2019 Artists (Photo by Ken Crowder)
JENA KODESH (Oil Painting, Watercolor and Gouache) holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with double majors in Studio Art and Art History from Oklahoma State University and a Master of Arts in Education degree from the University of Phoenix. She is a National Board Certified teacher and teaches two-dimensional art classes for Northern Oklahoma College. Ms. Kodesh is an artist who specializes in printmaking and painting. She is a recipient of the 2011 Governor's Arts in Education Award and was chosen to participate in the 2012 State Leadership Arts Program.
BRAD MATSON (Video Production and Computer Graphics) is Director of the Digital Media Institute at Northern Oklahoma College. He has won several awards, including a Telly (equivalent to an Oscar for Digital Media) and a DaVinci Fellowship Award for outstanding creativity in the classroom, and a NISOD Excellence Award. He was named an NOC Distinguished Faculty Member and was twice nominated for the Oklahoma Gold Medal for Excellence in Teaching Award. He is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma and has been in the television and film industry for more than 20 years. This is his 11th year with Arts Adventure.
AUDREY SCHMITZ (Jewelry Making) heads the Art Department at Northern Oklahoma College and is Director of the Eleanor Hays Art Gallery. In addition to instructing three-dimensional arts at the college, she also pursues a professional career, specializing in ceramics, sculpture, and fine art photography. She has received numerous awards, most recently Best of Show for a sculpture, "See No Evil," at the Arts on shARTel Gallery in the Gaylord-Pickens Oklahoma Heritage Museum. In 2012 Ms. Schmitz was selected for Leadership Arts, a program sponsored by the Oklahoma Arts COuncil to equip participants to become leaders and advocates for the arts in their communities. She has received the Oklahoma Foundation Medal of Excellence in Teaching.
JUSTIN STIER (Cartooning) used his Graphic Design/Illustration degree from the University of Central Oklahoma as an illustrator after graduation. Working on projects from product illustrations to story boards, and logos to ads, he has tried to keep himself well rounded. During his free time he draws and writes children's books as well as his own graphic novel.