Faculty

Full-Time Faculty

Clarissa Katz - Eastern Campus

Clarissa R. Katz - Associate Professor and Faculty Coordinator, Eastern Campus

Clarissa R. Katz received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Alfred University where she double-majored in fine arts and philosophy of religion. She received her Master of Fine Arts degree in Painting from Michigan State University. Katz is a figurative painter who uses color, pattern and the expressive language of paint to present the human form, both physically and psychologically. Her paintings have been exhibited numerous times in national juried exhibitions, including the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition in Brooklyn, NY; Gallery 263 in Cambridge, MA; Union Street Gallery in Chicago Heights, IL; First Street Gallery in New York Ciy; and locally at the Valley Art Center in Chagrin Falls, the Trudy Wiesenberger Gallery at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and in the "NewNow" exhibition hosted by Artists Archives of the Western Reserve in 2021. In 2015 and 2018 respectively, Katz had solo art exhibitions at Penn State Altoona and Michigan State University. She currently teaches Painting I and II, Drawing I and II, and 2D Design and Color at Tri-C’s Eastern Campus. You can view images of Katz's artwork at her website: clarissaRKatz.com.

Blake Cook - Eastern Campus

Blake Cook - Assistant Professor, Eastern Campus

Blake Cook received a BFA in Painting from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and a MFA in Painting and Sculpture from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. After Graduate School he took a full time position as Assistant Director of Visual Arts with the Three Rivers Arts Festival in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. In 1997 he accepted a position as director of New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art. As well as continuing to fulfill his responsibilities as director of the gallery, Cook also taught art at the University of Southern Indiana. In the fall of 2001, Cook accepted a position as faculty coordinator for the Art Department at Cuyahoga Community College, Eastern Campus. He continues to produce art, creating drawings, video, photography, sculpture and installations. He currently lives in Saybrook, Ohio with his wife Ann Marie and three sons.

Stephanie Craig - Western Campus

Stephanie Craig - Assistant Professor, Western Campus

Stephanie Craig teaches ceramics, 3D foundation and sculpture classes at Tri-C’s Western Campus and is the co-director of the campus art gallery. In addition to teaching, Craig maintains an active studio practice and busy exhibition schedule. Recently, Craig was awarded her second Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio Arts Council (2015, 2008). In 2011, she received Cleveland’s prestigious CPAC Creative Workforce Fellowship. She has also been a finalist for the Zanesville Prize for Contemporary Ceramics and was a featured “Emerging Artist” in Ceramics Monthly, with her sculpture showcased on the cover of the magazine. Craig has been an artist-in-residence at Medalta in Medicine Hat, Alberta (2014), at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Maine (2013), and at Guldagergaard International Ceramic Research Center in Denmark (2011). Craig holds an MFA from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. To view examples of her artwork and for more information, please visit www.StephanieCraig.net.

Sharlene Green - Western Campus

Sharlene Green - Associate Professor, Western Campus

Sharlene Green has been teaching since 1990, and currently teaches painting, life drawing, portrait drawing and painting, and watercolor at Tri-C's Western Campus. She also serves as the gallery coordinator for Gallery West. In addition to her duties as a Tri-C art professor, Green has lectured and given demonstrations in drawing and painting techniques at various institutions in Northeast Ohio. Green holds a BFA in Graphic Design and Illustration from Kent State University and a MFA in Painting from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. As an artist, Green works primarily with the human figure and landscapes, and has worked in a variety of media. Over the past 25 years, she has exhibited her work in galleries and museums throughout Ohio and around the country. Green has received numerous awards for her drawings and paintings, and her work is included in various public and private collections. Sharlene lives in Cleveland Heights with her husband, Alan.

Taylor Woolwine - Western Campus

Taylor Woolwine - Assistant Professor, Western Campus

Taylor Woolwine teaches drawing classes at Tri-C’s Western Campus. He received a BFA in Fine Arts from the Columbus College of Art and Design and an MFA in Painting from Indiana University. Parallel to teaching, Woolwine maintains a studio in Ohio City and actively exhibits work. His paintings and drawings utilize an array of subject matter to investigate issues of perception, space, and image-making. Woolwine’s works belong to private collections across the country and have been exhibited regionally and nationally. He was an artist-in-residence at Manifest Gallery in Cincinnati (2014-15) and Lux Center for the Arts in Lincoln, NE (2018-19), both of which culminated in solo exhibitions. Prior to this position at Tri-C, Woolwine taught at several colleges including the Art Academy of Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky University, and Concordia University. Website: taylorwoolwine.com

Christine Wolken - Western Campus

Christine Wolken - Assistant Professor and Faculty Coordinator, Western Campus 

Christine Wolken currently teaches courses in art appreciation and art history at Tri-C's Western Campus. Dr. Wolken also teaches the Tri-C art appreciation course at the Cleveland Museum of Art, where students are able to utilize the museum’s world-renowned collection. Dr. Wolken earned her Ph.D. in Art History from Case Western Reserve University and her MA in Humanities from John Carroll University. Dr. Wolken’s area of expertise is early modern art in Italy. Her specific research interests focus on art and women, and women patrons in Italy c. 1500-1600.