Creative Arts
Rosalie Beck has an MFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She has taught art at the college level for many years. Currently she is teaching Drawing and Intro to painting at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Observational Drawing at Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design . She also taught for two years in Bangkok in the MIAD Vajiravudth College Program
She has exhibited her oil paintings, pastels and watercolors in numerous regional and national shows such as the "Les Pastellistes" 18th Annual International Exhibition in Montreal where she was awarded Best Portrait, People and the Land at Laura Nohr Gallery at UW- Platteville and 41st Annual National Drawing and Small Sculpture in Corpus Christi Texas.
She has also had many one-person exhibitions, including the Riverfront Arts Center in Stevens Point Wisconsin ,Lakeshore Gallery in Milwaukee, the Anderson Art Center in Kenosha Wisconsin, SEAMEO-SPAFA in Bangkok, Thailand, Manitowoc Fine Art Gallery at UW-Manitowoc, Edith Barrett Gallery at Utica College of Syracuse University in Utica, New York and Greene County Council on the Arts in Catskill, New York.
Valerie J. Christell maintains a studio in the greater Milwaukee area and continues to exhibit her artwork commenting on existential issues. Through photomontage and mixed media, her work explores the symbiotic relationship between human beings and the natural environment and the process of perception of that world. Christell’s trip to Alverno’s Places of the Holocaust in 2007 and participation in the International Study Academy situated in the Auschwitz Death Camps/Poland in 2015 and 2016 have also informed her social statements.
At Alverno College, Christell currently teaches the hybrid course Art, Culture and Ethics that she originated. Other courses she developed include Global Art and Visual Culture, Art Activism/Global Impact, Public Art/Personal Insight, and Postmodern Feminist Art and the Media. She has taught a range of studio and art history courses and spoken to local arts organizations about the business of art and her own work.
As Alfons Gallery’s Director/Curator, Christell’s curatorial vision directs its mission to explore cultures and advocate for social justice, peace and the environment. This focus aligns with her previous collaborative, social statement Milwaukee gallery, Merge.
As a former Feature Arts Writer for Third Coast Digest, Christell published numerous articles analyzing the art/culture scene primarily in the Milwaukee area. She has also published a book of her photomontages, The Holocaust: A Gentile Journey, as well as several videos about the Holocaust, including Tiny Drawings: The Holocaust through Children’s Eyes and Their Final Journey; received the Philo T. Farnsworth Community Programming Award for video; and was interviewed several times for Where the Waters Meet about her artwork and process.
Christell received her Masters of Fine Arts degree at the University of Wisconsin/Milwaukee and her Bachelors of Fine Arts degree at the University of Illinois/Urbana-Champagne.
Website: www.vjchristell.net
Kelly is a Board Certified, Registered Art Therapist (specialty in Psychotherapy), and a Licensed Professional Counselor. She received her Master of Science Degree in Art Therapy from Mount Mary University where she also completed her Doctorate in Art Therapy as part of the inaugural class of 2014. She has worked in an executive administration position in a non-profit and provided clinical supervision for Art Therapy students and other mental health related professions as an on-site internship supervisor.
Kelly has taught many courses for undergraduate and graduate students pursuing a career in Art Therapy and has also served as the chapter secretary for the Wisconsin Art Therapy Association. Both academic and on-site field placement learning have been a strong focus in the development of her research and career. In addition to teaching at Alverno College, Kelly currently provides clinical supervision to both art therapists and professional counselors in-training through a private practice in Bayview and is a professional member of the American Art Therapy Association.
As the Visiting Assistant Professor and Program Director for Undergraduate Art Therapy, Kelly uses art in her own practice and aims to empower students to engage in a thorough exploration through the process of creating art, and use reflective and critical thinking skills to enhance their personal and professional identity development.
