Courses
In The Studio
Term
Modality
Instructor(s)
- Paul Lebel
- BC Campbell
- Daniel Goody
- Winnie Westergard
- Zoe Crago
- Alia Swersky
- Brad Taylor
- Chelsea Cook
- David Taylor Gomes
- Ellen Forney
- Geof Alm
- J. Gordon
- Jeff Brice
- Jimmy Shields
- Lauren Boilini
- Leanna Keith
- Lily Hotchkiss
- Lucie Baker
- Meg McLynn
- Nicole Beerman
- Nikki Rice
- Robynne Raye
- Samar Abulhassan
- Sarah Bixler
Costume Design
Chelsea Cook
Chelsea Cook is a freelance costume designer, educator, and business owner. Her work has been seen at Kentucky Opera, Seattle Shakespeare Company, Seattle Opera, Village Theatre, Tacoma Opera, George Street Playhouse, ArtsEmerson, and more. Select favorite designs include Ernest Shackleton Loves Me (Off-Broadway Alliance Award, Second Stage Theatre); O+E (Seattle Opera) She’s Come Undone (Gregory Award Nomination, Book-It); What We Talk About When We Talk About Love (Book-It Repertory); and Medea (Seattle Shakespeare Co.). She has a B.A. from Cornish College of the Arts.
Music Intensive + Audition Prep & Performance
Leanna Keith
A freelance flutist, artist, improviser, and composer in the Seattle area, Leanna Keith delights in creating sound experiences that make audiences laugh, cry, and say: “I didn’t know the flute could do that!” She also teaches as the flute professor at Cornish College of the Arts. Her performance artworks have focused on cultural connection and the breaking of audience/performer boundaries. In 2021 she released her first solo album, TAROT Album, which she composed, performed, recorded, and mixed. The album release show premiered online, featuring collaborations between choreographers, digital media artists, stop motion artists, puppetry, and more.
Leanna is currently a co-director of the chamber music ensemble Kin of the Moon, with violist/improviser Heather Bentley and composer/vocalist Kaley Lane Eaton. Kin of the Moon is an improvisation-centric, technology-friendly chamber music series incubated in Seattle's rich musical scene. The series explores sonic rituals, promotes cross-pollination of genres, emphasizes the communicative power of specific performance locales, and celebrates the creativity that multiplies itself through the collaboration of performers and composers.
Art & Design Intensive + Portfolio Development
Lily Hotchkiss
I have been making art my whole life in one form or another. I fell endlessly in love, over and over, with the process of making. This led to my role as a teacher, first with young children and later with teens. More facilitator and guide than anything else, being able to participate and witness someone’s creative journey and awakening is an awesome gift. It demands that I remain nimble and bring all my best to working with youth and helping them discover and share their voices. I am both an arts educator and a working artist. As a member of Side Rail Collective, I co-curate shows throughout the year and participate in exhibits. My work as an artist is based in storytelling. I work in a variety of mediums, including clay, found materials, wood, fiber, as well as 2D mediums. The story informs the material.
Sarah Bixler
Sarah Bixler is a painter and educator living and working in Seattle Washington. She began her artistic studies focusing on the figure and observation, at Gage Academy of Art in Seattle Washington. There she was able to deepen her understanding of the human body through intensive focus on long-form sculpture, anatomy and drawing from direct observation. In 2011, Sarah received a BFA from the University of Washington where she studied contemporary drawing and painting, with a focus on paint language, form and color.
Lauren Boilini
Lauren Boilini has served as an artist-in-residence at several institutions across the U.S. and in Italy, Ireland, and Spain. She has served as faculty at a number of schools in the Baltimore/DC area as well as Evergreen State College, Pacific Lutheran University, and Cornish. She has completed several public art projects along with many temporary public installations and solo exhibitions across the country. In 2016 she was awarded an Artist Trust grant to publish a book of drawings and spent this past summer as an artist-in-residence at MASS MoCA working on the sequel. Lauren is also a long-distance open water swimmer and loves to call Seattle home.
Winnie Westergard
Winifred Westergard is a Seattle based fine art and commercial photographer with degrees from the University of Washington and Cornish College of the Arts in Creative Writing, Journalism and Art. Her art making foundation is rooted in the early processes of photography, fully embracing the slow processes of 19th century photography. She is a visual creator with a strong base on human emotion and storytelling. She has managed the photography studio at Cornish College of the Arts since 1999 and has taught Photography and Portfolio Development through Summer@Cornish since 2003.
Dance Intensive + Audition Prep & Performance
Film Intensive + Portfolio Development
Paul Lebel
From a young age, I've been captivated by light and its power to transform the world around me. At seven years old, I begged for a camera, eager to capture the magic of my small world through photography. This insatiable curiosity has fueled my journey as a visual storyteller, leading me across the globe to film and edit stories for brands worldwide. Through these experiences, I've grown as a person, and I remain just as curious and excited to explore new stories and mediums.
