The ArtSpace Faculty:

Kindergarten through Grade 3

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Rebekah Richards (Kindergarten) was born in Louisville, KY, but grew up in Missouri and South Carolina. She received her B.S. degree in Elementary Education from Central Methodist College in Missouri

She taught kindergarten in Buncombe County Schools and third grade in Delaware before joining ArtSpace in 2002.

Rebekah lives with her husband, David, and daughter Iris. Her hobbies are knitting, gardening and listening to Folk and Bluegrass.

Susan Burkot (Kindergarten) was born in New Bern, NC. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with a B.A. in Elementary Education. In 2006, she packed up her belongings, left her beloved beach, moved to Black Mountain, NC, and joined ArtSpace. Susan's hobbies include reading, cooking, hiking, camping, making jewelry, and playing guitar.

Darlene Turner (First Grade) was born in Fort Dix, NJ, where she lived until she moved down to the Asheville area to attend Montreat College. She graduated with a B.A. from Warren Wilson College and a M.S. in Elementary Education from Western Carolina University.

In addition to teaching at a small private school in Black Mountain, Darlene taught kindergarten, first and second grades for 16 years at Carolina Day School. She joined ArtSpace in its first year, 2001, as a first grade teacher.
She is an active volunteer for many local agencies. Darlene's hobbies include reading, hiking, gardening, sewing, needlework and calligraphy. Her artistic appreciation lies in the areas of visual art, pottery and music.

Jenny Geer-Hardwick (First Grade) graduated from Montreat College with a B.A. in Elementary Education. She has been teaching at ArtSpace since 2004.

Jenny played soccer throughout her college career. She lives with her husband, Mariah, and their new daughter, Saya.

Annabell Lisa (Second Grade) was born in France, where she lived until her teens when the family moved to the U.S., eventually settling in Asheville. She received her B.A. in Elementary Education from Warren Wilson College, and joined ArtSpace in 2004.

She speaks fluent French, Spanish, and Portuguese and uses these languages daily in her classroom. In her free time Annabell dances salsa with a professional dance company. She also paints, makes jewelry, and spends time in the beautiful mountains of WNC.

Alison ("Ali") Mellander (Second Grade) was born in Berkeley, CA, and received her B.A. in Environmental Studies from Santa Cruz. She taught for the CA State Parks as a naturalist and managed an organic nursery before earning her teaching certification.

She taught second and third grades in California before moving to Asheville where she taught kindergarten in the Asheville City Schools. She joined ArtSpace in 2005.

She loves hiking, beach-combing, plants and animals. She has family all over the world, including Sydney, Prague, and Fiji.

Allison Beaman (Third Grade) graduated from Appalachian State University with a B.S. in Elementary Education and a concentration in psychology. She was born in Winston-Salem to a Malecite Native American mother from Canada and a native of Forsyth County, NC.

Always a scientist, Allison spent time as the Early Childhood Sciences Educator at SciWorks in Winston-Salem before moving to Asheville and working in the city schools. Allison came to ArtSpace in 2005. Allison has a keen interest in art and photography.

Chris Larson (Third Grade) was born and raised in Dallas, TX, which lost him to the mountains for college. He graduated with a B.A. in Elementary Education from Warren Wilson College.

He relaxes by playing Ultimate Frisbee. He has been playing for almost seven years now and doesn't see the end in sight. He helps "coach" the Warren Wilson College Ultimate Frisbee Club while at the same time playing for the Asheville men's team.

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