Details
Start Date
Tue, October 28, 2025 @ 10:00 AM
End Date
Thu, December 4, 2025 @ 3:00 PM
Location
The Cuyahoga Valley Art Center
EXHIBIT: Student & Faculty Exhibition
DATES: October 28 – December 4, 2025
LOCATION: CUYAHOGA VALLEY ART CENTER – GALLERY
Cuyahoga Valley Art Center presents its highly anticipated annual Student & Faculty Exhibition, displayed from October 28 to December 4, 2025. This prestigious exhibition showcases the remarkable skill and creativity of its diverse community of artists.
The annual Student & Faculty Exhibition has been a cornerstone of the CVAC exhibit calendar for decades, providing an invaluable platform for students and faculty members to display their artwork in a supportive and collaborative environment. This year’s exhibition is a celebration of artistic expression, featuring a wide range of mediums, styles, and techniques.
“We are thrilled to host once again our annual Student & Faculty Exhibition, which serves as a testament to the vibrant artistic community here at CVAC,” said Danielle Dieterich, Executive Director of CVAC. “This exhibition celebrates the skill, dedication, and creativity of our students and faculty members, and we are excited to share their artwork with the wider community.”
The annual Student & Faculty Exhibition, made possible in part by the generous support of The Vijay Rastogi Memorial Fund, will feature a People’s Choice selection process. This process will allow attendees to vote for their favorite artwork, with the fund supporting cash prizes for the winners. The Vijay Rastogi Memorial Fund, honoring the legacy of Vijay Rastogi, a cherished former Board member and dedicated advocate for the arts, plays a crucial role in funding these awards during the exhibition.
“We are deeply grateful for the support of the Vijay Rastogi Memorial Fund, which not only enables us to recognize and celebrate the skills within our community but also supports the cash prizes awarded during the exhibition,” added Danielle Dieterich. “This exhibition is a testament to the power of art to inspire, uplift, and unite us, and we look forward to sharing it with our community.”
The celebration and recognition of these skilled individuals will take place at the Artist Reception on November 21st from 5:30 PM to 7 PM. The event provides an opportunity for artists, students, faculty, and community members to come together and celebrate the culmination of the year’s artistic achievements. The reception will be free of charge and open to all patrons. Attendees will have the opportunity to mingle with the artists, indulge in delightful refreshments and hors d’oeuvres, and even purchase remarkable pieces of art. Awards to be announced at 6:30 pm at the event.
As part of the exhibition, CVAC will introduce the Artistic Evolution Awards, a new initiative aimed at celebrating the growth and development of students throughout the year. CVAC’s faculty shall select award recipients, recognizing students who have demonstrated significant progress and evolution in their artistic journey, embodying the values of dedication, exploration, and growth that define the CVAC community.
The annual Student & Faculty Exhibition at the Cuyahoga Valley Art Center is an extraordinary exhibit that highlights the immense skill and creativity of CVAC’s visual arts community. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to witness captivating artworks and to engage with the artists themselves.
Full Awards List: 2025 Student & Faculty Ex Award List PDF
People’s Choice Awards:
| People’s Choice Award: Alicia Thomas
Bookwyrm
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| People’s Choice Award: Holly Timberlake
Water Spirits
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Artistic Evolution Awards:
| Artistic Evolution Award: Steve Fountain Awarded By: Jack Liberman Exhibited Piece: Pandemic Me Oil Based Media NFS |
Faculty Comments: “Steve has been painting and improving for many years and has made his art portray his individual sensitivity and emotion to his portraits and landscapes.” – Jack Liberman |  |
