“Over eight years our children thrived in the nurturing environment at ArtWorks. Their abilities were tapped and their art skills refined through the direction, guidance and coaching of your very professional and committed staff.”

-Susan and Robert, parents

“The teachers and staff are so welcoming and energetic. They make me feel comfortable.”

-Sayuri, student

“The teaching style works incredibly well, and even if you do not have much experience using various art media, you can create amazing pieces of artwork.”

-Alec, student

Our Teachers

All instructors at ArtWorks are highly skilled, practicing artists who have been selected for their interest in working with children and their ability to relate to students of all ages. Each has been thoroughly trained in our approach to provide consistency in experience and to create a wonderfully supportive and non-competitive learning environment. Our teacher student ratio of one to six, combined with our personalized instruction allows teachers to cultivate close relationships with their students and to be mentors to aspiring artists.

Our teachers are all ideally suited for their roles in our studio. Each grew up with a passion for drawing and painting. As part of their development as artists, they each pursued a high level of mastery of skill and recognize the value and importance of that foundation in their own personal experience. Most importantly, each has a passion for sharing his or her expertise. Every teacher strives to pass along his or her knowledge and love for the process of making art.

ArtWorks is pleased to introduce you to our current teachers:

Courtney Dillon graduated from UC Davis, where she majored in Studio Art. As the daughter of teachers, Courtney has been around children her entire life. In high school she volunteered in classrooms, and also at the Los Angeles Zoo as a student docent. Courtney has also worked as a substitute teacher. Prior to joining ArtWorks, Courtney applied her love of art and children by teaching and managing at an after school art studio in Southern California.

Deirdre White has a B.F.A. from the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia and an M.F.A. in Studio Art from UC Davis. She was an Artist in Residence at Oregon School of Arts and Crafts and at UC Davis had the opportunity to work with renowned artist, Wayne Thiebaud. She exhibited broadly from 1986-1998, and recently has been more exclusively dedicating herself to teaching. Deirdre teaches extensively on a college level, recently having instructed classes in drawing at California College of Art, City College of San Francisco, and Ohlone College.

Diane Flick received her B.A. in Studio Art with an Emphasis in Drawing from UC Santa Barbara, and her M.A. in Humanities with an Art Emphasis from Cal State Dominguez Hills. Diane discovered how much she loved working with children and teens when she worked as a Camp Counselor. She has also volunteered in educational programs for children and adults. Since moving to San Francisco in 2004, she splits her time between the two things she loves: teaching and making art.

Elana Lutz holds a B.F.A. in Fine Art from Dickinson College and completed her M.F.A. in Painting at the Academy of Art University. As a fine artist, Elana's focus is on mixed media figurative work. She has participated in solo and group shows throughout the Bay Area, most recently at a gallery near her home in Oakland. She has inspired young artists through her teaching at ArtWorks since 1997.

Elsa Murray comes from a family of artists and is a San Francisco native who attended the San Francisco Waldorf School, and School of the Arts High School. She graduated from Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Illustration, and while there was also a Teaching Assistant. Elsa has always had a passion for working with children and teens. She coached swimming during high school and college, and worked for many years as a nanny for children of various ages. Since 2008 she has been teaching art classes at Waldorf High School. As a freelance artist Elsa has completed many portraits and mural commissions, and also works in children’s book illustration.

Gina Tecson received a B.F.A. in Fine Art Drawing and Painting from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. As a practicing fine artist she has had the honor of displaying her work at the de Young Museum for a Food and Wine Magazine Award event. She is passionate about working with children and has extensive background doing so. Gina spent many years working with students ages 2 1/2 -16 as a dance instructor. Gina has also worked as a Student Tutor, and as an Art Assistant on the elementary level.

Jasper Figueroa received his B.F.A. in Fine Art: Painting and Drawing from Academy of Art University. He received honors for his work there, including a 2005 Portfolio Grant, 2006 Second Place Honor, Best Portrait, Spring Show, and 2007 William Randolph Hearst Foundation Endowment Scholarship. Jasper realized his enthusiasm for teaching children while working as a volunteer mentor for the Golden Gate Audobon Society.

Jennifer Wildermuth Reyes graduated from University of Wisconsin-Madison with a BFA in Fine Art, and from Academy of Art University with a M.F.A. and emphasis in Representational Figure Painting. Recently Jennifer has had the pleasure of being part of the State Department’s ART in Embassies program. Jennifer has always enjoyed working with children, and has done so extensively, teaching art, swimming and gymnastics.

Jerry Boxley earned his B.F.A. from School of Visual Arts, New York. In addition to teaching at ArtWorks he teaches at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, and is a freelance illustrator. His clients include The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and CBS Records. His illustrations have been shown in New York City at the Society of Illustrators and the Portfolio Show, and he has been profiled in Art Direction magazine.

Larysa Rybchynska Larson is a graduate of California College of Arts and Crafts where her emphasis was painting and drawing. She graduated with an M.F.A. in Painting from San Francisco State University where she was also a teaching assistant in Figurative Drawing. Larysa’s interest in working with children began in college where she had the opportunity to work with students at a local high school. Since that time, her principal career aim has been to teach art to a young audience.

Yujin Lim grew up in the Bay Area and has a B.A. in Studio Art from UC Irvine. She fell in love with working with children and teaching art when she taught at an after school art studio in Southern California in 2007-2008, and deeply missed her students and the experience of teaching art since that time. In 2009 Yujin left for Korea where she worked as Academic Coordinator at Korea Poly School in Seoul. While abroad, she also freelanced teaching English and photography to both children and adults. We are delighted that Yujin has been able to return to her passion of teaching art to children and teens by joining the ArtWorks community.