Arts & Culture Outreach Instructors
Sarah Blumenstein (French)
Sarah has degrees in French and Social Sciences from UWSP and has taught
in the Stevens Point School District since 1994.
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.
Mark is the director of the UWSP Studio Arts Camp held annually in June.
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.
Nick Danczyk (illustration)
Nick recently earned his BFA in two-dimensional art. Nick has been a
life drawing assistant and counselor at the UWSP Studio Art Camp.
Julie Engum (dance, drama, musical theater)
Julie, a Stevens Point native, is a 2008 graduate of the UW-Milwaukee
dance program. She has taught dance and theater classes for Arts &
Culture Outreach since 2004.
Ashley Erickson (music lessons)
Ashley earned her bachelors degree in music in 2009. She currently
teaches music at Jefferson Elementary. Her primary instrument is the
saxaphone.
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.
Eileen Kelz (feng shui)
Eileen is Master Teacher through the International Institute of Interior
Alignment and the owner of Dynamic Environments. Eileen coaches people
to "thrive in their own environment." Her interests include feng shui,
clutter coaching, and space clearing.
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.
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 (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.
Linda Medsker (music classes)
Linda has 25 years of experience teaching piano. She an active member of
the Wisconsin Music Teachers Association and former president of the
Oshkosh Area Music Teachers Association. Linda frequently teaches
Instant Piano for Hopelessly Busy People and How to Play by Ear
through Arts & Culture Outreach.
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.
Heather McGriff (music lessons)
Heather is a graduate student at UWSP where her focus is Clarinet
Pedagogy. She earned her BA in Music - Clarinet Performance from Western
Illinois University in 2003. She performs with the Quad City Symphony
Orchestra (IL)
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.
Erin Mueller (writing)
Erin is a junior at UWSP, majoring in English with a writing minor. She
is the copy editor of The Pointer, Vice President of Sigma Tau Delta
(English National Honor Society), and tutors at the UWSP
Tutoring-Learning Center. Erin began teaching children's writing for
Arts & Culture Outreach in summer 2009 and has become an instant
favorite.
Samantha Nolte (dance)
Samantha is in her junior year at UW - Stevens Point and is
pursuing a dance major and communications minor. She was the recent recipient of
the Kathryn Bukholt Dance Scholarship. Samantha has had
training in Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Ballet, Hip Hop, and Modern, and she danced as a
competition line dancer with Short Dance Studios for five years, competing in both
regional and national competitions.
Cindy Oerter (cooking classes)
Cindy is the owner of the Green Fountain Inn and Secret Garden Cafe of
Waupaca. She specializes in gourmet, organic, and health conscious
cooking.
Michelle Peterson (music lessons)
Michelle holds a MA in Music Performance and Composition, Classical
Voice from New York University. Michelle offers voice lessons in a
variety of genres including opera, musical theater, classical, and jazz.
Matt Piepenbrok (glassblowing)
As a visiting artist at UWSP, Matt works closely with Prof. Kristin
Thielking. Matt earned his BFA in Art from UWSP in 2009. He was part of
the public sculpture team that developed "Ascension" located at the
Pineries Bank.
Pauline Pray (mosaics)
Pauline is a former SPASH English teacher. Since her retirement, she has
focused on her art, specifically glass art. She has taught mosaics at
Arts & Culture Outreach since 2004.
Ken Self Jr., AAIA (antiques)
Ken has many years of experience as an auctioneer and appraiser. He also
served as an European Purchasing Agent for a major California antique
importer. His areas of expertise include 17th - 19th century American,
European, and Asian furnishings as well as 19th -20th century American
and European paintings and works of art, books, autographs, and
manuscipts.
Kristen Thielking (glass)
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
Sarah Weyker (music lessons)
Sarah received the UWSP Outstanding Senior Music Award upon graduating
in 1996. Later she earned a Masters in Theological Studies from the
University of Dallas. She has several years of experience teaching brass
in the local schools.