| Artistic Evolution Award: Jean Jencks Awarded By: Sally HestonExhibited Piece: Lunch for Gold Finches Watercolor Media NFS |
Faculty Comments: “I have many students who paint very well, but it is rare that I can spend enough time with one and watch them develop exceptional painting skills like Jean has over the past few years. I am very proud of her ability to control the medium of watercolor. She is always willing to try something new and has a great eye for good composition and for what makes a painting extraordinary.” – Sally Heston |  |
| Artistic Evolution Award: Steve Zakem Awarded By: Sally HestonExhibited Piece: Amsterdam Canal Watercolor Media NFS |
Faculty Comments: “Of all my students, Steve has shown more growth in his painting style since first coming to CVAC a few years ago. He has become more confident in his technical abilities and is always willing to try something new. He is a fantastic photographer and utilizes his own photos as reference most of the time. For someone with very little experience in painting before coming to a class he has shown exceptional growth!” – Sally Heston |  |
| Artistic Evolution Award: Lindsey Jeavons Awarded By: Mo MosyjowskiExhibited Piece: Green Apple With Leaves Mixed Media NFS
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Faculty Comments: “Through her most recent piece, Lindsey demonstrates a notable evolution in her approach—balancing composition, looseness, and subject matter with confidence and clarity. This work reflects her artistic growth and emerging personal style.” – Mo Mosyjowski |  |
| Artistic Evolution Award: Keith Wisdom Awarded By: Kit PalencarExhibited Piece: Moment Mixed Media $1,500 |
Faculty Comments: “Keith Wisdom’s work has taken on many forms; detailed acrylic renderings, explosive abstract paintings, and more recently, sculptural work. The neat thing about this metamorphosis is that they all look like Keith, while some work may be clunky or fall flat, Keith’s ability to adapt, overcome, and execute grants him the artistic evolution award.” – Kit Palencar |  |
| Artistic Evolution Award: Leah Kolesar Awarded By: Linda HutchinsonExhibited Piece: Fungus Among Us Dry Media $200 |
Faculty Comments: “This piece shocked and surprised me! (In a great way) So delicate. So fine. So beautifully rendered. Leah listens, she paints freely, and is just as comfortable with a 4” brush. She sees non-objectively. The joy is in the creating. A joy to behold. Congratulations!” – Linda Hutchinson |  |
| Artistic Evolution Award: Alicia Thomas Awarded By: Beth LindenbergerExhibited Piece: Bookwyrm 3-Dimensional Media $300 |
Faculty Comments: “In her solution to the sculptural bookend project, Alicia shows her growth in making small, detailed forms by splitting a dragon- each side on either side of the framework. Her response to this project illustrates her growth in her work by pushing the limits on her delicate forms and getting her idea from conception to reality successfully through the process.” – Beth Lindenberger | |
| Artistic Evolution Award: Kay Bell Awarded By: Beth LindenbergerExhibited Piece: Owlet 3-Dimensional Media NFS |
Faculty Comments: “This piece of Kay’s is in response to a project based on Picasso’s Ceramics. A more advanced approach, Kay made several parts, combining the sections to create a reinterpretation of his influence on abstract forms- not a copy but a fresh form using Picasso’s painting style.” – Beth Lindenberger |  |
| Artistic Evolution Award: Bill Smith Awarded By: Susan MenciniExhibited Piece: Day’s Last Glow Water Based Media $125 |
Faculty Comments: “Will has kept pushing himself painting, not only in class but outside of it as well, by honing drawing skills. Will’s comments during class critiques are helpful and encouraging. He is willing to try new mediums and surfaces, greatly answering the question, “What if?”.” – Susan Mencini |  |
| Artistic Evolution Award: Deb Zamanek, Bob Klein, Nancy Howell, Mike Hart Awarded By: Tom BalwinExhibited Pieces:
