Jacqueline Curry is a professional designer with extensive industry experience, specializing in using Procreate as a core tool for creating illustrations, textile patterns, and graphic designs. With a formal teaching qualification and over two years of experience teaching Procreate, Curry combines her design expertise with a passion for education, guiding students through practical techniques and creative workflows. Her classes offer a hands-on approach, helping students unlock the full potential of Procreate for their own artistic and design projects.

Lewis developed his drawing skills in childhood by copying cartoons from comic books. As a teen, he experimented with different mediums, including digital painting, watercolour, and biro. Turning his passion to fine art in his late teens, he has been painting since his early 20s. Lewis now teaches school holiday programs and kids’ classes in both ceramics and painting.

Natalia is a third-year Bachelor of Fine Art student at the National Art School with a deep passion for painting. Her practice explores personal and vulnerable human experiences through sensitive oil portraits. Natalia has curated Salt at Goodspace Gallery and exhibited her work in exhibitions by Inner West Creative Collective, RAG. She has also exhibited in Saccharine, an exhibition at Goodspace Gallery. As a School Holiday Program tutor at WWAS, Natalia is excited to share her creativity and foster a dynamic, inclusive space for young artists.

Natalie Popovski is a Gold Coast artist whose practice has evolved from watercolors to oil painting and ceramics. Since debuting at Sofa Gallery in 2018, she has gained recognition with a solo show at Tweed Regional Gallery in 2022 and finalist placements in the National Emerging Art Prize and Ravenswood Women’s Art Prize. Her work explores female intuition through ethereal floral compositions. Nat teaches painting and drawing classes here at WWAS.

Aliki’s art practice includes painting, drawing, printmaking and making artists books. Aliki’s works are primarily figurative and alternate between loose, highly intuitive mark-making, to more controlled and representational works. She tends towards a minimal and subdued palette, with an emphasis on materiality and textures. Drawing, though, is at the foundation of her practice; she uses it as a way of intimately connecting with the world, where she can be more expressive and intuitive in her approach, allowing the process and materials to guide her. 

Aliki holds A BA in Fine Art at The National Art School, majoring in Printmaking with High Distinctions, and a Diploma of Visual Art, at St George College of Fine Arts. Aliki has been a finalist in numerous art awards for her prints, artist books and paintings, and she has won the Inverell Art Prize and the Waverley Woollahra Printmaking Prize.

Chris Rochester has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from National Art School majoring in painting.  He has taught at WWAC since 2004 and also teaches at Currambena School.

Chris has exhibited extensively and is in public and private collections. He is continually inspired by the teaching process and expounds the principles of life-long education and a student’s ability to learn independently.

David Pavich graduated from the National Art School in Sydney in 1985 with honours. He is based in Sydney and lived and worked in Paris from 1988-93. with individual exhibitions at the Adzak Museum and the Entrepot, as well as International group shows at Siminoff Gallery, Saint Exupery Gallery in France, Camden Gallery in London, the Siena Art Institute in Italy and the Korean Cultural Foundation in Seoul.

Exhibitions in Sydney and Melbourne have included 20 solo shows.  He has participated in various group shows which have included Bathurst Regional Gallery, New England Regional Gallery and Gosford Regional Gallery. David has been a finalist for numerous art prizes, such as the Gold Coast City Art Prize, the Gallipoli Art Prize, the Paddington Art Prize, the Fishers Ghost Art Prize, the Gosford Art Prize, the Blake Prize, Art on the Rocks, the Mosman Art Prize, the KAAF Art Prize and was awarded a residency at the Arthur Boyd studio at Bundanon, Murrays Cottage Hill End, the Nancy Fairfax Studio at the Tweed Regional Gallery Murwillumbah and Gallery Lane Cove.

David is a passionate tutor and has taught at WAAS for over 20 years.

Deborah Woods graduated in Ceramics from the National Art School. Deb likes to source and blend her own clays and uses a variety of techniques in her work. “Drawing from my experiences and teachings from others I encourage students to explore the nature of the medium and by helping them develop their ability to find their own approach and language in clay”.

Felix Feneley is a Sydney based sculptor primarily working with bronze, steel and other metals.  He is a graduate of the National Art School with a BFA in sculpture.

With a background as an arts fabricator and as a sculpture technician at NAS, Felix enjoys helping students and artists realise and create their ideas with a broad range of materials and techniques.

Gillian was introduced to clay as a young child growing in a small country town, in what is now Zimbabwe. She remembers collecting clay from anthills in the bush, hand building small cattle and baking them over an open fire. In 2013, after a detour into the corporate world, she studied  fine art at the National Art School, graduating with a BFA Sculpture, followed by a Diploma in Ceramics from Brookvale TAFE.

In her own practice, Gillian specialises in hand building and wheel throwing porcelain, although she regularly works with all manner of clay. She teaches hand building to both adults and children and hopes to inspire them to fall in love with clay, believing that with a strong foundation you can make almost anything!

