Meet our Faculty

Joseph Blajda is a graduate of Plymouth State University and has formerly taught art at the New Hampshire Institute of Art and the New Hampshire Youth Development Center. He concentrates mostly on oil painting, but has experience in drawing, pottery, clay, animation, graphic art, and screen-printing. He has shown his work regionally. His artwork is currently on display at the Artstream Studio in Rochester, NH.

I’m  Hannah, and my journey with pottery began in 2019 with an intro to pottery night class. Since then, I’ve been hooked. I stopped when the rest of the world did in 2020, but found myself drawn back to ceramics with an open Independent Artist spot at Kimball Jenkins at the end of 2022. After that, I fully immersed myself into the world of ceramics at Kimball Jenkins, and gradually evolved into an instructor, teaching pottery nights and weekly beginner classes!

Having been an art enthusiast my whole life, I never thought I would be as involved in the art community as I am today. I never “trained” to be an artist, or a teacher for that matter.  I am what many would call a “serial hobbiest” where I have tried many different hobbies and art styles, but ceramics has been a constant for the past few years. It’s the draw of working with your hands, having the flexibility to make anything you want, and also still having the option to paint on ceramics is really exciting to me. To me, any worries from the day go away when I step into the studio, and I know others feel the same. 

Ultimately, it’s the community that Kimball Jenkins has created within its walls that makes this place so special. The campus, the faculty, and the students who make this space vibrant is why I look forward to giving so much back to it. I am incredibly grateful to have this space to create and share my love for pottery with Concord and our surrounding communities!

Grace Dalton is a 2026 graduate of New England college with a bachelors in illustration. Her work is largely reflective of the New England landscapes she has grown up around. She is an expressive painter with a passion for all types of mediums such as watercolor, oil paint, and clay! While studying she has been working as a preschool teacher in Concord. Through teaching preschool she has had many opportunities to take courses on early childhood development which peaked her interest in using art as a classroom tool for both social and cognitive growth. Her goal as a teacher is to use creativity to find out what engages each student's specific needs.

Becky Darling is a talented painter specializing in watercolor, with extensive experience in both creating art and teaching it to students of all ages. She holds a BA in Art and Art Education from Salem College and has continued her studies with notable artists such as W. Robert Paine and Don Andrews. 

Becky's work has been featured in various exhibitions, including at the New Hampshire Art Association and McGowan Fine Art, and she is currently represented by both organizations. As an instructor at the Kimball Jenkins School of Art, she leads watercolor classes and workshops, sharing her passion for this medium. 

The New Hampshire landscape and coastal areas of New England largely inspire Becky’s work, reflected in her Nature Journals and finished paintings, which capture the changing colors, moods, and light of the seasons. 

Sam’s journey into the world of ceramics began in 2014, following his separation from the Navy. Initially focused on pursuing a college degree using his GI Bill, Sam enrolled at Piedmont Virginia Community College, where an art advisor recommended ceramics as a fulfilling outlet. With no prior experience, he was captivated by the spacious and well-organized studio led by Professor Tom Clarkson, who not only taught him the fundamentals of pottery but also inspired his passion for the craft. Over the next two years, Sam immersed himself in ceramics, forming connections with fellow students and exploring the artistic community.

His transformative experience came in 2017 when he began an apprenticeship at Tye River Pottery under Kevin Crowe. During this time, Sam honed his skills by stoking wood-fired kilns, mixing clay, and creating pottery while establishing a foundation in the art that he had never anticipated. After nearly four years, he transitioned to a small town in New Hampshire, working with gas kilns and continuing to teach pottery classes. Passionate about sharing his knowledge, Sam is dedicated to fostering the growth of aspiring potters while continually refining his own techniques. He cherishes the history and lessons of ceramics, embracing the challenge and creativity it brings to his life.

Meagan Doffing has been a certified K-12 Visual Arts teacher for 21 years. The last 13 of those years have been spent with the Bedford Public Schools at the elementary level. Her favorite creative mediums are ceramics, encaustic collage, and printmaking, which she enjoys sharing with her students. 

When not teaching, Meagan enjoys spending time with her family, the ocean, all things Halloween, skiing the mountains of New England, and gardening in her backyard oasis! She is excited for her new adventures at KJ with local young artists.

