Seeds Teaching Artists
John Bunge
White
Jon Bunge is an experienced arts educator who loves to share the joy of creation with children and adults. He is passionate about helping people express their imagination and vision through art-making. Jon holds an MFA from City College of New York and a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary. His artwork consists of drawings, paintings, collages, sculptures and installations. Jon’s work has been exhibited in numerous galleries and can be viewed on Instagram @jonbunge and at www.jonbunge.com
Sidney Edwards
White
Sidney believes that the creative spirit resides in all of us and that no one should be exiled from self-expression. His daily ritual of creative expression has produced a fulfilling life and a belief that it is paramount to good mental health. Working as a creative professional from the age of 19 his wide range of experiences including silk-screening, mural design, stage craft, printmaking, watercolor and an award-winning designer for two major fashion brands has led him here to Seeds of the League. Now, inspiring others, teaching through experience, and building a strong community of creative thinkers is something he is deeply committed to. “Work is love made visible”, Kahlil Gibran.
Sidney is a graduate of Parsons School of Design and has studied at the Art Students League in intervals since 1983. His watercolor works have been exhibited in New York and Spain and are held in private collections.
Jaiquan Fayson
American
Jaiquan Fayson was born and raised in New York. He studied at the League and obtained his BFA in Illustration from The School of Visual Arts, where he was a recipient of the Silas H. Rhodes Scholarship. His experiences with drawing while being incarcerated at a young age have made him passionate about the therapeutic quality of art. He discusses these experiences in publications such as the short documentary “Jaiquan’s Sketch” from Motto Pictures. Jaiquan’s work focuses on using traditional materials and working from life. Now, Jaiquan is attending part time classes to complete his MAT, and works full time as a substitute art teacher. In his teaching, he strives to share what he has learned as an artist and to inspire hope in others who may have faced similar obstacles
Kenneth Fitzpatrick
Irish- African- American
Kenneth Fitzpatrick was born and raised in New York City. While a student at the High School of Art & Design, he received the Seeds of the League Jack Kamen Scholarship. The combination of his HSAD instruction and the Kamen Scholarship contributed to his P.S. Art award, a citywide competition for Pre-K to 12, culminating in an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Currently, he is completing a degree in game development. Ken’s work focuses on compositional storytelling using the mediums oil, graphite, watercolor, tattoo, and digital art.
Amberrose Venus-Gordon
Afro Caribbean American
Amberrose Venus-Gordon resides in Brooklyn, New York. She has a BFA in painting with a double minor in art history, and museum and gallery practices from Pratt Institute. Amberrose’s interest in working with children and her sensitivity to them, is apparent in how she captures their innocence in her carefully felt works. She focuses heavily on iconic symbols that are indicative of one’s childhood. Amberrose currently works as a teaching artist at the Renaissance Charter Schools 1 and 2 and teaches Saturday virtual art classes at The Broadway Performing Arts Center.
Clayton Andrew Griffith
Black
Clayton was born and raised in New York. He is twenty-eight years old, and uses pronouns he/him/they/them. Clayton is currently enrolled at LaGuardia Community College and has studied figure drawing at the League for four years. He generally works in sketchbooks but occasionally works digitally using Procreate. Outside of art, their interests lie in environmentalism and movements focusing on a less industrialized and mass producing society.
Fable Jones
Black/Mexican
Fable Jones is a Harlem based visual artist and curator. Fable graduated with a BFA in Illustration from the Fashion Institute of Technology, and has furthered his studies in anatomy, traditional and digital painting, book illustration, and silkscreen at the School of Visual Arts, New York Academy of Art, and the Art Students League. Fable works primarily in watercolor with a focus on representation and diversity, bringing people of color to the forefront, commanding our attention, expanding our conversations and creating normalcy around our presence and contributions to society.
Sonomi Kobayashi
Japanese
Born and raised in Japan, Sonomi Kobayashi is a New York-based artist, art educator, and independent curator. Her work has been exhibited in the United States, Japan, and Europe. Since 2013, Sonomi has been teaching artmaking to children enrolled in NYC Parks Learning Labs and adults in Arts, Culture and Fun workshops throughout Manhattan. In 2019, the Mayoral Service Recognition Program awarded her a Certificate of Appreciation for her outstanding efforts.
Caroline Ongpin
Filipino
Caroline Ongpin is a visual artist working primarily in printmaking. She has had residencies in Mexico and New Jersey and was the 2019 recipient of the Kuniyoshi Award for Printmaking at The Art Students League of New York. Her work has been exhibited in the United States, Mexico, and the Philippines.
Noelani Renderos
Ecuadorian/Salvadorian
Noelani Renderos is a current senior at Bergen County Technical High School – Teterboro, majoring in Commerical Art and Graphic Design. Noelani has been a Seeds of the League scholarship recipient since 2017. She expresses herself by bringing all the worlds she thinks of to life. Taking classes at the League has helped her to further develop her art practice. Noelani is passionate about promoting the Seeds program so other students can have the opportunity she has had working with the League’s incredible teachers. She plans on continuing art making in the future as she pursues a career in concept art and animation. Noelani was awarded Gold and Silver Keys by the Scholastic Art Competition. Her work was also selected and featured in the Celebrating Art 2017 Publication.
John Vargas
Mexican – American
John Vargas is a Brooklyn based animator and Illustrator. He earned his BFA in studio art with a concentration in Digital Design from the City College of New York. John works in both digital and traditional mediums, such as pen and ink. He reads books to continue learning innovative approaches to drawing and animating to share with students. When John is not working, he is honing his drawing skills outdoors or at the Art Students League.
Yu Zhang
Chinese
Zhang Yu was born in Beijing, China. She graduated from Beijing Science Technology College with a degree in Art Design in 1994 and continued her study at the Central Academy of Fine Art, Beijing for another two years to refine her master’s program training in oil painting. In the late 90s, Yu relocated to the United States. She began to explore her art within a new culture and develop her vision through everyday life. By the time she began her MFA studies at the City College of New York in 2007, she established a unique style that challenges the notions of ideal beauty and self-identity.