TEACHING
ARTISTS

Sara is a self-taught artist who enjoys sharing her knowledge and experience with the youth in our community! She began exploring art at a very young age and has continued building her 'toolbox' through a lot of trial and error.

Sara works in any and all mediums in an exploration of herself and the world around her. Her personal work [yellowdeerart.com] centers around natural themes and concepts of emotional, and spiritual renewal.

Rebecca Conklin has worked as an art educator in the community for 23 years, sharing her passion for creating art and working with clay to students of all age levels. Rebecca received her BFA from Syracuse University and her MSEd from SUNY Plattsburgh. Rebecca has been part of the Strand Center for the Arts for many years as a clay instructor, and is a high school art teacher at AuSable Valley Central School District.

Tiana Saroj has been involved with teaching and the arts in the North Country for 20 years. From musicals to drama to improv, she has had her hand in all of it! Tiana is a Health teacher at Northern Adirondack CSD and a long-standing member of Completely Stranded, Plattsburgh's improv comedy troupe. Tiana's teaching and artistic endeavors have landed her as the operator of The School of Improv, Plattsburgh's premiere improv workshop for school-aged performers. She is so excited to see what's in store for this year!

Mollie Ward is an artist, ceramics teacher and the Clay Studio Manager at the Strand. She received her BFA from SUNY Plattsburgh focusing in ceramics and drawing. Through teaching ceramics at the Strand and in her manager role, Ward is interested in building relationships and fostering creativity in the studio and sharing her love for ceramics with the greater community.

Growing up in Plattsburgh, Jennifer learned to cherish words from birth. Her parents taught her the value of reading by example, so she decided she wanted to spread her love of literature through teaching.

Jennifer had a life-changing experience while attending the National Writing Project Summer Institute at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. There, she learned the power of writing to honor our shared experiences and our individual stories.

For over twenty-five years, she has provided a space for people to express and celebrate themselves and their world through writing-be it in the classroom or in a workshop.

Her work has appeared in the professional journal for the National Council of Teachers of English, “The English Journal.” In 2010, she self-published a children’s book, “The Sweet Dreams Kiss,” which was beautifully illustrated by Jenny Spash. Most recently, her work was featured on the Adirondack Center for Writing’s website.

In her free time, you can find Jennifer hiking and cross-country skiing in the Adirondacks with her husband.

Ally Baker is an artist who focuses on digital illustrations and graphic design. They have an Associates of Business degree from the College of Southern Nevada and a B.S. in Digital Media Production from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh, where they also studied Marketing.

Ally’s digital work also includes photography as well as video and audio planning, production, and post-production editing.

Growing up in Las Vegas, art, culture, and entertainment became ingrained into who they are and how they see the world around them. To Ally, artistic expression is fundamental to life and community.

Sommerleigh D’Elia is a local artist and lover of beach combing. She specializes in ceramics but also partakes in both drawing and watercolor illustration. Her main sources of inspiration are the flora and fauna of the Adirondack region, as well as the marine life found along the coast of Eastern Maine. Through her work, she hopes to place these common pieces of life and nature onto a pedestal and foster an appreciation for the remarkableness of the ordinary, everyday moments.

Jess Carthen Bouharevich studied Modern Dance: Performance + Composition at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and went on to dance professionally with the MorrisonDance Company out of Cleveland, Ohio. Jess took her talents and interests abroad and was able to teach dance classes, as well as perform live improvisational works in Shanghai, China, + across Europe. Jess completed her 200 hr Yoga Teacher Training in The Netherlands and continues to study + teach today. Her classes range from Aerial Yoga to Restorative Yoga, Vinyasa Flow, and her own creation; a combination involving Contemporary Dance and Yoga Asana. Jess lives in Peru, NY on a 40 acre farm (White Rainbow Regenerative Yoga Farm) where she offers donation based yoga classes 7 days a week. When she is not in the studio you can find her adventuring with her daughter Rey, or her 4 dogs: Bella, Yukon Cornelius, Dolly, + King Moonracer.