Faculty

Jami Akins

Watercolor

Jami Akins has been exploring the medium of watercolors since 2015. It began as a simple hobby and has turned into a small side business and outlet for her creative expression. She believes in the power of artistic expression to connect and inspire and strives to create a space where others can discover and cultivate their unique artistic voices.

Alexander Alvarez

Sculpture

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Alexander Alvarez is a multidisciplinary artist and educator at the University of Central Florida. Through a psychological lens, he engages painting, drawing, and sculpture to unravel the complexities of memory, identity, and shared human experience. His work invites introspection, bridging the subconscious and the tangible to foster deeper connections and understanding. By evoking self-reflective dialogue, Alvarez challenges viewers to navigate the intersections of personal and collective memory, uncovering meaning within the layers of their perception and emotion.

Brian Angeloff

Drawing & Sculpting

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Brian Angeloff was born and raised in Stow Ohio. At a very young age he was drawing and sculpting his favorite things such as dinosaurs and creatures. To pursue his dream of special effects make-up, he moved to Orlando Florida. He learned how to make prosthetic appliances, and creature suits. Eventually he worked on some films, theater, and worked at Universal Halloween Horror Nights for 8 years. He worked for some time in the fine arts, and created some artwork for hotels, hospitals and more. He also got a short story published in a book called “Haunter’s Tale”. Now Brian resides in Maitland Florida as a Zbrush 3d modeler, printer and still hand sculpts as well.

Bert Bogdany

Ceramics

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Bert Bogdany is a Central Florida Artist and Educator who was born in Winter Park, Florida. He began his professional career in 1998 as a Student Lab Assistant in Ceramics, and in 1999 he became a Community education instructor in Ceramics for Seminole Community College. In 2004 Bogdany earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts in Ceramics, and his Master`s Degree in Studio Arts and the Computer in 2007 from the University of Central Florida. Bogdany`s work has earned him many awards. In 2000 was one of the founding members of the Orlando Visual Arts League. In 2005 he opened as a studio artist in Gallery on First in Sanford, Florida. Bogdany was also an award recipient at the City Arts Factory “Ovalution” reunion show in 2015 and was selected to be Judge for the Longwood Arts and Crafts Festival in 2013 and 2014. Bogdany has an extensive exhibition record, most recently his solo exhibition in 2019 titled “Organic Geometry” at South Florida State College.

Natalie Brooks

Watercolor

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Born and raised in Florida, Natalie Brooks’ imagination has been captivated by the coasts and the lush earth between, filling her with inspiration that pours out as she paints. With over a decade of experience in watercolor, she delights in sharing the joy of watercolor with her students. Natalie is a member of both the Florida Watercolor Society and Central Florida Watercolor Society, and a graduate fellow of Arts Fellowship Orlando.

Meg Carroll

Printmaking

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Meg Carroll is a printmaker from Casselberry, FL, who has been printmaking for 7 years. Her work tends to follow themes of nature with a macabre or occult twist. She belongs to a non-profit organization of printmakers called the Central Florida Printmakers. They put on shows and demos several times a year and the occasional workshop. Our focus is on spreading the love of printmaking to the masses.

Danielle DeGuglimo

Drawing

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Danielle DeGuglimo is a Florida native from West Palm Beach. She received a BFA in painting from the University of Central Florida. Recently her focus has been on temporary installations and public art. Her interactive installations have been shown locally and within the state. In 2017 she began monitoring for the former weekly live figure open session known as Sketch Club at A&H.

Monica Diaz

Painting

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Monica Diaz, born in Valencia, Venezuela, initially pursued a career in architecture. However, her true passion lay in the fine arts, particularly painting. Her mother, an artist herself, exposed Monica to various mediums, from ceramics to canvas, and encouraged her artistic exploration. As Monica studied architecture, she gradually shifted away from fine arts, dedicating herself to design. In 2003, she and her husband immigrated to the United States due to the unstable political climate in Venezuela. Leaving behind their family, architecture and remodeling business, and contacts, they started anew. In 2020, Monica was diagnosed with breast cancer. This life-altering experience prompted her to reevaluate her priorities. She rediscovered her love for painting, which the demands of running a business had overshadowed. With renewed passion, she creates modern acrylic works on canvas, drawing inspiration from her feelings and intuition. Her background in architecture influences her painting style, evident in her precise strokes.

Natalia Diaz

Pastel Drawing

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Natalia Diaz is an artist based in Orlando, Florida, specializing in acrylic paintings and chalk art. A 2015 graduate of the University of Central Florida with a BFA, Natalia has participated in chalk art festivals since the age of 17 and is a proud member of the Chalk Art Nation Association. Her vibrant, detailed works often explore the fleeting nature of chalk as a medium, with a focus on public art and community engagement. With years of experience in art festival settings, Natalia continues to push the boundaries of both traditional and contemporary chalk art.

