Arts & Culture Outreach Instructors
Mark Brueggeman (studio arts)
Mark studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and Southern Illinois University at
Edwardsville. He holds degrees in painting and drawing, and fiber arts and drawing.
He taught at UWSP from 1974 to 1987 and has returned as adjunct faculty in drawing.
With Linda Martin Moore he operates Atelier Vermeil in Nelsonville, Wisconsin. Atelier
Vermeil is a stained glass studio dedicated to original site-specific work for residential
and corporate applications. Locally, examples of the glasswork can be seen at the
Noel Group, St. Michael’s Hospital, Plover United Methodist Church, St. Mary’s Church,
Custer and numerous residences.
Meagan Cihlar (music lessons)
Meagan earned her BA in Music from UWSP. She plays the trumpet in the Central Wisconsin
Symphony Orchestra and is their stage manager. Meagan is also a member of the Wausau
Symphony and Band. She specializes in trumpet and flute lessons at Arts & Culture
Outreach.
Deborah Ensweiler (aromatherapy)
Deb is nationally certified in Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork and been performing
massage in a clinical setting since 1985.
Lenore Haferman (dance)
Lenore has taught dance for over 20 years. Her mother had a dance band and always
attended the dances. Later she earned a degree in dance. Lenore uses humor to help
her students learn to enjoy dancing.
Clara Kimmet (music lessons)
Clara graduated cum laude with a BA from Northwestern University in 2004. She has
taught music in Morocco at the Rabat American School and was a Youth Choir Director.
Clara specializes in voice training at Arts & Culture Outreach.
Angela Koenigs (music lessons)
Angie earned a BA in Music Education from Luther College of Iowa (2000). She has
taught locally at Pacelli High School. Angie has taught voice and piano lessons
for Arts & Culture Outreach since 2004. She has also served as the vocal director
for musical theater productions at SPASH, Pacelli, St. Peter’s Middle, and Weyauwega
schools.
Kevin Knopp (painting)
Kevin has studied at the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting & Sculpture.
He has an MA from UW-Superior and earned his BA from Viterbo University. Kevin has
held many local exhibitions of his work throughout Wisconsin, most recently at The
Mighty Midwest Biennial-New Visions Gallery in Marshfield. His formal teaching experience
includes the Weyauwega-Fremont school district, Fox Valley Technical College, and
UWSP’s Upward Bound Program.
Tina Lepak (painting & drawing)
Tina has taught for Arts & Culture Outreach since 2003. She earned her BA in
Art Education from St. Norbert College. Tina has taught art at Pacelli High School
in Stevens Point for five years, but now spends most days at home with her 1 year-old
daughter.
Chip Manthey (digital photography)
Chip teaches photography at Northeast WI Technical College and is a free-lance photographer/writer
for newspapers and ad agencies. He has done extensive sports photography for the
Badgers and Packers. His experience includes wedding and portrait photography.
Linda Mathes (children's art, jewelry, paper making)
Linda Mathes has over 20 years teaching experience as well a BS in Elementary Education.
She is certified in Waldorf Education and has taught at the Chicago Waldorf School
for three years. Linda has taught both Art Around the World and Beads & Baubles
for Arts & Culture Outreach. She is also the owner of the Blue Bead, a jewelry
and bead shop in downtown Stevens Point.
Tom McComb (music lessons)
Tom McComb is a guitarist specializing in Jazz and Brazilian music. He performs
solo, with his own quartet and with many other ensembles in the central Wisconsin
area. Tom has 30 years of teaching experience. Besides teaching UWSP's jazz
guitar majors, he teaches fretted instruments and harmonica for Arts & Culture
Outreach and the Wausau Conservatory of Music. Tom has a B.S. and M.S. in Natural
Resources and a B.M. in Music Education, all from UWSP.
Bill McKee (studio arts)
Bill has worked as UWSP's Art Shop supervisor since 1998 and has taught Introduction
to 3D design and Carving and Assemblage. Bill's work includes carvings in stone
and wood and collages/assemblages of mixed media. He has had work shown at various
galleries in Portage and Waupaca counties in Wisconsin as well as in Washington.
Sarah Moldenhauer (painting)
Sarah Moldenhauer is a recent graduate of the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point
with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, with an emphasis on drawing and painting
and a minor in biology. She has worked with Leaf-Wisconsin Center of Environmental
Education illustrating teacher manuals and forest education tools, with Mead Wildlife
Refuge to create a series of time-line murals, as well as with various individuals
to create commissioned works of art throughout the community. Sarah has a long-time
passion for the outdoors, where she finds much inspiration for creating art. She
is a patient and encouraging teacher to any person learning to create art.
Wendy Peterson (basket weaving)
Wendy hails from Foxboro, WI. She earned here BS from UWSP and is currently working
on her Masters degree, also at UWSP. Wendy began basket weaving in 2000 and is a
member of the Wolf River Basketry Guild.
John Strassburg (music lessons)
John has served as Staff Accompanist for UWSP dance classes and productions since
1986, using acoustic piano, percussion, and synthesizers. He composes and arranges
music for student and faculty productions, has performed as vocalist and keyboard
player for numerous ensembles in the area since the 1970s, and has taught in Stevens
Point for over 20 years. John is a member of the Wisconsin Music Teachers Association
and Stevens Point Area Music Teachers Association.
Kristen Thielking (glass fusing)
Kristin is originally from New York. She received a B.A. from Brown University,
and an MFA from UW-Madison in sculpture with a concentration in glass. Before coming
to UWSP she taught kilncasting and fusing at UW-Madison, 2D and 3D Design, and glass
intensive workshops at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. She has been an
artist-in-residence at the Vermont Studio Center and the John Michael Kohler Arts
Center Arts/Industry Foundry Residency program, and has also served twice as an
artist-in-residence for educational community collaborations at the John Michael
Kohler Arts Center. Kristin also works collaboratively with her husband Keven Brunett.
See more at:
www.thielkingbrunett-artstudios.com
Heather Wagner (music lessons)
Heather studied Music Business and Industry at Moorhead State University and later
earned a BFA from UWSP. Heather has taught Piano Lessons for Arts & Culture
Outreach since 2004.
Sherry Zei (silk painting)
Sherry has taught art for 36 years and specifically taught fiber arts for about
12 years at Lincoln High School in Wisconsin Rapids. Early in her studies of textiles,
she learned how to spin and weave and then moved into batik. Later, she discovered
silk painting. "What really inspires me is color, so when I realized that silk
painting was really about color, I was hooked."