the School's Faculty Directory
Ahern received her BA from Boston University and her diploma from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. She continued study with Helen Frankenthaler at the Fine Art Institute of Santa Fe College in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Ahern’s work is in many corporate and private collections throughout the country and is exhibited locally at Galerie d’Orsay in Boston, Massachusetts and at Massoni Art Gallery in Chestertown, Maryland. Ahern seeks to capture the essence of nature through her use of color and light. The experiences of her recent travel to Africa in the American Artist Abroad Program are the source of her newest series of paintings. Ahern teaches at Lesley University, and has taught at deCordova’s School since 1979.
“I am fascinated by the way contemplation, imagination, and time alter the memory of an experience.”
David Baird received his MFA in metals in 1989 from Rochester Institute of Technology School of American Craftsman, and received a Graduate Gemologist Diploma in 1982 from the Gemological Institute of America. He is trained in metalwork and jewelry making and certified to work with diamonds and colored stones. His unique, intricate, and contemporary designs are used in both his jewelry and metal sculpture. Baird has taught at deCordova’s School since 2000.
“I am particularly interested in how an object can appear simple at a distance, yet reveal a complex form upon closer viewing.”
Michael Banner attended Cleveland Institute of Art, Western Michigan University, and Kalamazoo College, focusing on silversmithing. His work is part of the permanent collections of many established institutions including the Museum of Fine Arts, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Banner received the American Craft Council Distinguished Achievement Award in March of 2004, the Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Fellowship in 1999 and 2003, and the Society of Arts and Crafts Boston Artists Award in 2000 for his distinguished work. Teaching at deCordova, Banner brings energy, enthusiasm, experience, and a positive attitude.
Bruce Barry is a studio arts graduate from Bates College with advanced coursework in ceramics, etching, drawing, and painting. He was chosen as a finalist for the Massachusetts Cultural Council Crafts Grant in 2007. Barry’s teaching style is demonstrative, and encourages individual experimentation and personal growth. His work consists of organic, vessel-like ceramic pieces with painted-on writings declared as journal entries. Barry has taught at deCordova’s School since 1997.
Vivian Berman brings a new artistic ability to the art of printmaking. She is skilled in the techniques of collagraph printmaking, as well as monoprint and monotype, and enjoys combining all printmaking with collage. She has a degree from Cooper Union in New York City and is a board member of the Boston Printmakers, after serving as president for six years. Her work is included in many permanent collections, including the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard, the Library of Congress, and deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum. Berman has exhibited in galleries throughout the United States, and is the recipient of numerous awards.
Michael Biales’s interest in biology led to a SB from MIT and a BA from Harvard. He turned to painting and drawing, receiving a diploma and fifth-year certificate from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and a MFA from Tufts University. Biales has taught at deCordova’s School since 1981.
Kait Boyle was born in New Jersey, but has since lived in various parts of the country. Meeting people from around the country has built a strong interest in people, which is highlighted in her own work—mostly portrait paintings. Her paintings range from the realistic to the abstract and explore ways to show inner qualities of a person through the crafting of colors, lines, and other relationships. Boyle received her BA in creative arts from San Jose State University--this interdisciplinary arts degree attracted her as a modern Renaissance woman. Understanding how the arts relate to each other and how they can collaborate is one of her passions. Later, she received her MAT in art education from Tufts University, in affiliation with the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. Over the years, Boyle has worked in a variety of art education settings: public schools, after-school programs, and other museums including the Palo Alto Art Center, Denver Art Museum, and currently, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. As an instructor at deCordova for the past two years, Boyle has taught a variety of classes including drawing and painting, digital photography, sculpture, paper explosion, and art and storytelling. Her inspiration for lessons is always infused with the current work on view at deCordova.
"My teaching goal is to create meaningful and relevant art curriculum that both challenges my students to see through various lenses and also affirms their own unique visions. Having a variety of tricks up your sleeve, such as, applications and techniques, help support this goal. The opportunity to do this at such a great contemporary museum is just thrilling! I love teaching and I always learn so much from my students."
Born in Manchester, NH, Jon Brooks earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York. Since then he has taught and lectured widely at institutions as varied as the Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina, The University of Tasmania, The Haystack School of Crafts in Maine, Anderson Ranch in Colorado, and The Center of Furniture Craftsmanship in Maine. Brooks is highly regarded nationally and internationally as a furniture maker and sculptor, and for his ability to combine craftsmanship, inventiveness, and poetic whimsy. A solo retrospective exhibition and catalog honoring Jon’s career was exhibited at the Currier Museum of Art in 2011.
Visit his website at jonbrooks.org.