Robert Dorr is a fiber artist living in Concord NH who has had his studio at Kimball Jenkins since 2009. He has been a state-juried member of the League of NH Craftsmen since 2011. He layers different types of fiber and stitches in his hand-embroidered jewelry. Bob has shown his work in the League of NH Craftsmen’s Gallery and Craftwear exhibits. He has donated pieces for auctions benefiting Intown Concord, the Kimball-Jenkins School of Art, and the League of NH Craftsmen. 

Bob also demonstrates his techniques in some of the League shops, at the Craft Center, and Annual League Fair. His main focus is embroidery, specifically in a style called stumpwork. Stumpwork is a form of 3-dimensional embroidery that translates very well to brooches and pendants. 

Bob also works in non-representational mixed-media abstract art, Medieval style illumination (illustration), and digital music.

Sophia has been Watercolor Painting with various art teachers since she was 11 years old. She studied with Sylvia Brofos, Dustin Knight, Sean Beavers, and at the University of New Hampshire, Kent State University, New Hampshire Institute of Art, and Kimball Jenkins. She has had paintings published and exhibited in New Hampshire. She is a member of the Two Villages Art Society in Contoocook, NH.

Watercolor is Sophia’s favorite medium, but she has also explored oils, pencil, and charcoal. She loves capturing the power, light, and beauty of nature whether it is trees, sky, stones, flowers, water, and animals, specializing in equine art.

Sophia Eastley has been Tribal Belly dancing for twenty-four years under the name Sheherazade Bint Allat. As director of the dance troupe, Ladies of the Shifting Sands, and individually she has performed at medieval events, coffee houses, clubs, baby showers, in restaurants, Belly Dance Festivals in Maine, MA, and NH. She brings the joy of the Ancient Goddess “Dance Orientale” to the workshop.

Sophia has trained with Hawaiian Kahuna Hank Wesselman Ph. D. and has studied for six years with Peruvian Shaman Puma Fredy Quispe Singona. She studied the Mayan techniques of meditation, visualization, and spiritual art. She creates crafts, beadwork, shawls, drums, and regularly practices summer solstice ceremonial dances drawing from her Abenaki and Cherokee ancestral lineages. She believes that connecting to Pachamama, Mother Earth, is vital for our balance and wellness as human beings. She has studied yoga and teacher’s training, completed meditation weekend retreats, sacred dance and healing workshop retreats, and workshops at Yoga studios, Earth Days, retreat centers, and more.

June Garen is a retired nurse who spent much of her career in the operating room—where precision and patience were essential, skills that come in handy with knitting needles too. She learned to knit at her grandmother’s side, a Dutch woman who knew that knitting wasn’t just a pastime, but a survival skill during long, cold winters.

Since then, June has happily knitted her way through life and shared the craft wherever she could—at local libraries, with community knitting groups, and even at the county jail. She loves that knitting invites experimentation with colors and textures and rewards you with the ultimate prize: wearable art. At Kimball Jenkins, she’s excited to bring her “Humble Knitting” class to anyone who wants to make something beautiful, useful, and maybe even a little bit quirky—one stitch at a time.

Marie, a native of Henniker, New Hampshire, studied Art and French at Notre Dame College in Manchester. She has supplemented her formal education with a robust program of continuing education, including numerous online and in-person courses and workshops. Her artistic development has also been enriched by extensive international travel and diverse cultural experiences.

Marie’s artistic journey, though largely self-directed, has been shaped by a variety of influences. She comes from a family of artists, including her mother’s cousin, the renowned artist Oscar Durand. She has a long history of collaborative art experiences with her mother, aunts, and sister.

In 2022, Marie’s artistic work gained wider recognition when she began creating and donating her art to support humanitarian aid in Ukraine. This initiative has generated significant funds for charitable causes, demonstrating the power of art to inspire compassion and action.

Her artistic practice encompasses a range of media, with a particular affinity for watercolor. Her subject matter includes portraits of people and pets, as well as floral studies.

Marie is also a resident Art Alley Cats artist at DIY Craft & Thrift in Downtown Concord.

Eileen has always loved art and has fond memories of creating at a very young age. Her drawings and paintings are often eclectic, and she enjoys bringing this diversity to her teaching through a variety of methods and techniques that she has learned and continues to explore. Eileen considers it a privilege to have the opportunity to teach and share her passion with students of all ages and varying skill levels.

She studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, which is known for its historic tradition and reputation for classical formal drawing and figurative painting methods. Eileen later earned an MFA degree in Painting from Savannah College of Art. Since 1992, she has taught numerous college-level courses in Foundations (2D Design & Color Theory) as well as Introductory and Advanced courses in Drawing, Life Drawing, Oil Painting, and Watercolor. Her teaching experience includes institutions such as Savannah College of Art and Design, St. Louis University, and the New Hampshire Institute of Art (now New England College) since 2002. Currently, she has been with the Visual Arts Department at NHTI Concord Community College for several years.

Eileen has led numerous art workshops in both community and college venues, including NHIA Continuing Education, Art Educator Workshops and Certificate Programs, the Currier Museum, and Kimball Jenkins. She has also served as a juror for several NH Scholastic Awards and various local art exhibitions over the years.

Understanding that taking a class in something new can be intimidating for some, Eileen believes that anyone can learn the basics. She maintains that skills such as sketching, drawing, painting, and practiced observation not only enhance one’s intelligence but also enrich one’s enjoyment of life. Attending a class, in her view, is an excellent way to accelerate this process while providing a wonderful opportunity to connect with others.

Deb Hastings enjoys teaching people of all ages how to engage with their own creativity, while becoming familiar with a variety of art materials. Projects often include information that reflects the world of history, of which Art plays an important role. Students in her classes learn the same principles and elements of Art that famous artists use in their works. This is always done with an understanding of the developmental level of each class, and in a way that is fun and applicable to the project at hand. 

Deb began teaching as a public school Art Educator in 1988. She recently retired and is now teaching at libraries, community centers, art schools and artisan shops. She has also been an Artist-in-Residence with schools in the Seacoast. Through this experience she helps staff and students create mosaics for their school’s walls. When in her own home studio, Deb most often works in watercolor, collage and acrylic paints. Her art is sometimes painted on thrifted leather goods and giving them new life with leather paint. She also upcycles used cookie tins into fun and fashionable earrings. Deb believes creativity is intrinsic to the human experience, and is grateful to continually develop her own skills and expand opportunities to learn new art media.

Fairuza is a joyful and inclusive belly dance instructor with over 20 years of performing and teaching experience. Using a large repertoire of dance and body movements, isolations, and traveling steps, all to the beat of rich Middle Eastern and Turkish music and rhythms, Fairuza loves creating a body-positive environment and curriculum for women and men of all ages and abilities.

Dania Jones is an experimental art enthusiast based in Concord NH. Her mixed media artwork is produced with a combination of repurposed, upcycled and random materials made into jewelry, collage and other art expressions. A first time instructor at Kimball Jenkins this year, she brings in a set of mostly self taught skills and her firm believe in finding peace within through the practice of creative processes. 

In her personal experience, Dania explores different forms of art as a way of introspection and self inner healing. 

Dania has been a holistic esthetician for fifteen years, crafting her own herbal skin care to use in her services.  Additional formal training in herbalism, reiki and yoga teaching complement her practice and her journey of alternative methods of wellness.

For the past 25 years, Marty Kelly has worked as a full-time traditionally published children’s book author & illustrator. Realistic portrait work in watercolor and pencil has always been his passion, however. Marty’s current focus is split between creating highly realistic portrait art and working with stone, metal, and wood to create organic sculptures that surprise and delight viewers with materials being used in unexpected ways. Working in two entirely separate ways– tightly rendered realism in his portraiture and much rougher abstract work in stone– has afforded Marty time to explore ways the two disciplines can inform each other. Each way of creating makes Marty think in different ways and brings him joy when he’s making art.

Natalie Lessard decided to be a puppeteer because they discovered it wasn’t physically possible for them to grow up to be a cartoon. Their curious nature led them to a lifetime of interdisciplinary arts, such as drawing, sculpting, painting, sewing, etc. Their goal has always been to create things that would bring more whimsy to the world.

For the better part of a decade they have been building and clothing puppets, curating, producing slams, and performing. They produced The Granite State Puppet Slam which was named Best of NH for New Cultural Event in 2019.

Natalie is excited to share the magic of puppet building and performance with the students of Kimball Jenkins.  

