetts. Most recently, Karen was the Art and Design teacher at a Montessori School in Framingham, MA. Recently resettled in South Jersey, she teaches art at Raab Montessori Academy of Cygnus Creative Arts Center, in addition to the Ocean City Arts Center.
Reid Alburger
Reid Alburger has a Bachelor’s of Music from George Mason University. He has over four decades of teaching experience. Reid has played, recorded and performed all over the country. Many of Reid’s former students are ‘working’ professionals.
Gail Beckley
Gail is a professional artist currently focusing on photography, drawing, and painting. Her work has been exhibited and sold at the Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts at Penn State University, the OC Fine Arts League and at Nashville North Studios in Linwood, NJ. Her work has also exhibited at the Witt Gallery in Millville, NJ and at the Ocean City Arts Center. She was honored with the “President’s Award” in the 2021 OCAC Juried Photography Show.
Robert Boney
Robert Boney has been a professional drummer for 42 years and has been taught by & played with the area’s best musicians.
Frank Callio
Frank Callio has been teaching at the Arts Center for the past 16 years. He studied under Ed Pedrick and Eddie Wu.
Mary Alice Campanaro
I have been knitting since age 15, beginning with wool socks on 4 needles. I now work one day a week at The Knitting Niche in OC, NJ. I was a former teacher in elementary schools, at Widener University and Neumann College. “Knitting keeps me in stitches.”
Joe DiMatteo
Joe has been a ceramics instructor at OCAC since 2013. He’s long been inspired by Asian pottery, including Japanese tea wares of all influences, as well as Korean and Chinese porcelain and stoneware styles and forms. His work is an interpretation of these and forms from nature. His goal for students is for them to develop their basic skills, in which ever way they choose and to discover their own path with clay, imprinting their own influences and personality into their creations.
Jason Elia
Jason Elia has been teaching art for over 13 years, within various age groups and disciplines. He is currently the Ceramic Arts teacher at EHT High School.
Edward Fischer
Edward Fischer is a certified, seasoned Ballroom and Latin Dance instructor. His 25 years in Ballroom has allowed him to bring the elegance and tradition of Ballroom into a social setting that is fun! "Ballroom makes your bad days good and your good days great!"
Susan Irland
Susan Irland is an experienced facilitator in the arts, working in public school and college level environments. In part, Susan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Studio and Art History, and a Master’s Degree in Supervision and Administration with a Visual Arts focus and has completed additional graduate and undergraduate work.
Bethany Kelsey
Bethany Kelsey began dancing at a young age and has shared her passion for dance throughout the New Jersey and New York City area. She graduated in 2010 from Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance. While there she was the recipient of the DanceWorks Scholarship and the Margery Turner Choreographer Prize. For 15 years she studied at the Jazz RockBallet Studio in her hometown of Linwood, New Jersey where she later returned to teach modern, ballet, jazz and tap. Throughout her years of dancing, she has had the privilege to work with many great choreographers and Modern dance companies. She has also presented self-choreographed work at Dance New Amsterdam (Gibney Dance) and Dance Theater Workshop (New York Live Arts) in New York City. She has spread her love and knowledge of dance through the New Jersey Dance to Learn Program, has had the opportunity to teach dance and yoga classes at the Gilda's Club of South Jersey in Linwood, NJ and has taught Modern and Ballet at ProDance Academy in Northfield, NJ since 2016. She is currently a high school Dance and Movement teacher at Leap Academy University Charter School in Camden, NJ and is fortunate to share the great art of Dance with the youth of South Jersey.
Jean Kibler
Jean Kibler is a graduate from University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Masters in Clinical Psychology from SUNY Plattsburgh. The piano has been in Jean's life since the age of 5, obviously a child prodigy. She began her college career in music at Temple University, but as life would have it, she changed majors but never stopped playing. Having lived in Plattsburgh, NY for 40 years, not only did she teach piano for 15 of those years, but she also continued her studies in piano with SUNY Plattsburgh's Professor Peter Kairoff and organ studies with Crane School of Music graduate, Leslie Laramie. She studied psych all day and played piano in all of her off hours. She has been continuously a well-known accompanist and soloist in the classical, sacred and jazz idioms. Before joining the Arts Center, Jean taught piano for 15 years at Dr. May Strange's Music Studio in Linwood as well as accompanying students and ensembles at recitals Jean has been the United Methodist Church of Linwood's organist, piano soloist and choir accompanist for the past 16 years
Renee Leopardi
Renee has an Associate’s Degree in Liberal Arts from the University of Cincinnati. In 2008, she took an Advanced Painting workshop at Studio Incamminati in Philadelphia. Through her studies, she realized that painting with pastels has pushed her to explore and create more than she thought she could. Working with pastels has altered her overall painting style by giving it a turn toward impressionism. She finds inspiration in the local seasonal landscapes of southern New Jersey. She has exhibited in many local galleries and had a solo show at Village on High Gallery in Millville, NJ. She has won many awards for her artwork.
Ed McCabe
Ed McCabe has been a dedicated guitar instructor for over 25 years and has taught thousands of students of all ages. He has studied jazz harmony with Vincent Corrao, has been a session musician for Lifesong Records in NYC, has worked with producers Bruce Tergeson (Cream), Tom Dowd (Allman Bros.), and Cashman & West (Jim Croce). He also has worked and/or performed with members of the New York Rock Ensemble, E Street Band, Steely Dan and many more.
