Fine Arts Faculty

Leon Johnson is the chair of the Fine Arts department at CCS. He was born and raised in South Africa, earned both his MA and MFA at the University of Iowa and has taught at the University of Maine and the Transartt Institute in Berlin.

Brian Barr received his MFA from the American University in Washington, D.C. and has shown his work nationally at galleries and museums in Texas, New Jersey, Virginia, Washington DC, Chicago and New York.

Kristin Beaver received her BFA in painting from Western Illinois University in 2000, and an MFA in painting from Wayne State University in Detroit in 2004. She is currently represented by the David Klein Gallery in Birmingham, MI and has shown throughout the United States.

Jean Buescher Bartlett received her MFA in book arts and maintains a studio and bindery in Ann Arbor. Her work is in major collections worldwide, including the New York Public Library, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Detroit Public Library and the University of Michigan Special Collections.

Mira Burack was born in Massachusetts and grew up on the coast of Maine. Burack received her MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art, has exhibited her work both nationally and internationally and currently lives and works in Detroit.

Todd Erickson has been making and exhibiting his sculpture for more than 25 years and has been an employee of the College for Creative Studies since 1983.

Tania L. Fogoros has been printing on a professional level in the Detroit area since 1996. As the owner of The Highway Press, Inc. she has been both a project manager and printer on numerous national and international projects ranging from over-sized fine art prints to highly collectible rock posters.

Chido Johnson was born in Nyadiri, Zimbabwe and has worked both nationally and internationally.

Chris McCauley is a fine artist whose paintings focus on portraits and landscapes.

Nancy Mitter has been painting professionally for 25 years and is a recipient of multiple grants.

Zdzislaw Sikora’s work has been presented in more than 35 one- or two-man shows. In addition, he has been invited to exhibit in more than 50 invitation exhibitions including Multiple Hemispheres, Argentina; Paradise Endangered and the New World in Contemporary Prints, Maryland; Contemporary Monoprints and Monotypes, Illinois; International Exhibition of Prints in Kanagawa, Japan, Savannah Contemporary, the London Institutes of Art; Technique is Not Always Cheap: Extraordinary Printmaking, North Carolina; Figures and Narratives, Alaska; and New American Graphics, a USIA international tour.

Michael E. Smith was born in Detroit in 1977. He received his BFA from The College for Creative Studies and MFA from Yale University School of Art. Smith's work includes painting, sculpture, video, performance and mixed media installation.

Gilda Snowden, a native Detroiter and award winning artist, has works in many corporate museums and private collections including the Detroit Institute of Arts.