Visual Arts Staff

Senior Director of Fine Art at The Renaissance Center

Bob Kucher is an Indiana, Pennsylvania native and has been employed with The Renaissance Center in Dickson Tennessee since 1999. As Senior Director of Fine Arts, he oversees year-round education programming, exhibitions, and productions for the theatre, music, dance and visual art departments. Mr. Kucher earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Art Education from Penn State University in 1994 and immediately moved to Nashville to teach visual art at The Arts Magnet High School. Mr. Kucher is a member of a variety of arts organizations and has held a board chair for the Tennessee Art Education Association, Tennesseans for the Arts, Nashville in Motion, and Community Arts Development of Dickson County and is a popular adjudicator and lecturer for arts organizations across the Southeast. Bob has been named Outstanding Teacher by the Tennessee Governors School for the Arts and Outstanding Arts Administrator by The Tennessee Art Education Association. In 2003-2004, Mr. Kucher took a leave of absence from the Renaissance Center to serve as Deputy Director for the Tennessee Arts Commission, before returning to the Center in his current role as Senior Director of Fine Arts. Although a well-respected arts administrator, Mr. Kucher is still actively passionate about education and works closely as an evaluator and teaching artist with the Tennessee Arts Commission's Value Plus Schools initiative.

Adjunct Instructors

David and Susan Allsbrooks (Stained Glass) As owners of Allsbrooks Stained Glass Studio, we have been designing and constructing commercial, residential and eccleiastical stained glass windows and doors for 25 years. In addition to stained glass, we offer mosaic backsplashes, furniture, and accessories. We have taught stained stained classes at the Renaissance Center since its opening in 1999. We are also the independent contractors for stained glass at the Nashville Home Depot Expo Design Center. David has been involved in glass blowing and lampworking for 3 years and we make custom jewelry with his beads.

Congratulations to Jammie on having his Sculpting and Drawing time lapse videos featured in the National Gallery of Art Department of Education publications. See his time lapse videos on his website!

Click here...

 Jammie Williams (Portrait Drawing and Figure Sculpture) was born in Nashville Tennessee and grew up primarily in Dickson and Cheatham Counties. He Attended Watkins College of Art and Design as well as Tennessee State University. He has spent the last nine years as chief assistant to nationally known sculptor Alan LeQuire where, among other things, he has supervised open studio classes in figure sculpting and drawing as well as given private lessons. He has also created ten portrait reliefs for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Jammie is a member of the Portrait Society of America, the National Sculpture Society and The Tennessee Association of Craft Artists.

Jammie's website: http://www.jammiewilliams.com

New for Fall 2012: Joshua Houben (Pottery) Joshua has been developing his pottery experience beginning in 2010 and has accepted many opportunities to learn and grow since the start of his journey. Currently, Joshua is a member of the Clay-Lady Artist Cooperative in Nashville, TN, and his teaching and work are showcased there. His recent gallery show, enveloped a beach theme, incorporating natural elements of sand, water, shells and driftwood into his work.  
Joshua has found a love for teaching ceramics and has had opportunities to showcase his talents as an educator at multiple events.  He has demonstrated wheel-thrown techniques at the TN Arts and Crafts Fair and childrens camps, as well as teaching a beginners and intermediate class at Mid-South Ceramics and the Clay lady Studio.  
Pottery is currently a part time job for Joshua, as he is works full-time at a non-profit organization for those who are homeless.  
You can visit Joshua’s pottery website, read more about his influences and purchase his work at www.PotteryByJoshua.com

Sarah Stob is an artist who works in several mediums including painting, mixed media and jewelry making. She is a member of the Arts Council of Williamson County and In.FORM.ALL Art Movement, a local guild of independent artists. Sarah will teach a variety of classes at TRC including those for children and a mixed media workshop for adults.

Sarah Stob was born in Greenville, Michigan, in 1978 and currently lives and works in Nashville, Tennessee.  A self-taught artist, she has exhibited work at Le Quire Gallery, Nest Interiors, Tennessee Artisan Market, Shanks Center for the Arts, Mercury Head Gallery, Magnus, J. La More, Billups Gallery, Tweeds, and many more.  She has donated works to Retune Nashville, the Madison Opera, and the Nashville Ballet, to name a few.  For over five years Sarah has been designing art projects for children ages 3–12, and she looks forward to many more years of creative work with children.

