Meet Our Teaching Artists
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Reiki Master, Meditation Teacher, Sound Healer, and Reflexologist.
Current Classes:
Lisa Marie Ferry has been teaching secondary and higher education for over 20 years in the subjects of Art, Anthropology, Psychology, Photography, and Archaeology. Lisa currently has been teaching at MMI Preparatory School for over the past 15 years. She has three grown children, one in the 10th grade, a loving and supportive husband, and an awesome dog named Picasso. She has been involved with the local health center doing classes for their Wellbeing Initiative. Lisa makes her own jewelry and self-care products on her online store.
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Oil Painter and Art Instructor
Current Classes:
Hazleton based artist, Jane Klesh Butkovsky’s work has been accepted to numerous national and regional exhibitions in New York City and around the country. Among them the National Academy of Design, Allied Artists of America, The American Artists Professional League, Audubon Artists, The Salmagundi Club and The American Impressionist Society.
Klesh Butkovsky is the recipient of several awards such as the Silver Medal of Honor in Oil, Audubon Artists 71st Annual Exhibition NY, and many others. She is an elected member of Audubon Artists and Allied Artists of America. Listed in Who’s Who in American Art, Kelsh Butkovsky he has a rich history of tutorage under some of Americas most renowned artists including Robert Brackman of the Art Students League and Henry Hensche of the Cape School. The influence of these American impressionist artists has led her to focus on the light effect that encompasses the image. “We are all under the same sun and moon, day or night. It is always changing, interesting, and universal. It unites us over time and place. It is the beauty and visual interest of my time and place that I seek to reveal.” Klesh Butkovsky is a member of the Hazleton Art League Board of Directors, and in addition to her class, she has an open studio for members who enjoy painting and drawing in a relaxed atmosphere.
Website — Jane Klesh Butkovsky Artist
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Illustrator, Graphic Novelist, and Painter
Class History:
Making a Comic Book
David Corrado, is a fine artist and illustrator from northeast Pennsylvania. Corrado was first inspired by his maternal grandfather who introduced him to the art of drawing and painting. After graduating from Penn State University, Corrado went on to complete altar paintings for churches, portraits for RC Theaters, and murals for both an American Legion and town hall.
The Legend of Alastar is Corrado’s first published graphic novel (available on amazon.com). In recent years, Corrado appeared twice as a guest on WBRE TV's PA Live- once to discuss his book, and again to display an oil painting that took him a year to complete, entitled Young Mona's Smile. The work is painted on wood glazed with oil and framed in gold leaf.
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Yoga Teacher (RYT® 200+) and Usui Reiki Practitioner.
Current Classes:
Lisa Molendini earned her first 200-hour Yoga Alliance registered yoga teacher certification in 2021, with a focus on power vinyasa yoga. In February of 2023, she completed another 200-hour, broader-based yoga teacher training with the InfinitYoga Training program through NearMe Yoga and Mrida Seva Yoga. Driven to expand her knowledge of various styles of the yoga world, Molendini is also a certified Usui Reiki practitioner.
In addition to her teacher training certifications, Molendini has continued her education hours in restorative yoga teacher training, teaching to those at the very beginning of their yoga journey as well as individuals who are navigating or have navigated challenging life experiences such as yoga for substance abuse and disordered eating recovery, “Yoga for All Abilities” classes for neurodiverse teens and adults, as well as “Movement, Music, and Mindfulness” classes specifically geared toward children and young teens.
Molendini currently teaches weekly in-person group classes in various northern Pennsylvania locations, which can be referenced in the links below.
Molendini proudly shares about the classes she has offered at the annual Northeastern Pennsylvania Yoga Festival at Montage Mountain, the Summit Hill Hootenanny and Inclusion Festival in Pennsylvania, the Northeast Pennsylvania Wild Woman Festival, OhmFest Yoga Art and Music Festival in Dover, Delaware, and Ramblefest in Darlington, MD. She has also served in the role of workshop coordinator at Inclusion Festival 2023. Several festivals are already on her agenda for 2024, including the inaugural Transcend Fest in Connecticut.
“The energy of festivals, along with the amazing people that this convergence of live music and art brings together, make my heart so happy.
As someone who lives with anxiety challenges every day, I truly do not know what I would do without this practice. It is my sincere hope that I can share the benefits and gifts of this practice with others who may also be feeling overwhelmed by life’s challenges. In addition to yoga, I love nature and being outdoors, all types of crafting, fussing over my pets, the Sunday crossword, traveling, and making everything into an adventure and/or history lesson.”
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Painter
Class History:
Mark Charles Rooney received his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Temple University, Philadelphia, Pa. in 1981 and his Master of Fine Arts Degree from Maryland Institute, Baltimore, Md. In 1983. He also studied art in Rome, Italy in 1980. Since then, he has maintained a painting and teaching career that has taken him to many parts of the United States and abroad.
Rooney has exhibited his art in over 100 exhibitions both nationally and internationally since 1980. International shows include exhibitions in New Delhi, India, Beijing, China and Munich, Germany. Exhibitions in the U.S. include shows in New York City, Washington, DC, Chicago, Philadelphia, Richmond, Va. He has been a professor of Fine Art at Corcoran College of Art and Design, as well as several other colleges in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. He has also taught at Luzerne County Community College, Lackawanna College and currently teaches Fine Art at Penn State University Hazleton. Rooney continues to exhibit his art on a regular basis and maintains a studio in Hazleton, Pa.
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Visual Artist and Designer
Class History:
Pointed Brush Lettering for Beginners
Debra Dick is a visual artist and designer with thirty years of experience specializing in calligraphy, lettering, book arts, and illustration. She uses letterforms, hand-made books, and paper arts in her workshops to help people of all ages discover world cultures, historical periods, and personal heritage. Her thoughtfully designed art experiences speak directly to the innate need and ability of humans to make beautiful things with their own hands.
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Author
Current Classes:
Marcus Colasurdo is the author of 11 books, including the underground classic, Angel City Taxi. His most recent books, Heart X-Rays and Simultaneous Revolutions are both on their second printing by PM Press. Colasurdo has performed his works all over the nation, including on radio stations in Los Angeles, Wilkes-Barre, Washington, DC, New Orlean and Baltimore. A writer for page and stage, Colasurdo is the founder of Gimme Shelter Productions, a non-profit group of artists of all stripes that have done over 150 performances to benefit causes such as food pantries, after school programs, prison book projects, battered women’s shelters, homeless shelters and many more.
He has taught at Los Angeles Community College, Baltimore County Community College, Richmond high school and the Hazleton Art League. His journeys and work have taken him across the length and breadth of the United States, often by the lost art of hitchhiking. He is also the founder of The SOUL KITCHEN, which provides nutritious, delicious food to needy folks both in Baltimore, Md. and Hazleton, Pa. Both SOUL KITCHENS are in operation and, combined, have been at their tasks for over 25 years.