Nicora Gangi

Pastels

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Nicora Gangi was educated at Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA (BFA 1974 and MFA 1976) she was art Professor at the Syracuse University School of Art and Design for 29 years. Gangi has been awarded many Grand Prize and First Place awards and grants. She has been and continues to be published in numerous artist’s books on pastel paintings. She has lectured regionally, nationally and internationally as a visiting artist at Universities, Colleges and Artist’s Guilds. She is represented by Edgewood Gallery, Dewitt, NY and Gangi Studio, FL

Avido Khahaifa

Painting Landscapes & Seascapes

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Avido Khahaifa is an artist, based in Lake Mary, Florida. He works primarily in oil on canvas or panels. He uses impressionistic brush techniques to produce hyperrealist paintings. Most of his work is marked by dramatic lighting, strong value contrasts, unusual perspective and strong geometric compositions. His subjects range from land and seascapes to surreal and science fiction-inspired fantasy. Thematically and technically, he focuses on storytelling and relational contrasts: reducing complexity to the simple and vice versa; creating beautiful images from seemingly ugly subjects; using shadow to depict bright light, etc.

Silvana Martins

Bookbinding: Cork Cover, Long Stitch

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Silvana Martins is a Brazilian-American artist who has been creating for more than 30 years. She specializes in paper marbling and bookbinding, though she has practiced over 20 disciplines, including watercolor, ceramics, wood turning, printmaking, enameling, and more. She is most passionate about helping others learn, new, exciting and beautiful ways to make art!

Jim Patterson

Ceramics

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Jim Patterson and his wife Cindy are Maitland residents and have worked with the A&H for over a decade as volunteers and supporters. Jim has been involved with the A&H’s Pottery program since retiring from a long career in the Pharmaceutical Industry in 2012. Since that time he spent several years as VP/COO of a local non-profit and received his certifications in Non-Profit Management, Fundraising and Development and Volunteer Management from Rollins College Crummer Graduate School of Business, Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership Center. He also started his own successful consulting firm working with non-profits and business’s in the Central Florida Area.

He earned his Master’s Degree from Florida State University and has experience teaching ceramics both at the college and High School levels. Through the years, Jim has had his work on display in art galleries in the southeast and has attend art shows where his work was recognized for their creativity and craftmanship. His focus now is on creating specific commission and specialty pieces.

Jim has been involved in the A&H Pottery program for 10 years and worked closely with Cindy McDowell who had been the previous instructor for over 2 decades. Jim began as a substitute instructor in 2016 and stepped in as a permanent instructor in 2019, Jim is currently teaching the Introduction To Pottery and Pottery Open Studio classes.

Jim is known for working patiently with his students while creating a fun and creative learning environment.

Ryan Price

Bookmaking, Drawing, & Printmaking

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Ryan Otero Price is a Central Florida-based artist. Ryan received his MFA from UCF in 2022. Ryan’s surreal still life compositions and enigmatic figural combinations–the minaret-women, cyclopean luthiers, skeletal creatures in cap ‘n’ bells, motley jinns, and the tokusatsu sword fighter–recreate the workings of dreams, suggesting the Freudian technique of free association. These juxtaposed objects and figures transmute mythologies into signs that transcend the intervention of the conscious mind.

Gisela Romero

Drawing

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Gisela Romero is an American Visual Artist born in Venezuela and living and working in Orlando, FL. She focuses her artwork on drawings in any format and surface. She is interested in working in Community Art Projects and Public Art. Romero has been teaching Art since 1985 in different Cultural Institutions such as the Instituto de Diseño Fundación Neumman, Simón Bolívar University, Cruz Diez Museum of Art, Instituto de Arte Armando Reverón and Osceola Arts, Kissimmee, FL.

PJ Svejda

Painting

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PJ studied at the Savannah College of Art and Design where she earned both a BA in illustration and an MA in painting. She began building her career as an artist and instructor in Atlanta, Georgia for 12 years before relocating to Orlando, Florida where she has had great success in the local art community. She is most recognized for her passionate narratives, illustrating ideas of coexistence between man, beast, and planet. She pushes the envelope, juxtaposing controversial imagery with a classical and traditional style.

She has been involved in activism for animal, environmental, and human rights and has found a way to merge her passion for art with her desire for change. Her paintings tell stories of pain and hope and raise the viewer’s self-awareness into their own humanity; urging increased consciousness of the time we spend here on earth.

Peggy Wertheim

Paper & Textiles

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Peggy Wertheim is an artist creating Surface Design on fabrics and papers: Traditional Marbling, Batik, Silk Painting, Shibori, and Complex Double Dyeing. Her career began with the study of the batik process and color applications on natural fibers and continued at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio with the completion of a Master of Arts in Teaching.

Ms. Wertheim’s fascination and inquisitiveness with Fibers and Color is reflected in her fabrics used in her Art to Wear and in her marbled papers used in her framed artwork and cards. Her work reveals a balance between her interests in nature blended with her study of comparative religions/philosophies.

During her 40+ years career, Ms. Wertheim has exhibited at hundreds of juried and invitational shows and galleries simultaneously with developing workshop programs so she can share her expertise and creative exuberance with her love of teaching.

She currently devotes her energies to teaching workshops, private classes, and creating her Art to Wear and framed artworks.

Jami Akins

Alexander Alvarez

Brian Angeloff

Bert Bogdany

Natalie Brooks

Meg Carroll

Danielle DeGuglimo

Monica Diaz

Natalia Diaz

Nicora Gangi

Avido Khahaifa

Silvana Martins

Jim Patterson

Ryan Price

Gisela Romero

PJ Svejda

Peggy Wertheim

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