Inez McDermott is Professor Emerita of art history at New England College. She is a curator of art and history exhibitions at various museums and galleries throughout New England including, in 2023, An Enduring Presence: The Old Man of the Mountain at the Museum of the White Mountains at Plymouth State University. In 2016, she was co-curator of Mount Washington, The Crown of New England at the Currier Museum of Art.

Inez continues to lecture on art and history topics through New Hampshire Humanities “Humanities to Go” program, as well as teaching short courses for LINEC and Osher.

Anne McMillan is a book, mixed-media, and fiber artist. She collects found objects and uses them in her work, incorporating them into books.  

Her art is an eclectic mix of her life, reflecting where she has been and where she wants to go. It incorporates natural materials with traditional structures, a fusion of elements that creates a tactile and immersive experience, inviting you to explore the layers or pages of the work.  

Mostly self-taught, Anne enjoys the challenge of unraveling how a book structure was made and in the education of the arts.  She has developed her art through in-person and online workshops which she continues to do.  She enjoys learning as much as she can about bookbinding and sharing it with others. She has exhibited her work throughout New England and has taught classes in Bookbinding and Book Arts for the past 8 years.  She is also an active member of the Guild of Bookworkers, Surface Design Association, NEBA-New England Book Artist, and the Vermont, Santa Fe, San Diego, and Canadian Book Arts Guilds.  

She was raised in Connecticut and has lived in Texas and New Hampshire where she now resides.  She always had a love for handmade books. You can always find her traveling and finding old bookshops wherever she is looking for that old book with a great cover. 

Joe Montroy is an artist and educator living in Hopkinton New Hampshire with his wife and
two young children; Ella and Owen. Joe grew up in central New York, attending SUNY Potsdam
where he received a BA in Studio Art, and Rochester Institute of Technology where he was
awarded an MFA in Studio Art. Over the years Joe has taught a variety of fine and visual arts
courses in a number of art centers, colleges, and universities in the New England region. Mr.
Montroy exhibits his artwork in galleries and sculpture parks across the eastern U.S.. Joe is also
an active outdoors person, who enjoys hiking, rock climbing, backpacking, sketching and just
spending time in the woods.

Brian Moriarty studied fine art at Plymouth State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He is formally and classically trained in working with both two-dimensional and three-dimensional media. After college, Brian became a teacher and has spent the past six years teaching design fundamentals to high school students in southern New Hampshire. In addition to teaching, he continues to pursue his passion for art by painting at home and exploring his creativity.

I am a ceramics artist who works in mainly functional ware and sculptural vessels.  My work reflects my passion and love of nature, and I often use materials from the earth such as seashells, rocks, sand and textured bark to add depth and personal connection to my pieces.  I started my clay education in high school. I learned from three art teachers in my public school who all contributed to my passion for creating. Encouraged by their kindness, I earned my BFA at Colby-Sawyer College in New London New Hampshire, and studied under David Ernster and Jon Keenan, both master potters of New England. During that time, I also collaborated with the New Hampshire Institute of Art and the Sharon Art Center through community firings, pottery sales, and events.  In the winter of 2016, I spent a week in Nepal teaching pottery to students at the Maya Universe Academy. 

After graduation in 2017, I spent six years teaching in various public school settings as an art teacher. I worked with students of all ages and backgrounds. Teaching is an important part of my artistic practice. I use that time to inform my personal work but more importantly, developing relationships with others through art creates lasting connections and spreads compassion.

I have dedicated the last four years to developing a thriving ceramics program at Kimball Jenkins. It has grown tremendously under my care and I am proud to say we host over 50 pottery students and 12 independent artists each season.

Currently I am pursing my MFA from Maine College of Art and Design. Also, I hold the position of Chair of the New Hampshire Potters Guild. Within this role, I aim to build community through ceramics and offer educational experiences to those excited to learn more about the pottery scene in New Hampshire.

Ari is a dedicated stay-at-home mom to her energetic 2-year-old son. Before embracing motherhood, she built a fulfilling career as a preschool teacher in New Hampshire, California, and Washington. 

Ari’s teaching philosophy centers around the belief that every child is an artist, and she consistently integrated art into her classroom to inspire creativity and self-expression.

In 2019, Ari earned her Bachelor's degree in Youth Development and Education, with a minor in Adventure Education, from Plymouth State University. This unique combination reflects her passion for nurturing young minds through both creative and experiential learning. 

