MEET OUR INSTRUCTORS
Art Clubs, Birthday parties,
Small Group Lessons, No-School Days 2025 Summer Programs: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10 and Week 11 |
T. Dean WhiteDean White is the Lead Art Instructor at Zone of Light Studio, and has taught after-school art clubs at Oak Grove, GLOBE Academy, Springdale Park, Kittredge Magnet, Hess Academy, and 21st Century STEM Academy.
Before starting at Zone of Light in 2013, Dean taught Art and Art History to grades 2 through 10 for ten years. His "previous life" was in advertising as an Art/Creative Director and and still does freelance Graphic Design and Illustration. He also designs and prints t-shirts for area Scout troops, churches and schools, and enjoys painting murals. Dean is a former Scoutmaster with BSA Troop 77 at Oak Grove, and lead the District Pinewood Derby races for over ten years. Working with children keeps him young at heart. Watching their creative thinking expand and artistic skills develop is a constant inspiration and motivation -- and a whole lot of fun! Dean and his wife live in Decatur, and has a son and daughter. |
Birthday parties, Small Group Lessons, No-School Days, 2025 Summer Programs: Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 7, Week 8, and Week 11 |
Normadelle WhittleNormadelle continues to infuse enthusiasm and passion with her students for the past 25 years as an art instructor with DeKalb County. She enjoys seeing her students develop their creative skills, critical thinking and self-expression through the process of art-making. She is also excited when her students make their own discoveries while exploring a variety of media and techniques.
She looks forward to a fun, creative and “out of the box” experience working with students at the Zone of Light Studio. She completed graduate studies in Art Therapy, and Museum studies and recently gained an In Field Gifted Endorsement. She utilizes all of her skills and experience to bring a positive sense of self-awareness and transformation to each student as they interact with their art. Normadelle has exhibited both locally and abroad. She enjoys painting, jewelry making and creating handcrafted and organic soaps and skincare in her spare time. |
Birthday parties, Small Group Lessons, No-School Days
2025 Summer Programs: Week 4, Week 5, Week 6 |
Sonnet MyersSonnet has a passion for all aspects of art and believes she has the best job as a K-5 art educator in the Dekalb School System where she started teaching seventeen years ago and has sponsored art clubs for almost as long. She holds degrees in Art Education and Design and has experience teaching at the high school level, in summer school, and in online classes.
It brings her joy to see students exploring, growing, and developing their confidence in art and she endeavors to spark their curiosity and encourage a love for learning. She enjoys watercolor, acrylic painting and print making; loves working with oil pastels and 3D media; has worked on set creation for church and school; and will experiment with any material she puts her hands on! When not teaching or preparing, she enjoys walking, reading, playing keyboards, and travelling. She looks forward excitedly to working and playing with students at ZOL this summer! |
Birthday parties
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Ashley MeltonAshley Melton is a gifted and ESOL endorsed elementary educator who taught in the Clarkston area for 5 years. She loves working with the incredible kids who come to Zone of Light. Seeing children get in touch with their creative side, try something new, and learn about themselves in the process is something that inspires her to do the same!
In the words of Ms. Frizzle, “let’s take chances, make mistakes and get messy!” |
2025 Summer Programs:
Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 10, and Week 11 |
Dorothy Victoria Bell-PolkDorothy Victoria Bell-Polk is an actor/singer/writer/musician and educator from Detroit, MI. She earned a degree in English from Clark Atlanta University and an MFA in Theater from Louisville University where she fell in love with teaching. She leads and teaches by example, learning from being present through play, movement, visual art and music. She loves and lives in Atlanta with her husband, son and 75lb lap dog Treble Bell-Polk
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Birthday parties, No-School Days
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Stream PickettStream, is a local artist who loves creating with kids. She feels everyone should paint with their hands. She enjoys using paint and colors to express her inner world. She is continuously experimenting in different mediums acrylic, resin, ink, to name a few. She has a love of Asian ink drawings and the space they invoke.
Her work is still in a busy stage, which she describes as “self- discovery and a dance on canvas and paper, but perhaps one day it will just be a mark that tells the whole story...” She laughs and adds “Art evolves from within us...so go play, pick your favorite colors, make bold strokes, and dance with the brush. |
Birthday parties, No-School Days,
2025 Summer Programs: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10 and Week 11 |
Kristin DavisKristin is a dedicated retired office manager with a passion for fostering creativity and traditional skills in today’s digital age. Having spent years supporting a small business, she has a deep appreciation for hard work and community. Kristin proudly nurtured her daughter’s artistic talents, preserving every piece of her artwork as a testament to her creativity.