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Faculty Comments: “These four students have all been long-standing participants in the CVAC bird carving class experience. It is almost impossible to award just one of these artists for their artistic evolution, simply because they have all shown an equal desire to perfect and challenge their skills to always make the piece they are working on better than the last one they completed. They keep me on my toes as they continuously ask questions of technique and application beyond the normal curriculum of the presented class. These four artists are always pushing a little beyond their current understanding of this indigenous American art form. Instructors will always want students who are anxious to learn, and these four are a shining example. They are dedicated to their art and have, over the years, earned my total respect.” – Tom Baldwin | 
Deb Zamanek |
Bob Klein |
Nancy Howell |
Mike Hart |
Featured Artists:
2025 Student & Faculty Exhibition Featured Artists PDF
| Full Name | CITY, STATE | Title | Price | CATEGORY | Instructor / Faculty Member |
| Rebecca Arko Moore | Cuyahoga Falls, OH | Behind The House | $100 | Water Based Media | Susan Mencini |
| Amanda Bacon | Wadsworth, OH | Blue Bird Lidded Jar | $130 | 3-Dimensional Media | Faculty Member |
| Tom Baldwin | Akron, OH | What’s Up | NFS | 3-Dimensional Media | Faculty Member |
| Tom Barkis | Cuyahoga Falls, OH | Rob Crombie | NFS | Oil Based Media | Mark Giangaspero |
| Mary Bechter | New Franklin, OH | Colonial Times | NFS | Watercolor Media | Sally Heston |
| Kay Bell | Silver Lake, OH | Owlet | NFS | 3-Dimensional Media | Beth Lindenberger |
| Trish Blackman | Aurora, OH | Reflection | NFS | Dry Media | Mark Giangaspero |
| Marilyn Bradach | Rootstown, OH | Autumn in Nashville | $350 | Water Based Media | Mark Giangaspero |
| Laura Brady | Hudson, OH | Cheyenne Spirit | NFS | Watercolor Media | Sally Heston |
| Linda Brown | Hudson, OH | Lighthouse at Fort Casey | $125 | Watercolor Media | Sally Heston |
| Vera Buk-Bjerre | Kent, OH | Cleveland | $275 | Water Based Media | Susan Mencini |
| M.H. Phillip Chiang M.D. | Chesterland, OH | Docking | NFS | Watercolor Media | Sally Heston |
| Sharon Chiang | Chesterland, OH | Sky Hole Through the Trees | NFS | Watercolor Media | Sally Heston |
| Rose Ann Chiurazzi | Cuyahoga Falls, OH | Painted Plate Whimsical Daisies | NFS | 3-Dimensional Media | Beth Lindenberger |
| Deanna Clucas | Stow, OH | Winter Sunset | $320 | Watercolor Media | Faculty Member |
| Kathy Cockfield | Wadsworth, OH | Acadia | $175 | Watercolor Media | Sally Heston |
| Jody Crow | Cuyahoga Falls, OH | Boogerman Charters | NFS | Oil Based Media | Mark Giangaspero |
| Patrick Dougherty | Akron, OH | I Was Reminded of Tolouse Lautrec’s Laundress… | $350 | Dry Media | Sally Heston |
| Linda Ferris | Akron, OH | Shrimpers | NFS | Watercolor media | Sally Heston |
| Gloria Fickert | Akron, OH | Seaside Splash | $100 | Watercolor Media | Sally Heston |
| Steve Fountain | Kent, OH | Pandemic Me | NFS | Oil Based Media | Mark Giangaspero |
| Nancy Giermann | Akron, OH | Charlie and Bear | NFS | Watercolor Media | Sally Heston |
| Robert Goldthwaite | Kent, OH | Rough Seas | $150 | Water Based Media | Susan Mencini |
| Karen Gustafson | Akron, OH | Dreaming of a Starry Night | NFS | Water Based Media | Sally Heston |
| Olena Harpster | North Olmsted, OH | On the Lake Erie 2024 | $100 | Dry Media | Sally Heston |
| Michael Hart | Cuyahoga Falls, OH | Sunshine | NFS | 3-Dimensional Media | Tom Baldwin |
| Sandra Heller | Akron, OH | On the Brink | $125 | Watercolor Media | Sally Heston |
| Sally Heston | Broadview Hts., OH | Pastureland | $450 | Watercolor Media | Faculty Member |
| Mary Lou Holly | Kent, OH | Michael | NFS | Dry Media | Mark Giangaspero |
| Bryan Howdyshell | Akron, OH | Alum Cave Hike | NFS | Water Based Media | Kit Palencar |
| Nancy Howell | Middleburg Hts, OH | Tree Swallow | NFS | 3-Dimensional Media | Tom Baldwin |
| Linda Hutchinson | Kent, OH | Apple Series | $725 | Watercolor Media | Faculty Member |
| Joan Inderhees | Kent, OH | Ellen | NFS | Dry Media | Linda Hutchinson |
| Gerna Isley | Tallmadge, OH | Backyard Treasure | NFS | Dry Media | Mark Giangaspero |
