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Teaching Faculty
Bev Aroh
Bev Aroh worked as a studio potter in California for 20 years before she came to Craft Alliance. She creates wheel-thrown pieces in porcelain and stoneware. She teaches handbuilding and wheel thrown ceramics. She has exhibited her work throughout the United States. Bev is a huge asset to our ceramic studio and keeps it fine tuned.
Dan Barnett
Dan Barnett, is Craft Alliance’s Facilities/Studio Manager and Head of our Ceramics Area. He earned a BFA in Ceramics/Sculpture from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville. His work is in many private collections and he exhibits nationally and internationally. His knowledge of clay work and kilns is known throughout Missouri and Illinois ceramic artists.
Benjamin Bradshaw
Benjamin Bradshaw (n.1991) received his BFA in Sculpture from Kansas City Arts Institute (2014) and has since returned to his hometown of St. Louis where he currently operates out of his studio downtown. He is currently an MFA candidate at Southern Illinois University of Edwardsville (2022) with a focus in Textiles/Ceramics. Bradshaw’s work has its foundations in intuitive drawing with ink on paper but has expanded to include many mediums including animation, steel sculpture, ceramics, painting, and now has a primary focus on installation.
Beverly Brandt
Beverly Brandt focuses her work in fused and stained glass. She also has a background in photography, and printmaking. She has taught art with all ages. Beverly was a high school art teacher, and has been an instructor at Craft Alliance for many years. Beverly has her Masters in Teaching, as well as a Masters in Art.
Joyce Briscoe
Joyce Briscoe is a fiber artist and sewist; she has been sewing for over forty years, including ten years of training at Eunice Farmer Fabrics. Briscoe specializes in art quilts and garment construction—her work has been displayed at Art Saint Louis, RAC Gallery, Craft Alliance, and can be found in numerous private collections.
Meri Ellen Brooks-Taylor
Meri Ellen Brooks-Taylor holds a Master's Degree in Education and has been a metalsmith for over 30 years. In addition to teaching, she has shown her work in various parts of the US at Fine Art and Craft shows. She is passionate about teaching, especially metalsmithing. She is enthusiastic about sharing knowledge and skills with her students, so that they can create and design their own unique works.
Chris Carson
Chris Carson holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2001) with a focus in Ceramics. Chris also holds a Masters of Arts in Teaching from Lindenwood University (2005.) She also owns, and operates, her private studio and business, Carson Clayworks Company (est. 2010.)
Lydia Crespo
Lydia Crespo attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) graduating in 2010. She received the James Nelson Raymond Fellowship from SAIC upon graduation. Crespo used the funds from the fellowship to start her business, Argaman & Defiance.
Stephen Da Lay
Stephen Da Lay is a printmaker, pattern designer and educator. He received his BFA in Printmaking from the Kansas City Art Institute. He formerly taught for 17 years Drawing, Design,Watercolors and ran the wood shop at University of Missouri Saint Louis.
Kelly Draper
Kelly Draper earned a BA from Webster University. Her metal and glass work has been exhibited nationally and locally, including the Craft Alliance Gallery Shop. She is also featured in the book "Cast: Art and Objects Made Using Humanity”s Most Transformational Process."
Peg Fetter
Peg Fetter is a native Charlestonian. She moved to Saint Louis to attend Washington University and received her MFA studying Metalsmithing with Heikki Seppa. She has taught metalsmithing at several institutions:Craft Alliance, Saint Louis University and at Fontbonne University, where she started the small metals/metalsmithing program and was the 2010 adjunct instructor of the year. Fetter also teaches workshops around the country focusing on a technique utilizing steel and precious metal.
Carlene Fullerton
Carlene Fullerton enjoys exploring art history, nostalgia, faces and figures in her work, which is focused primarily on stitching. Carlene was a high school art teacher for thirty years, and then a museum educator at the Saint Louis Art Museum for ten years. Now she enjoys volunteering and teaching at Craft Alliance.
Alexis Giger
Alexis Giger is the owner of Little Cliff, a clothing repair and vintage restoration studio in Tower Grove East. Alexis graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a BFA in Fashion Design and Art History in 2017. Post-grad, she worked in a variety of local fashion institutions, until being laid off in March 2020. Her early pandemic mask making led to mending and dyeing experiments, which grew into Little Cliff by October 2020. She loves the challenge of bringing damaged textiles back to life and creating with limited resources. She currently also works at Soft Surroundings as an associate designer.
