Riverside ARTS Center

Tami Gagné – Financial Director/Instructor is an Illinois certified art teacher with experience in curriculum writing and development. She received her B.S.Ed in Art Education from Northern Illinois University and she also holds an A.A.S. degree in Multimedia and Computer Imaging. She has sold her artwork in the U.S. and internationally.

John Harmon – Facilities/Ceramics Manager/Instructor graduated with a M.F.A. in ceramics from the University of Texas at San Antonio and attended the ceramics program in Sun Valley, Idaho. He taught for many years at Concordia University and at the college-level in Midland, Texas and has lectured and held workshops in Ohio, Texas, and Idaho. His pottery and sculpture are widely exhibited and collected throughout the U.S.

Heather Hug, School Manager/Instructor received her B.F.A. in Ceramics and Sculpture from the University of Evansville, Indiana. She has worked professionally as an artist and instructor, teaching classes and workshops at all levels forvarious institutions in the Chicago area. Heather also designs and teaches educational workshops for Chicago museums and city programs.

Bob Jones, Gallery Attendant

Rachel Lechocki, Gallery Staff

Thomas McDonald has been creating art since 1981. He holds a M.F.A. from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a B.F.A. from Northern Illinois University. He currently is on faculty at several local colleges, including the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His painting and sculpture is widely exhibited and collected throughout the United States.

Gina Oszlowski, Instructor as loved art since she was old enough to hold a crayon. After graduation from college, she worked at an advertising agency in Chicago, drawing storyboards for television commercials, creting animated cartoon characters, and even designing packages for toys. Her newest adventure - promoting her first bood, titled "Now Coming to a Town Near You."

Carmela Rago received her M.F.A. and B.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she also has taught for over a decade. Carmela has had an extensive career as a performance artist, visual artist, writer, and teacher. Her resume includes appearances all over the country, essays in such publications as Art Playground and the New Art Examiner, exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Randolph Street Gallery, and PS 122 in New York, and collections at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Smithsonian. Besides her extensive career as a professional artist, performer, and writer she has a passion for teaching youth and has done so for many years.

Adam Rust received his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his M.F.A. from Columbia College Chicago’s Center for Book and Paper Arts under famed print maker and author, Audery Niffenegger. Adam’s illustrations and comics have been featured in publications such as the Funny Times and Mad Magazine. He has taught drawing and illustration to youth and adults throughout Chicagoland.

Tariq Tamir studied at Columbia College Chicago and has been involved in the fine arts for over 10 years. Tariq has taught young adults ages 14-21 with Chicago’s Gallery 37 and the Boys and Girls Club. In addition to being poetically inclined, Tariq uses art as a medium for self-growth and empowerment.

Pat Zmuda holds a B.S. degree from Northwestern University and an M.A. from Loyola University-Chicago. She has taught photography at the American Academy of Art, is a certified PMC instructor, and has studied kiln-formed glass for many years. Her early experiments combining glass and PMC were published in Jewelry Craft magazine. Pat is a member of the PMC guild, the Bead Society of Greater Chicago, and the Glass Art Society.