| Saira Ismail | Hudson, OH | A Monument to Love and Loss | NFS | Watercolor Media | Sally Heston |
| Yvonne Jackson | Canton, OH | It’s Electric | $275 | Watercolor Media | Sally Heston |
| Lindsey Jeavons | Akron, OH | Green Apple With Leaves | NFS | Mixed Media | Mo Mosyjowski |
| Jean Jencks | Cuyahoga Falls, OH | Lunch for Gold Finches | NFS | Watercolor Media | Sally Heston |
| Debra Kay | Parma, OH | Plum Ready | $125 | Watercolor Media | Sally Heston |
| Lisa T. Kindleburg | Akron, OH | Big Girl on the Porch | NFS | Waterbased Media | Susan Mencini |
| Bob Klein | Akron, OH | Orioles | NFS | 3-Dimensional Media | Tom Baldwin |
| Carol Klemencic | Hudson, OH | Dahwa Queen | $95 | Oil Based Media | Mark Giangaspero |
| Leah Kolesar | Cuyahoga Falls, OH | Fungus Among Us | $200 | Dry Media | Linda Hutchinson |
| Terry Korom | New Franklin, OH | Serenity by the Sea | NFS | Watercolor Media | Sally Heston |
| MJ Lehman | Hudson, OH | Chatham Sunset | NFS | Watercolor Media | Sally Heston |
| David Lesniewski | Copley, OH | Mini | NFS | 3-Dimensional Media | Beth Lindenberger |
| Jack Liberman | Akron, OH | Vineeland Flats | $900 | Oil Based Media | Faculty Member |
| Beth Lindenberger | Akron, OH | Painted Platter | $90 | 3-Dimensional Media | Faculty Member |
| Yu Liu | Hudson, OH | The Fusion | $350 | Watercolor Media | Mark Giangaspero |
| Teri Mackey | Uniontown, OH | Autumn | $800 | Watercolor Media | Sally Heston |
| Jan Magdinec | Broadview Hts., OH | “Dudi” 100 Years a Steeler’s Fan | NFS | Oil Based Media | Mark Giangaspero |
| Susan Mencini | Cuyahoga Falls, OH | Summer Fields | $300 | Water Based Media | Faculty Member |
| Ellen McAnulty | Copley, OH | Morning Glory | NFS | Watercolor Media | Sally Heston |
| Bonnie Morris | Uniontown, OH | Jockeying to Win | $175 | Watercolor Media | Sally Heston |
| Mary Mosyjowski | Akron, OH | Journey | $550 | Mixed Media | Faculty Member |
| Roy Mowls | Munroe Falls, OH | Northern Woods | NFS | Water Based Media | Susan Mencini |
| Jay Paktinat | Aurora, OH | Fall at Lakeside | $174 | Watercolor Media | Sally Heston |
| Kit Palencar | Cuyahoga Falls, OH | Torchlight | $800 | Oil Based Media | Faculty Member |
| Valora Renicker | Akron, OH | Crevasse At Virgina Kendall Park | NFS | Watercolor Media | Kit Palencar |
| Kim Rosky | Ravenna, OH | Crown Jewel | NFS | Oil Based Media | Mark Giangaspero |
| Lorraine Safranek | Aurora, OH | Amish Farm | $500 | Water Based Media | Mark Giangaspero |
| Debbie Seidman | Mayfield Hts, OH | Through the Roof | $75 | Water Based Media | Sally Heston |
| Sheryl Sheatzley | Stow, OH | Cape Cod Foggy Morning | NFS | Water Based Media | Susan Mencini |
| William Smith | Stow, OH | Day’s Last Glow | $125 | Water Based Media | Susan Mencini |
| Denny Stoiber | Silver Lake, OH | Sick Day, Comfy Blanket | $350 | Watercolor Media | Sally Heston |
| Mila Theiss | Cuyahoga Falls, OH | Serene | $250 | Dry Media | Mark Giangaspero |
| Alicia Thomas | Akron, OH | Bookwyrm | $300 | 3-Dimensional Media | Beth Lindenberger |
| Shari Thomson | Medina, OH | Shadow Scapes Across My Landscape | $200 | Water Based Media | Susan Mencini |
| Holly Timberlake | Cuyahoga Falls, OH | Water Spirits | NFS | Watercolor Media | Mark Giangaspero |
| Nicole Topp | Wadsworth, OH | Tracks | NFS | Watercolor Media | Mo Mosyjowski |
| Nicklaus Traeden | Cuyahoga Falls, OH | Wood Fired Teapot | NFS | 3-Dimensional Media | Beth Lindenberger |
| Sarah Treanor | Akron, OH | Beginning Bowl | NFS | 3-Dimensional Media | Beth Lindenberger |
| Annette Tymico | Hudson, OH | Baby James | NFS | 3-Dimensional Media | Beth Lindenberger |
| Nancy Weiss | Medina, OH | School’s Out | $200 | Oil Based Media | Mark Giangaspero |
| Keith Wisdom | Cuyahoga Falls, OH | Moment | $1,500 | Mixed Media | Kit Palencar |
| Johanna Yurak | Hudson, OH | Drink of Choice | NFS | Watercolor Media | Sally Heston |
| Steven Zakem | Hiram, OH | Amsterdam Canal | NFS | Watercolor Media | Sally Heston |
| Deb Zemanek | Akron, OH | Gold Crown Kinglet | NFS | 3-Dimensional Media | Tom Baldwin |