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The
art faculty at Spain Park consists of a talented group
of professional art educators, who strive to give
their students a foundation in art that will last
a lifetime.
Susan
Ripp
received a Bachelors degree in Painting
from Birmingham Southern College and a Masters in
Education with a Ceramic concentration from the University
of Montevallo. Her teaching experiences have included
three years as an adjunct faculty member at Jefferson
State Junior College, nine years as a middle school
art teacher at Tarrant Middle School, seven years
at Hoover High School and three years as the Visual
Arts Department Chair at Spain Park. She has also
developed an adult studies program in Ceramics for
the Hoover Community School.
Mrs.
Ripp has worked professionally as a mural painter
and ceramic artists for over twenty years. As a mural
painter she worked for LaPaz restaurants for nine
years doing murals for their restaurants in four states
as well as privately commissioned work She has exhibited
ceramics in several local galleries over the last
ten years and presently has several works in the Park
Gallery.
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Cindy
Childers was trained
in Texas under the internationally known painters:
Galye Stack, Derek Boshier, and Richard Stout. She
earned a BA in Art (Painting) with minors in education
and vocal music performance from the University of
Houston. Her greatest education in the arts however
came from growing up in an artistic and musical family.
Artistic standards were a part of the household expectation
and conversation. Teaching in the arts then became
a natural career choice. She has been teaching art
for ten years. She has worked as an artist in painting
and clay hand building and sculpture, most recently
selling work at Lamar Gallery. She has been given
an open invitation to show at Nordys Gallery of Birmingham
and hopes to show within a year.
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Shane
Cooley
received his Bachelor of Fine Arts and Masters of
Education from the University of Montevallo in 1997
and 2001, respectively. He has taught Ceramics and
Glass at Spain Park High School since August, 2002.
Specializing in ceramic glazing and firing processes,
Mr. Cooley is also experienced in welding, glass,
and wood, as well as 2-Dimensional design. Recently,
he has produced several sculptural pieces that have
shown in the Park Gallery Show. Here is some of his
recent artwork.
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Gene
Ferreiro
joined the Spain Park Visual Arts department this
year. He is married and has two sons, Alec and Kevin.
Mr. Ferreiro was born in Miami Beach, Florida and
moved with his family to Birmingham in 1997. In 2005
he graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham
with a Bachelor's degree in Art. Mr. Ferreiro received
the Ellen Shizuko Takahashi Award for Painting at
UAB in 2005. His art was recently exhibited in the
2005 Birmingham's Best Young Artists show at Schedler-Minchin
Fine Art in Homewood, Alabama.
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Erik
Myers
is the current chair of the art department, having
joined the faculty in 2003. Prior to coming to Spain
Park, Mr. Myers worked at the Birmingham Museum of
Art as an art handler and at the McWane center as
an exhibit builder. Mr. Myers earned a degree in ceramic
sculpture from UAB in 1994 and completed his Masters
of Art Education from UAB in 2003. Mr. Myers is the
web master for the visual arts web page and keeps
two blogs for his students. SPHSDigital2.blogspot.com
a daily photo blog for Art 2 and SPHSDi.blogspot.com
an information site for all students. Mr. Myers' wife
teaches French at Homewood HS, and he has two sons
Evan and Ian. Here are some of
his Digital
Images and some of his recent Photography.
As the department chair Mr. Myers has worked diligently
to develop a curriculum that is based on the National
Standards and one that builds on itself so that Spain
Park’s students receive an educational experience
that will enable them to develop knowledge and skills
that will last a lifetime.
* special thanks
to student Colin Quarello who helped Mr. Myers design
and build this website.
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