My artistic practice as A Box In The Sea extends into multimedia, print, and sound art. In my sound lab, I experiment with soundscapes and scores, translating them into visuals and rendering them into pen and ink. This process of creating and transforming sound into art is a continuous cycle of discovery, and it's a journey I feel lucky to be on.
Musical & Theater Intensive + Audition Prep & Performance
Nicole Beerman
Nicole is an actor, singer, dancer, choreographer, teacher, visual artist, wife to Josh and mother to Max and Huxley. Nicole has lived and worked on both coasts, loves to create, garden, and do construction! On screen, Nicole has been seen in Nike, LG, and T-Mobile commercials. On stage in Adrift (Sam French Festival), Big Effing Deal! (Duet with Reggie Watts), Cabaret (Gregory Award Nominee), Mary Poppins, Annie, Bye Bye Birdie, How to Succeed, Once Upon A Time in New Jersey and many Village Originals (Village Theatre), The Constant Wife (Seattle Rep), Cabaret (5th Ave, AMTSJ, Ordway Center), Wonderful Town (5th Ave), Ming the Rude (Empty Space), Elephant and Piggie, Fire Station 7, Sleeping Beauty (SCT), Tapestry (Oregon Cabaret Theatre), and many more. As a choreographer and dancer Nicole had the honor of working with Sonya Tayeh and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival with running the dance call for the original production of Head Over Heals. In New York, Nicole’s work has been seen at the HERE Center, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Clubbed Thumb, Astoria Performing Arts, The Management and Acting Manitou. In Seattle, at KIDSTAGE, Cornish, Oregon Cabaret Theatre, The Triple Door, Café Nordo, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Fantastic Z, and Art Institute of Seattle. Nicole is currently teaching at Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle Film institute, and Westlake Dance Center. She has also taught at UW, Art Institute of Seattle, Hunter College High School, VAM Studios, 5th Avenue, Century Ballroom, McCarter Theatre Company, Jersey City Dance Academy, and The Studios. Nicole holds a BFA from Cornish College of the Arts, is a certified Simonson Technique teacher and a member of Actors’ Equity.
Choreography & Performance
Premiere Pro Film Editing
Paul Lebel
From a young age, I've been captivated by light and its power to transform the world around me. At seven years old, I begged for a camera, eager to capture the magic of my small world through photography. This insatiable curiosity has fueled my journey as a visual storyteller, leading me across the globe to film and edit stories for brands worldwide. Through these experiences, I've grown as a person, and I remain just as curious and excited to explore new stories and mediums.
My artistic practice as A Box In The Sea extends into multimedia, print, and sound art. In my sound lab, I experiment with soundscapes and scores, translating them into visuals and rendering them into pen and ink. This process of creating and transforming sound into art is a continuous cycle of discovery, and it's a journey I feel lucky to be on.
Intro to Documentary Filmmaking
Paul Lebel
From a young age, I've been captivated by light and its power to transform the world around me. At seven years old, I begged for a camera, eager to capture the magic of my small world through photography. This insatiable curiosity has fueled my journey as a visual storyteller, leading me across the globe to film and edit stories for brands worldwide. Through these experiences, I've grown as a person, and I remain just as curious and excited to explore new stories and mediums.
My artistic practice as A Box In The Sea extends into multimedia, print, and sound art. In my sound lab, I experiment with soundscapes and scores, translating them into visuals and rendering them into pen and ink. This process of creating and transforming sound into art is a continuous cycle of discovery, and it's a journey I feel lucky to be on.
2D Stop Motion Animation
Zoe Crago
Zoe Crago is the co-founder of Duo Design + Media. A partnership of two creatives specializing in graphic design, social media, and video production for individuals and businesses/organizations looking to expand their visual presence. As the lead graphic designer and illustrator, Zoe's project list includes (but is not limited to) the 2023 Festival Design for NFFTY (National Film Festival for Talented Youth), illustrator for The Rise Book Project, event campaigns for TEDxSpokane, and social media marketing for Washington Filmworks and Seattle Creates! Her love for illustration and hand-lettering often finds its way into her regular projects creating a beautiful hybrid of traditional and digital art.
After 6 years in the design world, Zoe hopes that her work, collaborations, and community involvement will ultimately impact those who want to grow and succeed in the creative industry!
Writing for Stage & Screen
Samar Abulhassan
Samar Abulhassan is a writer and teaching artist living in Seattle. She's a Hedgebrook alum, Jack Straw Writer and holds an MFA from Colorado State University. She's worked with Seattle Arts & Lectures’ Writers in the Schools since 2008, and for Hugo House's Scribes program and the Skagit River Poetry Foundation since 2010. She was an instructor for Cornish's summer film program in 2019.
Acting for Stage and Screen
Meg McLynn
Meg McLynn is an actor, vocalist, and teaching artist who has been seen on stages and screens throughout North America. Meg loves to share her passion for performance with students of all ages, and it is her belief that the work we do in “the studio” is applicable to all aspects of our everyday lives.