Outside of teaching and parenting, Ari enjoys spending quality time with her family—her husband, son, and their beloved dog. She also loves reading, exploring the outdoors, and socializing with friends.

Marcia O’Brien received her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Ceramic Arts from Syracuse University in 1990. After moving to Atlanta, Georgia, Marcia expanded her knowledge of pottery as an assistant at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center from 1995-1997.

Marcia taught pottery on the wheel to teens and adults at Chastain Arts Center from 1998-2012. In 2013, Marcia moved to Concord, NH, with her husband and daughter. In 2015, Marcia began as an Independent Artist practicing pottery at Kimball Jenkins, and she started teaching at KJ in the years shortly after. Her beloved mainstay class, Intermediate/Advanced Throwing, is a favorite among the ceramics offerings at Kimball Jenkins.

Katy O’Gorman Rhodebeck is a local artist and art educator. After receiving a BFA with a concentration in Education, she began a 41 year career as a visual art educator in the public school system where she developed a curriculum that provided lessons in a multitude of art forms and mediums. Additionally, Katy has taught private lessons as well as community education classes and workshops for adults.With her instruction and guidance, she strives to give her students a feeling of success while instilling confidence as they further develop their skills. Katy finds sharing her life long passion for creative expression while teaching and mentoring emerging artists to be extremely rewarding.  Now retired from her full time job, she has been spending more time making her own art, currently working primarily in painting and printmaking.

Katy began showing and selling her work in 2018 as part of New Hampshire Printmakers. As a group, they worked side by side in the printmaking studio at New Hampshire Institute of Art, motivating, inspiring and learning from each other. More recently, she has become an exhibiting member of New Hampshire Art Association and Two Villages Art Society and has shown her work in multiple regional galleries and shops.  The inspiration for much of Katy's work is that of special places she has shared with family and friends. She is always in search of more of nature’s beauty to capture.

Gary Samson is the 7th Artist Laureate of New Hampshire and has spent the last fifty years photographically documenting the people and cultures of Ghana, Guatemala, Greece, Russia, Peru, Ireland, Belize, France, Quebec, Nova Scotia as well as Texas and Louisiana. Gary’s work has been exhibited internationally and his photographs are in numerous collections including the Currier Museum of Art; the University of New Hampshire; the Library of Congress, Washington, DC and the New Hampshire institute of Art where he taught photography for thirty-six years. 

After making a film about the life of the great German photographer Lotte Jacobi in 1978, Gary was inspired to explore portrait photography in his own work, making portraits of New Hampshire artists and writers as well as documenting the ethnic diversity of the state. Over the years, Gary has received numerous awards for his work and continues to make environmental portraits of the people of New Hampshire.

Haley Searcy is a Seacoast, NH-based multidisciplinary artist and teaching artist. Her work blends collage, illustration, textiles, and upcycled materials with a whimsically subversive approach. As a teaching artist, she facilitates workshops centered on connection, play, and creative exploration.

Kelsey Stap has lived in Concord since 2020 and has been creating art for as long as she can remember. She began seriously developing her artistic skills in high school and went on to earn a degree in Art and Art Education from Saint Michael’s College in Vermont. After graduating, Kelsey taught in public schools and at a paint-and-sip studio, where she developed a passion for helping artists of all ages build confidence and creativity. Kelsey is excited to be teaching at Kimball Jenkins, where she looks forward to connecting with a diverse community of artists. 

Kelsey’s personal work focuses primarily on charcoal and acrylic painting, with an emphasis on photorealism. She is drawn to the challenge and reward of creating highly detailed, lifelike pieces. In addition to drawing and painting, Kelsey has been exploring fiber arts, including spinning her own yarn and creating handmade stacking toys.

Jocelyn Winn is a professional editor and writer as well as the founder of The Eleventh Letter Writing Gallery at 146 North Main Street, Concord, NH, which hosts text-art exhibitions, writing workshops, and literary events. She is the 2025–2026 writer-in-residence for the Blossom Yoga & Wellness Costa Rica retreats, a NH Book Festival moderator, and the nonfiction editor for The Maine Review. She holds a BS in rhetorical theory/speech communication from Emerson College and an MFA in fiction and nonfiction from Vermont College of Fine Arts.