Mike Gleason
Mike has a BFA degree in Design-from the University of Kansas. He uses a variety of traditional and non traditional materials in his custom/one of a kind jewelry, which can be purchased in the Gallery Shop at Craft Alliance. The quiet intricate work of drawing, designing and the usage of the tools is a special part of a jewelers process. This practice of craft gives Mike’s life balance, which is what he loves about his artwork.
Kevin Heard
Kevin began his lampworking/flameworking journey over 10 years ago as a student at Craft Alliance. He has always been fascinated by the versatility of glass and is continually expanding his knowledge of the medium by taking classes from masters in the craft. His work highlights the colors, depth, and transparency of glass, specializing in blown hollow beads and the use of reactive glass for mesmerizing and unique effects.
Mary Henderson
Mary Henderson earned a BFA in ceramics from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. She has been part of the Craft Alliance community since 1995 and in love with clay for much longer. Mary is a full time potter and travels with Ash & Griffin Pottery to medieval events and Renaissance fairs around the country to market her work.
Jeff Hornung
Jeff Hornung has been an artist and maker for over 37 years. He began woodturning as a therapeutic endeavor. That evolved into a creative outlet as well as a business and teaching platform. Jeff demonstrates nationally and internationally as well as live virtual demonstrations and classes. His work can be found at the Craft Alliance Shop. He has also been an Artist In Residence at Craft Alliance.
Cindy Howenstein
Cindy Howenstein received her BFA from SIU-E in 1989. There is a little bit of what Cindy loves reflected in her metal pieces that are generally fabricated but also include castings and stones from her garden. She has enjoyed teaching at Craft Alliance for over 20 years.
Laura Klaus
Laura Klaus took my first class almost 30 years ago and was hooked. As a member of both state and local guilds she still takes classes as often as possible. Laura began teaching over 15 years ago and for the last 10 years has been a regular teacher at St Louis Community College and The First Missouri State Capitol State Historic Site. She and her husband regularly dress in period costume for historic demonstrations.
Abigail Lowe
Abigail Lowe is an artist and writer based in St. Louis, Missouri. She received her BA in “Visual and Narrative Identity” from Grinnell College in 2015, and was awarded the Art Department’s Post-Baccalaureate Fellowship the following year. Abby was selected for the Emerging Artist Residency at Grin City Artist Collective (2015) and the Craft Alliance Center for Art + Design Artist-in-Residence Program (2018). Abby’s work has been exhibited at Craft Alliance, as well as other galleries around the midwest.
Denise M Mandel
Denise M Mandel expanded her BFA at KCAI in 1983 by a pilgrimage to Santa Fe, NM as assistant weaver to Alice Parrott on Canyon Rd. In 1989, Barb Simon entrusted her to be Craft Alliance weaving instructor. By 1998 the Archdiocese of STL commissioned the Papal tapestry for St Pope John Paul II to be woven by Denise. You are able to see other achievements & work at www.denisemmandel.com
Kimberly Mayden
Kimberly Mayden creates animal forms. She grew up with a love for animals and a fascination with biological systematics, and no matter the media, the inspiration is always centered in the animal world. Kimberly currently works here at Craft Alliance as the Marketing Coordinator & Designer where graphic design has influenced her sculptural work.
Cathy McBride
Cathy McBride is a painter, photographer and textile artist. She graduated from Missouri State University where she earned her BS in Art Education and began her studies in fiber arts. Her work is made of many layers which reflect on her life experiences. Cathy continues her studies in fiber arts while teaching classes, summer camps and working in Community Outreach. She also has shown her work at numerous art shows.
Tom McCarthy
Born in 1960, Tom McCarthy has been making jewelry for over 35 years. He teaches fabrication workshops in craft institutions throughout the Country. He has authored the chapter, “Reimagining Technique” in The Penland Book of Jewelry. He has a MFA from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. In 2006 he was awarded a Fellowship in the Arts from the State of Florida. He currently lives in St. Louis, MO with his wife and two cats.
Sara Meadows
Sara Meadows is completing her BFA in Photography at Maryville University in December 2021. In addition to photography, she is experienced in the mediums of metal and glass. Sara began teaching at Craft Alliance in the Summer of 2021 and enjoys sharing her experience and passion with others. You can view her work at www.saraameadows.com
Tori Meiner
Tori Miener is a ceramics and glass artist in St. Louis. In 2019, she received her BFA from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Tori’s ceramic work is very personal, using found objects that are collected and used as stamps; further influenced by her daily life in the midwest and her travels abroad. Tori rediscovered her love for glass when she joined the St. Louis Lampworkers Society in 2020. She works part time as a gallery shop assistant and teaches stained glass and torch working at Craft Alliance.