Having studied for 7 years under renowned voice teacher, Kristin Linklater, Meg now works with students to help them take ownership of their wonderfully unique voices. She teaches Voice and Speech at Cornish College of the Arts, and she serves as a vocal coach with Jack Straw Studios. She has assisted with voice training at Columbia Business School and World Leaders Forum in New York City. Meg also teaches Voice and Acting classes at Freehold Theatre Lab and Mighty Tripod Studios in Seattle.
Meg is a member of the Seattle-based vocal trio, Blue Plate Special, and has been an Anthem Singer for the Seattle Seahawks. As a concert soloist, she performed the songbooks of Patsy Cline, Judy Garland, and Carly Simon with Purple Phoenix Productions. Local acting credits include roles with Seattle Shakespeare Company, Book-It Rep, Seattle Symphony, ArtsWest, Seattle Opera, Seattle Public Theatre, Washington Ensemble Theatre, Theatre22, Harlequin Productions, and 14/48: TWQTF, as well as the feature films “Different Drummers”, “7 Minutes”, and “Colton”. You can see her in the series, “The Girl in the Woods” streaming on NBC/Peacock.
Jazz@Cornish
Stop Motion Puppet Fabrication
Nikki Rice
Born and raised in Seattle, Nikki moved to California to attend college, receiving a BFA in Film Production in 2002 from Chapman University. For the next 6 years she worked various office jobs in the film industry while also earning a Masters Degree in Secondary Education. In 2006 Nikki decided to shift her career to Special Effects Make-Up working at Creature FX studios and from there segueing into the stop motion world, beginning in 2008 with Shadow Machine on the Adult Swim hit show, Robot Chicken: Season 3. Nikki has worked as a puppet fabricator, lead fabricator and department head on numbers stop motion television shows, commercials and films, helping create iconic stop motion characters for such shows/films as Happy Honda Days (Socal regional commercial campaign for the last 12 years), Ask the Story Bots, Buddy Thunderstruck, Anomolisa and Ted Lasso to name a few. In 2022, the next adventure brought Nikki back home to Seattle to be closer to family and to hang out her own shingle as Puppets Northwest, offering a one stop shop for puppets of all kinds, SFX, 3D modeling/printing and educational outreach of all of the above.
Life Drawing
J. Gordon
J. Gordon brings over two decades of experience as an artist, educator, and curator, to his classrooms. Gordon earned his BFA and MFA in painting from the University of Kansas and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts respectively. While his current professional practice centers primarily around the medium of drawing, he incorporates aspects of traditional and contemporary painterly practices in both his teaching methods and mixed media art works.
Gordon is a recipient of multiple scholarships and awards, as well an artist fellowship from the state of Delaware. He has taught drawing at many colleges, art centers, and museums including the Tacoma Art Museum and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. He is currently represented by Gallery Strega, where he also plays a supporting role in exhibition design and curation.
Game Art
Jeff Brice
Jeff Brice has a long career as an artist and illustrator. His work has appeared in Wired magazine, Scientific American and Macworld to name a few. Jeff was one of the early content creators for the Microsoft Hololens mixed reality headset and helped produce the first major exhibition of the Hololens for the public. Jeff has shown in exhibitions internationally. He worked as creative director for Tiny Bites Games smartphone game GemSpinners II Waterquest. Jeff has a masters degree from New York Institute of Technology.
Live Sound Engineering
Daniel Goody
Daniel Goody has been working in the performing arts field since 2001 starting in the UK as a sound engineer. Presently working as the Head of Audio at the Playhouse in Seattle for Cornish College of the Arts, his work has spanned many disciplines over the years including audio, light and video design. His primary collaboration since 2015 has been with the Danish immersive theatre group Sisters Hope.
Following a decade in Sweden as the Technical Director at the culture house Inkonst Malmö, Daniel formed artistic partnerships with a number of performance, dance and theatre groups based throughout the Nordic and European regions. These collaborations, with groups such as; Institutet, White On White, Jon & Juli and Lucie Tuma explored the family, critical whiteness and the relationship to the body on a wholly radical level.
Darkroom Photography
Winnie Westergard
Winifred Westergard is a Seattle based fine art and commercial photographer with degrees from the University of Washington and Cornish College of the Arts in Creative Writing, Journalism and Art. Her art making foundation is rooted in the early processes of photography, fully embracing the slow processes of 19th century photography. She is a visual creator with a strong base on human emotion and storytelling. She has managed the photography studio at Cornish College of the Arts since 1999 and has taught Photography and Portfolio Development through Summer@Cornish since 2003.
Producing Music
BC Campbell
Comics Studio
Ellen Forney
Ellen Forney is the author of the bestselling graphic memoir, Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, & Me, and its companion book, Rock Steady: Brilliant Advice From My Bipolar Life. Marbles has been translated into six foreign languages and was the selection for common book programs at the University of Washington Health Sciences schools and UC Davis. She curated an exhibition for the National Library of Medicine on Graphic Medicine, comics about health, and has given talks and lectures internationally at universities, conferences, and institutions, including a recent TED talk. As a visual artist, she created two large-scale murals for Seattle’s Capitol Hill light rail station. She has taught comics at Cornish College of the Arts since 2002 and is currently working on a middle-grade book on making autobiographical comics.