Now, Kristin focuses on teaching children how to “be analog” in a predominantly digital world. She believes in cultivating essential non-digital skills such as critical thinking, effective communication, hand-eye coordination, and deep focus. Through activities like journaling, drawing, and mindful practices, Kristin helps kids balance their digital experiences with enriching, hands-on interactions. In her free time, Kristin enjoys traveling and photography, alongside a variety of crafts, including painting, jewelry making, and knitting. Her diverse interests reflect her belief in the importance of creativity and connection in everyday life. |
2025 Summer Programs:
Week 1, Week 5, Week 6 and Week 8 |
Tandy KrajecTandy received her BFA in Art Education, with a concentration in Sculpture, from Georgia State University in Atlanta. In addition to her Montessori Primary diploma, she also has a Master's of Education in Montessori from Loyola University in Baltimore, Maryland. Tandy is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Wisconsin River Falls.
She has worked as a Pre-K teacher, School-age teacher for summer programs, Montessori Lead guide and school administrator, and an instructor for introductory studio and art history courses at Underwood University. Before starting in education, Tandy was a manager at Build-A-Bear Workshop for 6 years. Tandy is a NAMI (National Alliance Mental Illness) presenter for Ending the Silence courses, and is a Positive Discipline ECE trainer and a trained Parent Educator through the Positive Discipline Association. She is also involved as a volunteer with CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) supporting children in the foster care system, and is a long-time volunteer with Cub Scouts and Venture Scouts through the Boy Scouts of America. In her free time, she enjoys being outdoors, stand-up comedy, attending concerts and watching live theatre and musicals, and is a Braves baseball and Savannah Bananas fan. Tandy is a lifelong learner by taking classes in ASL (American Sign Language), and art workshops like wheel throwing, sewing and glassblowing. Tandy has two younger brothers and is now an aunt for the first time. |
2025 Summer Programs:
Week 5, Week 6 |
Aliha SadlerAliha currently teaches at the GLOBE Academy. Her past experience has allowed her to work with children from Pre-School through Middle School. She has assisted Mr. Dean with the Sketch Club after-school enrichment program at GLOBE.
Aliha has worked with Zone of Light Studio since 2021 and she is "beyond excited" to meet everyone and see some familiar faces! She is looking forward to having a creative summer with your children. |
Birthday Parties
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Ashley CorralesAshley was born and raised on the Northwest side of Chicago. She grew up cheering on the Cubbies and eating a lot of deep dish pizza. After teaching for 15 years for Chicago Public Schools, she and her two kids made their way to Atlanta in 2020 and haven’t looked back since (except to order some deep dish pizza).
Ashley currently teaches fourth grade Science and Social Studies and serves as the schools STEAM lead. Ashley was recently honored with Area 1 Teacher of the Year. Her passions include all things STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math), napping, reading, eating deep dish pizza and spending time with her husband, two kids, and dog. She is thrilled to spend her time at Zone of Light supporting kids in unlocking their creativity while also unlocking her own! |
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Tracy MatthewsTracy Matthews is a 7th grade accelerated/gifted math teacher at Sequoyah Middle School. She also leads the math department as chairperson. Her successes as a math teacher include the incorporation of real-world concepts in lesson planning. This accolade has recently given her the honor of serving on the Scholastic Math teacher advisory board.
Capturing student interest is her main objective in educating children. Math can be a daunting subject for many students. Her love of art and creativity has led her to include these connotations into the math standards. Her students appreciate the softness this adds to the rigorous curriculum. She looks forward to working with a younger group of children this summer, providing a warm and welcoming environment for them to create art and have fun! She promises to leave math out of it. Her other interests include; cooking, gardening and spending time with her husband, daughter and much loved Bernese Mountain Dog. Her high school daughter, Lily, is a junior assistant at Zone of Light. |
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Beth Deery
Beth Deery was an original founder of Zone of Light Studio and enjoys working special events, summer camp, private parties, and after school programs that enhance creativity. She has taught art for 11 years at Oak Grove Elementary School, where she also sponsors the Art Club. She has 17 years experience working as an art educator. Beth previously taught at St. Jude the Apostle Catholic School in Sandy Springs. Beth grew up in Atlanta attending Sagamore Hills Elementary and Briarcliff High School. She graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography and Art History in 1991. In 1992, she returned to Atlanta and worked in commercial photography including working as a photographer for Atlanta Magazine from until 1995. Beth received a teaching certificate in 1995 from Georgia State University in K - 12 Art. Beth lives in Atlanta with her husband and two daughters. |
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Spencer WilsonMore to come.
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Skye WilsonSkye is a dedicated member of our team who has been with us since the start! She focuses her time with the younger group and working birthday parties. She enjoys working and playing around with the kids through art. She is currently enrolled at Rheinhardt University working towards a business degree.
Skye has also started her own side business of organizing other individuals homes. Skye loves to go on road trips to the mountains and being in nature. Being with animals and in nature is her favorite thing to do! |
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Willow WilsonWillow has been at Zone of Light since she was 4 years old, and now is working as an energetic and engaging assistant. She says her favorite part of ZoL is "seeing all of the kids create masterpieces and friendships!"
Venmo: @willow-wilson-5 |
Assistants (with Venmo tags):
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Emma Anberg .................
Carter Beckwich .............. Makenzie Burke .............. Aliana Hawkins ................ Alex Obester .................... Mia ....................... David White ...................... |
@Thomas-White-21 |