Mr. Nelson depicts figures, landscapes and various environments in rich, vibrant oils. His subjects relate directly to his personal life. Mr. Nelson's devotion to his art is evident in the lush orchestration of brushwork, weaving mood and emotion in each of his pictures. Since 1990, he has shared his knowledge with the students at the Academy of Art College.

Mr. Schifrin has taught sculpture and drawing classes at the Academy since 1993. He received his BA from San Jose State University and his M.F.A. from Boston University. He has received several large-scale public commissions, including bronze coyotes in downtown San Jose, the bronze "Firefighter" in San Ramon, and the nine-foot bronze "Wounded Man" for the city of San Mateo's Performing Arts Center. Although his background is in figurative and portrait sculpture, Peter now creates intimate and heroic-scale 'Vertical Poems,' which are stylized narrative totems in ceramic clay.

Ms. Keelan earned her BA in fine art from University of Saskatchewan and MFA in ceramic sculpture from University of Utah. She has exhibited her sculpture throughout the U.S. and Canada and received many awards. Most recently, she won the gold medal at "Going for the Gold," a national exhibition in Calgary, Canada. Ms. Keelan has been teaching sculpture for more than 20 years.

Ms. Meyer started her career in 1980 as an art director for an advertising agency, after receiving her BFA in the field. She then moved into freelancing as a graphic designer. A few years later, in 1988, she and her husband started Paris Printing, a large commercial printing company. After traveling the world, she reconnected with her passion for painting and in 1995, she graduated from the Academy with an MFA in painting. She exhibits her landscape paintings in several galleries in California, and teaches painting classes for both graduate and undergraduate students.