Robert Thomas Mullen
Robert Thomas Mullen is from a small town in Southern Illinois. He received his BFA in metalsmithing from SIUE and his MFA in metalsmithing from Edinboro University of PA. In the past few years, he has been a part of several national and international exhibitions. Robert has been an Artist in Residence at Craft Alliance and is currently the Registrar as well as an instructor. He resides in St. Louis where he maintains a studio and his work is featured in our Gallery Shop.
Lauren Nall
Lauren has a BFA in Metals/Jewelry from MSU & 23 years of experience in the studio. She operates a small business in Crestwood where she creates original works that are distributed through local retailers and regional art shows.
Michele Reichlin
Michele Reichlin has taught in a variety of school and Non-profit settings since 1999. She obtained her Art K-12 certification through Webster University after having earned an MSW from Washington University. Michele has exhibited her found object and ceramic sculpture locally and regionally since 1992, and has pieces in local private collections.
Mary Rhein
Mary Rhein is from Belleville, Illinois; a town about 15 miles outside of St. Louis. She graduated recently with a BFA in ceramics and a minor in psychology from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE). While at SIUE, Mary honed her skills in wheel-throwing, hand-building, mold-making, and slip-casting. She enjoys making slip-cast work and spending time with her partner and their three dogs: Opal, Ippo, and Guts.
Mary Lou Ryan
Mary Lou Ryan earned her B.A. degree in English and History. She started her love for glass at Craft Alliance about 20 years ago. With that introduction to flame working, she continued her passion for glass and specifically flame working under artists such as Loren Stump, Karen Woodward, Michael Barley, Dustin Tabor, Kim Fields and Astrid Reidel. She loves teaching and introducing people to the magic of glass!
Kate Snyder
After growing up in the Midwest, Kate Snyder has eagerly explored and learned the craft of metalwork/jewelry from one corner of the United States to the other. From CWU in Washington state, to New Approach Jewelers in Tennessee, to SCAD in Georgia. She has worked for a variety of small jewelry companies. Kate is happy to have returned to her hometown and join the wonderful art community that is Craft Alliance.
Pam Stanley
Pam Stanley studied ceramics extensively earning a BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute and MFA from Louisiana State University. Pam teaches all aspects of working in clay to different levels of adults, teens and children. She has taught at the university level as well as through community outreach programs. Her work is exhibited nationally.
Yoko Suga
Yuko Suga earned an Intense Minor in Metals at Washington University in St. Louis, studying with Heikki Seppa. Yuko also has a Masters in Occupational Therapy from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Her work in metals and glass reflecting community and social issues are in private collections and national museums. She exhibits her work both nationally and locally, including the Craft Alliance Gallery Shop.
Malaika Tolford
Originally from Chicago, Malaika Tolford has been a part of the Craft Alliance family for nearly 10 years. She teaches adult ceramics classes in wheel throwing, handbuilding, and surface design, as well as summer camps and community programs. With a background in Art History and Anthropology, she brings her love of geography and the built environment into her own work, selling functional and decorative pieces at shops and shows around town as Place Value Pottery.
Sarah Walters
Sarah Walters received a BFA from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in photography where she ultimately discovered her passion for craft. Her work uses jewelry to explore the idea of contemporary heirlooms that are meditations on grief, family health history, and medical ailments. Sarah currently lives and works in St. Louis, Missouri where she can be found hyper focused in the studio, baking, or tending to her many plants.
Thomas Wiggins
Thomas Wiggins studied for six years in South America before returning to the US to complete his BFA at Kent State University. Thomas is a recipient of the Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellowship and a NEA/NEFA artist. He has been teaching for over 20 years for Craft Alliance and currently teaches wheel throwing and furniture design.
Christian Xandersmith
Christian Xandersmith completed his bachelor’s degree in studio art from the University of Southern Indiana in 2017. Since then, he has continued his education through Marc Adams School of Woodworking where he has completed classes in various specialized woodworking techniques. Throughout his practice, he has built furniture and sculpture but recently has focused on traditional spoon carving and lathe turning. Christian has taught several workshops in woodworking, sculpture, and construction.