Gillian’s work can be found at various galleries including Sturt in Mittagong, Rochfort, Kerrie Lowe and China Clay in Sydney. She regularly participates in group exhibitions, community, and open studio events and has won or been a finalist in various competitions.

Izette Felthun is a ceramic artist who grew up and was educated in South Africa.  The female form has always been a focus of her work which incorporates both ancient and modern clay techniques.  She creates abstract sculptures, which have a sense of movement and uses the vessel to challenge the perception and representation of the female form in society.

Izette, has a Bachelor of Arts Degree and a Diploma in Ceramics.  She is the recipient of many awards including the Pittwater Ceramics Prize, Hornsby Sculpture Prize and Kerrie Lowe Gallery Award and has exhibited her work in galleries in Sydney and New York.  Izette is also an enthusiastic and generous teacher of ceramics and sculpture.

Jane Alexander majored in Sculpture for her Bachelor of Fine Art at National Art School.  She works across a range of media including painting and won the prestigious Anne Pata Memorial Drawing Award (2020) and a National Art School prize for Sculpture.  Jane was a finalist in the 2021  Adelaide Perry Drawing Prize.

Jane is an inventive and enthusiastic tutor for WWAS, teaching adults mixed media.

Jen studied at R.M.I.T, Melbourne University, James Cook and Sydney University in painting, sculpture, Education Support, Curatorial Studies and book illustration.  She has exhibited extensively and has a broad work experience in public and private galleries.

Her practice also extends to artwork for private and corporate commissions, retail spaces and for film and TV sets.  Jen has recently been involved in various projects as a tutor and illustrator in schools and is currently teaching cartoon drawing at Reddam House.  Jen is committed to assisting students to build skills towards independent learning, and having fun in the creative process.

Joshua McPherson began formal training at Australia’s oldest Art School, The Julian Ashton Art School in Sydney’s historic Rocks area. Inspired by his desire to undertake further specialized studies in the principles of realist classical drawing and painting, he travelled to Florence Italy in 2005 joining the prestigious Florence Academy of Art completing a Diploma of Fine Arts in 2008.

He was the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships including the painting of the year award in 2008 at the Florence Academy. In 2010 he was the winner of the A.M.E. Bale Travelling Scholarship. In 2012 was a finalist in the EMSIA Still Life Award, in 2013 a finalist in the Adelaide Perry Drawing Prize and the Archibald Prize.  He has exhibited in Florence, Italy and in group exhibitions in London and the United States.

Joshua is a practising artist offering specialised painting tuition in figure and portrait painting at WWAS.

Kevin McKay is an urban landscape painter who enjoys finding beauty in the everyday.  He holds a Masters Degree in Fine Art from the National Art School and exhibits at May Space Gallery, Sydney.

Accolades include; The Basil & Muriel Hooper Scholarship from the AGNSW, 2006; the Sydney City of Villages Art Prize, 2009; the inaugural William Fletcher Foundation Scholarship to The British School at Rome, 2011; the Kogarah Emerging Artist Prize, 2012; the Waverley Oil Painting Prize, 2013; the Allan Gamble Memorial Prize, 2015; the People’s Choice Award, Waverley Art Prize, 2016, the People’s Choice Award, Greenway Art Prize, 2017; and Bayside Art Award, 2018.

Kevin has been a tutor at WWAS for more than 12 years, and has taught at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney Grammar School, Hazelhurst Regional Gallery, and the National Art School.  He is a Board Director with the William Fletcher Foundation.

I teach drawing, painting and mix-media to adults and children in much the same way…. teaching fundamental skills of observation & structure as a starting point, so one can find their individual creative strengths and sensibility with confidence and direction. Students are guided in the medium of their choice but are encouraged to broaden their practice.

Contemporary and formal traditional qualities are taught with the aim to push discipline boundaries and to question what makes a drawing or painting today. Artists both historical & contemporary are looked at & their influences discussed. Concepts are explored through a variety of materials, genres & art movements. Students are encouraged to do many studies, each informing the next with surprising results of discovery.

I enjoy being involved in the exploration and development of all students from the beginner to the more experienced artist.

I recently completed the Masters of Fine Art degree at the National Art School and have been teaching at WWAS since 2010.

Richard has held 22 solo and over 100 group exhibitions. He is a previous winner of the Hunters Hill, Gosford, Blacktown, Thursday Plantation Sculpture Prizes and winner of the Manning Art Prize. He has also won the NSW Travelling Scholarship and Paris Residency along with being an exhibitor in Sculpture by the Sea and finalist in the Wynne and Blake prizes.

His works are included in the National Gallery, University of NSW, Artbank, Macquarie University, Bathurst Regional Gallery and Orange and Manning Regional Gallery Collections. Richards’ public sculpture commissions can be seen in North Sydney, Marrickville and Macquarie University. He is represented by the Robin Gibson Gallery in Sydney.