Terry Donaldson (Drawing, Painting) has taught art through private instruction and at both the high school and middle school level. He is currently teaching adult classes at The Renaissance Center in the areas of drawing and painting. Terry graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration from the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Fla. His work has been featured on HGTV (an international home and garden television network), appeared on book covers, and won numerous awards at Fine Arts and Crafts exhibitions throughout the Southeast. A sampling of his client list includes Incentive Publications, The Inner Circle of Poets Publications, The Baptist Sunday School Board, The Dickson County Board of Education and many others.

Jolene Clement (Adult Watercolor, Acrylic Painting, Mixed Water media)  Jolene Clement  has taught  Art in the public schools in Texas for over 30 years.  She has a B.S. Degree in All-Level Art Education and a Master’s degree in Education from West Texas A&M University. She also took classes at Texas Tech Univ. and has taken privately under artists such as Herald Scott, Gene Doroughty, Stephan Kramer, and internationally known Ben Konis.  On the high school level, she taught the basic art courses but also specialized classes; AP Studio Art, IB Art, Pottery, Metal Jewelry Casting, Advanced Drawing and Painting, and Portfolio.  She has been very involved in helping to host, organize, and help students advance in their many student regional and state visual art competitions.  She has been teaching adult workshops in art for over 33 years.  Jolene has had solo art shows in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Kansas, and continues to exhibit in shows and facilitate retreats and workshops as time allows.   Her murals can be found in schools, businesses and private homes in northern Texas.  Collectors of her work range from  Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Georgia, Florida, California, New York, Delaware, Arizona, Arkansas, North Carolina,  and even Australia,  Jolene has experience teaching students and training teachers in the gifted and talented area.  She also has experience training teachers, medical staff and business staff in classroom & work place environment wellness plans, stress management, self-care, CPI, and various topics for art educators. When asked what she thinks of Tennessee, Jolene said; “I love this place!… and I’m very excited to be here. It’s beautiful and so are the people.” Her website is:www.jolenesartplace.com

Hannah Maxwell (Painting, Fine Arts, Children's Arts) has been an adjunct art instructor at the Renaissance Center for 3 years and joined the art department full-time as the Studio Manager in the summer of 2005. Hannah holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Middle Tennessee State University and her artwork has been chosen for exhibitions, publications, and awards locally, nationally, and internationally. She teaches adult and children’s classes at the Renaissance Center as well as birthday parties and workshops. Nashville Arts Magazine | Spotlight | Hannah Maxwell Wins Best of Show Fusion Art Festival.

Julie Robyn Tucker (Children's Art. Illustration, Watercolor) is an illustrator, muralist and 1999 graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design. Her work has been exhibited in a variety of venues, including the prestigious Harris House of the Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida and the Tennessee Art League as a part of the 42nd Annual Central South Art Exhibition. In 2000 Julie had her illustrations published in a historical booklet for Volusia and Flagler County Schools students, which featured the Pioneer Settlement at Barberville, Fla. In 2002, one of her illustrations was selected for the cover of The Renaissance Centers fall program guide. Her mural commissions grace the walls of several libraries and churches throughout Florida, Georgia and Tennessee. One of her murals was a part of the mural project at Centennial Park during the 1996 Summer Olympics. Julie has taught art classes for all ages at The DeLand Museum of Art, Harris House of the Atlantic Center for the Visual Arts, the Sarratt Student Center at Vanderbilt University, the Frist Center for the Visual Arts and The Renaissance Center. In addition to her freelance career, Julie continues to teach with The Renaissance Center and out of her studio.

Sonja DiMeola (Children's and Adult oil painting) Art teacher, artist and muralist, Sonya specializing in oil, acrylic, charcoal, pastel and pen and ink. She has done many large scale murals in Nashville, Clarksville, Dickson and Chicago, one of which was featured in the Wall Street Journal. Sonja has taught art in the Nashville area for the past 15 years at various places, and has had many students win awards at the local, state and national level. She is also an accomplished chef (and cooking teacher), having studied cooking in Tuscany and Umbria and was the winner of the 2003 Saveur Magazine Recipe Contest.