Jennifer Hambrick
Poetry
A poet hailed for her “brilliant” imagery, “masterful” craftsmanship, and “uniquely musical voice,” Jennifer Hambrick is the six-time Pushcart Prize- and Best of the Net-nominated author of the free verse poetry collection In the High Weeds, winner of the Stevens Manuscript Award of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies; the haibun collection Joyride (Red Moon Press), winner of the Marianne Bluger Book Award from Haiku Canada; the collection of avant-garde haiku and short prose poems, a silence or two (Red Moon Press), acclaimed as “a stunning collection … destined to become a haiku classic;” and the free verse poetry collection Unscathed (NightBallet Press).…
Heidi Heacock is an artist based out of central Ohio, working primarily as an acrylic, encaustic and mixed-media painter. She has nine years experience teaching art in public schools and 15+ years experience as a working artist. Having grown up on a 7th generation farm, she draws inspiration from landscapes, nature, found objects, and mixed- media. As a child, Heidi would often visit her grandmother, who was a big influence in encouraging her love of the arts. She would praise her creative efforts, buy her supplies, and take her to classes, making Heidi’s beginning experiences with art-making peaceful and therapeutic.…
Nancy Kangas
Poetry
Nancy Kangas is a poet, filmmaker, and teaching artist based in Columbus. In the 1980s and 90s, she edited Nancy’s Magazine, an intimate mix of poetry, comics, and advice; the full run of this zine was recently selected to be archived in the Rare Books & Manuscripts Library of The Ohio State University. She’s written and performed poetry-theater pieces, including a selection for the Cincinnati Fringe Festival, and paired family slides with flash fiction for fiction for Ohio Edit, an online magazine.
She facilitates creative writing workshops with students and teachers, with a special focus on art-making with preschoolers and elders.…
Ami Majmudar
Dance/Movement: Classical Indian Dance, Creative Writing, & Storytelling
Ami Majmudar inhabits many crossroads: Indian-American, first generation, multilingual, cultural, and ethnic minority. Ami’s work as dancer, teacher, storyteller, and author is an ongoing effort to connect her many paths and to share her experiences, her art, and her stories with others.
With a degree in English Literature from the University of California-Berkeley, followed by a Master’s degree in Education, Ami began her career as a high school English teacher. While raising her three children, Ami began writing short stories and then books. Her debut novel, The Torchbearers, published by Penguin India, was shortlisted for the Neev Book Award for Distinguished Children’s Literature.…
Eric Marlow
Visual Arts, Painting, Sculpture, Jewelry, & Recyclable Materials
Eric Marlow is a visual artist-painter, sculptor, jewelry designer, craftsman, and inventor. He thanks his mother for her encouragement early in life which evolved to make him the artist he is today. While in high school he won free art classes at the Columbus College of Art and Design. Eric attended The Ohio State University where he received his degree in Fine Arts and while in graduate school taught beginning drawing and sculpture classes. He has also taught jewelry making classes at the Columbus Cultural Arts Center.
As a teaching artist he begins his workshop by showing examples of his artwork and explores with students where his ideas comes from.…
Candace Mazur-Darman
Drama/Theatre
“You use a glass mirror to see your face. You use works of art to see your soul.”
George Bernard Shaw
For more than 35 years, Candace Mazur Darman (MEd, Univ. of Northern Colorado) has been a successful teaching artist in central Ohio. She is the founder of Dramatic Impact, a nationally acclaimed children’s theatre company. As a teaching artist for VSA Ohio, the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education, and for education programs supported by the Ohio Arts Council, Darman works in inclusive classrooms to enhance teaching and learning through arts-integrated residencies and differentiated curriculum.…
Vicki Murphy
Visual Arts: Mosaics
Vicki Murphy is a mosaic artist who works primarily in Ohio and New Orleans. She has trained extensively with master mosaic artist Laurel True of True Mosaics Studio for many years focusing on studio work and professional development in large scale public art. She worked with True on multiple projects in New Orleans including the Global Mosaic Project and Universal Garden’s Lotus Fantasy Bench, the Green Project, and the Edible Schoolyard murals. Vicki’s combined years as artist, educator and licensed social worker give her a unique perspective regarding the healing power of art and the beauty of creative expression.…
Pamela O’Loughlin
Multidisciplinary: Dance, Creative Writing, & Visual Arts
Pamela O’Loughlin is a gifted creative, avid learner, and passionate teacher.
She is an innovative, thoughtful, and skilled educator; from budgeting supplies for activities to last-minute changes that tend to come up when dealing with multiple groups, classes, and organizations, Pamela handles any adverse situation seamlessly.
Pamela is passionate about brainstorming with teachers, students, and administrators. Believing that if she understands what needs to be taught, a creative activity can be developed. Grounded in her early efforts centered around social emotional work that pairs well with Ohio’s Social Emotional Learning Standards, she believes she can teach to any standard of which she has a clear understanding.…
Brianna Rhodes
Dance/Movement, Visual Poetry, Modern, West African, Afrobeats, & Hip Hop
Brianna Rhodes is an Ohio native and graduate of The Ohio State University Department of Dance. She formally danced as a fellow with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. Currently, she is working with Dianne McIntyre and serving as a freelance dancer and dance teacher. Her talents span concert, street, and commercial dance. Primarily, she works with the youth teaching dance, along with dance history, in many corners of Columbus, Ohio. Her professional career has allowed her to perform at the Bermuda Dance Festival, in a Brazil tour group, and at City Center in New York.…
Marlene Robbins
Dance/Movement: Creative Movement & International Folk Dance
Marlene Robbins is a dance educator/dancer /choreographer who has been sharing her love of dance with people of all ages for over 40 years. Marlene was fortunate to serve as the Dance Specialist at Indianola K-8 for 23 years, teaching thousands of students and developing an integrated curriculum K-5 as part of a full-time arts program. Early in her career Marlene worked as teaching artist for the Ohio Arts Council developing works in schools and communities across generations, the Greater Columbus Arts Council Artists in the Schools program, and Days of Creation (Artist Collaborative dedicated to process-oriented experiences in the arts) where she developed dance residencies and workshops in schools, community centers and camps across Ohio.…
Rikki Santer
Creative Writing: Poetry, & Film Studies
Rikki Santer has worked as a journalist, magazine and book editor, co-founder and managing editor of an alternative city newspaper in Cleveland, poet-in-the schools, high school teacher of English and film studies, and director of a student writing center. Currently she is serving as a vice-president of the Ohio Poetry Association, education consultant for Film Columbus, member of the performing poetry troupe, Concrete Wink, and she holds an Ohio Department of Education Lead Professional Educator teaching license as well as National Board teacher certification.
She earned an MA degree in journalism from Kent State University and an MFA degree in creative writing from The Ohio State University.…
Mansee Singhi
Indian Dance/Movement
“To dance is to express!” is the mantra of Mansee’s life.
Mansee Singhi is a Columbus, Ohio-based Indian classical dance performer, choreographer, and teacher. Her artistry has been shaped profoundly by renowned Gurus from India since the age of seven, performing experiences in various countries such as Singapore, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and various places in the U.S. and collaborations with a multitude of artists in the field of dance and music.
Mansee has been a member of the United Nations Dance Council since 2012 and more recently joined the Board of OhioDance.…