Jane Claire Medio
Jane Claire Medio received a BA in Art Education from Rowan University and has K-12 Art Education Certification from the State of New Jersey. She has taught art at Egg Harbor Township Regional High School for ten years and has worked at Appel Farm Arts and Music Camp. She brings her skills and creativity to Ocean City Arts Center with innovative classes and workshops.
Charlotte Mitchell
Charlotte Mitchell is a certified Zumba instructor since 2009, with an extensive background in dance and choreography. She is an Ice Dancing coach for the Atlantic City Figure Skating Club and has a Gold Medal in Ice Dancing (United States Figure Skating Association). Licensed to teach Zumba-Gold and Zumba-Toning with weights.
Christine O'Brien
Christine O’Brien specializes in oil pastel, oil paint, and paper collage. Working with three different mediums allows her to create unique, vibrant, bold works of art. She is inspired by the art and life of Georgia O’Keeffe and teaching children’s art classes, where most of her ideas come from for her own art work. Christine received her Bachelor of Arts in Visual Arts from Stockton University, majoring in graphic design. After college she worked in the graphic design field as an art director for a local print shop. Since 1998 she has been teaching art to children at local art centers including Ocean City Arts Center, The Noyes Museum, Riverfront Renaissance Center for the Arts, Somers Point Arts Commission’s The Arts Reach Out Program, Ventnor Cultural Arts Center, and Cygnus Creative Arts Centre. In addition to teaching, Christine’s work has been purchased by AtlantiCare’s Healing Arts Program. She exhibits her work at Nashville North Studios, Makt Arts, Ocean City Arts Center, Stockton University’s Alumni Triennial Exhibitions, Galloway Arts Center, Great Bay Gallery, and Village on High. Her work is on permanent display at Tilton Square Theatre. She was honored to be selected to participate in the Artists Creative Capital Professional Development Program. O’Brien is a lifelong resident of South Jersey, growing up in Margate. She resides in Egg Harbor Township with her family.
Amanda Pedano
Amanda Pedano has been involved in the arts for most of her life and has spent over the last decade teaching art to children. Her work in teaching art began in 2009 when she became an assistant teacher at the Center for Community Arts in Cape May, NJ. Her art repertoire grew from there. She received her BFA in Art History from Arcadia University in 2012. Here she was able to expand her arts knowledge in many different mediums and gain a deep understanding of art in our lives now and historically. In 2015 Amanda received her teaching certificate from Rider University and learned to create age appropriate and engaging lessons while incorporating many of her arts skills in her teaching style. She is currently honing her art and teaching skills while homeschooling her young children.
Barry Pisetzner
Mr. Pisetzner, a graduate of Parsons School of Design, has been making and teaching art for over 30 years. His work has appeared in the New York Times, as well as in Paris, France, Los Angeles, New York, and Atlantic City, NJ. His current “home gallery” is Nashville North Studios in Linwood, NJ.
Susan Rau
Susan Rau was raised in Ohio. She has spent her life painting. She works in art in various mediums and presently works primarily in the water mediums. She creates unique and unusual decorative items including furniture pieces and home decorations. Susan’s watercolors express her love of nature through working with colors, shapes and movements of design. Her works are included in many collections in the U.S. and abroad. Susan has been a teacher at the Ocean City Arts Center for many years.
Barbara Rosin
Barbara Rosin is a professional Philadelphia artist who studied at the University of PA, Tyler Art School and Fleisher Art Memorial. She has had several residencies at Vermont Studio Center as well as in France and Italy. Her work is in private collections across the U.S. and has been shown abroad in France and Italy. She specializes in painting commissions of landscapes. She has had more than 30 years of teaching adult students and enjoys helping them find their ‘inner creative spirit’.
Collette Smith
Collette Smith was born in New Jersey and attended Drexel University, completing a degree in Fashion Design. She and her husband then spent 2 years in Colombia as Peace Corps Volunteers. Upon returning to the U.S. she began serious work in clay. Taking various classes and workshops with known artists, she developed her own style. She has taught at The Silvermine Guild of Artists, New Canaan, Ct; The Clay Art Center, Port Chester, NY; Baltimore Clayworks, MD; The Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences, Loveladies, NJ; currently teaching here at the Ocean City Arts Center, NJ. She has exhibited her work in stores and galleries throughout the U.S. She recently received an award for “Feats of Clay” in Lincoln, CA. “I am increasingly pushing the limits of what clay can and cannot do…For me, clay is a journey and I hope to continue for as long as possible.”
Jill Snyder
Jill’s artistic career is quick study. She signed up for an art class in November of 2016 to find inner peace and the rest has been a whirlwind scenario. Within 6 months of starting her mosaics she was in her first gallery. Jill devotes her art solely to mosaics but not in the traditional manner. Jill describes her mosaics as “painting with glass”. Within a short period of time Jill has become a juried artist and has received awards for her mosaics. Jill’s art was displayed in a solo show at the Ocean City Arts Center in January of 2020. She has shown her work in many of the Pa Fune Art Guild shows in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. She is a resident artist at the Riverfront Residence Center. She shares her joy and love of mosaics with others in classes and workshops.
Ken Wilson
Ken Wilson has been teaching guitar and bass for over 15 years. He has performed locally with The Mudsharks (rock), ‘Yo Man (reggae), The Bubba Mack Blues Band, The Blue Sky Jazz Trio and more. He has held teaching positions at Grassroots Music in Ocean City, Hambro’s Music in Northfield, Music Boutique in Somers Point, and The Richard Stockton College of NJ.