Meet Our Instructors
Whether learning a new skill or enjoying a favorite hobby, art classes are a great way to express your creativity. Classes are led by professional art instructors in Overland Park. We are thrilled to announce our expansion is open and we have a brand new art studio! Check back as we continue to add new art classes in Overland Park in our new studio space.
Debi Cox
Ceramics Open Studio | Heritage Center Fine Art
Debi Cox grew up in Wichita, Kansas. She earned a BS at Friends University, a MS in Art Education Wichita State University, and completed her MFA in Ceramics at Fort Hays State University. Debi began her art education career at Derby High School but spent the majority of her career teaching ceramics at Maize High School.
She most recently was a ceramics professor at Friends University and Wichita State University. For over 30 years, she has focused on creating ceramic artwork inspired by nature and family. Her most recent work depicts nature’s forms which reveal the duality of life - loss, birth, renewal, and growth. She shares a studio with her husband Tom who enjoys woodworking. Together, they enjoy time with family, creating, traveling, and exploring their new city.
Gayle Faulkner
Pallet Knife, Mixed Media, Painting on Silk
Gayle is a Textural Acrylic Artist using palette knives in conjunction with acrylic paint, gels and modeling paste. She becomes very immersed in the creative process and has a “conversation” with the painting in order to create a place that speaks to her and the viewer. Her paintings are full of colorful texture and invite the viewer to walk into the landscape to discover a memory or a new favorite place. Gayle has her degree in Sociology but has taken some art workshops/classes over the years. Having devoted many years to working, understanding the elements and principles of design and honing her creative skills, Gayle considers herself to be self-taught. She often thinks by not having a formal art education and therefore not knowing all the academic guidelines, she has enhanced her ability to create. Gayle is currently represented by Amsterdam Whitney Gallery in New York, Artifact in New York, Jones Gallery in Kansas City, Missouri and Circle Arts in France. Her work has been published in numerous magazines including Art in America, Observica, Exhibitzone, Spotlight and Artistonish. She has also been included in the book Current Masters 6 and ATIM Top 60 Masters 2023. gaylefaulknerfineart.com
Susan Speck
Beginning Wheel Throwing | Heritage Center Fine Art
Susan has worked in clay for nearly 50 years. She first began working on the wheel, then as a hand-builder. She has been a part-time potter of “funk-tional” vessels that she displays and sells at regional, national, and international art fairs and exhibitions. Susan is a founding member of KC Clay Guild in Waldo and recently ended an 18-year stint on the organization’s governing board. In that time, she served as President, Resident Chair, Gallery & Workshop chairs, as well as the founder/chair of the KC Clay Guild Teabowl National, a national exhibit of the country’s finest tea bowls.