Steve Bunnicelli
Owner, Director

Steve, the owner and director founded SMB Studio Arts Inc. in March of 2011. Originally from Brooklyn, he now resides in Staten Island, NY. He became interested in the arts as a young child while attending Blessed Sacrament on Staten Island. Steve graduated from Parsons The New School for Design.

He worked on Broadway doing set design, as a residential artist he started teaching art and creating installations in schools. He has worked on projects for the NY Public Libraries, murals in public/private (indoor and outdoor) venues. He was an instructor with the Art Lab for 9 years, and taugh 9 classes, where he gained a dedicated following. Most of Steve's students are prepped for high school and college entry. His students have been accepted to schools such as NYU, Parsons, SVA, Pratt, La Gaurdia, and High School of Art & Design.

Fred Sklenar
Advisory Director , Instructor

Fred is a native New Yorker with studios in Staten Island and the Catskills for over thirty years. He received his formal art training at New York’s famed Pratt Institute studying under numerous luminaries of the art world, including world-renown watercolorist Edgar Whitney, AWS. Fred’s professional art career included
art direction at McGraw-Hill, Sport Magazine, Cowles Communications, and Penton Publishing, as well
as Creative Director at his own advertising agency for nearly a decade. Fred is also an accomplished
commercial illustrator and painter of fine art for most of his career. He has an impressive list of credits for
commissioned portraits, having completed hundreds of commissioned portraits for publications, business
and community leaders, professional organizations, educational and healthcare institutions, politicians, and
just plain folk. He also ghosted 24 daily syndicated cartoon strips a week for more than 10 years.

Fred has over 20 years of experience teaching and tutoring fellow artists in the areas of commercial and
fine art locally, and taught fine art at the Catskill Art Society for over 10 years. He has lectured at Pratt
Institute, several other Universities, and at professional seminars on various creative subjects.

Jennifer Colina
Head Designer, Instructor

Jennifer is a graphic designer and art director with almost a decade of professional experience in business, government, and education settings. She holds a BS in Graphic Design and is currently pursuing an MBA/MS in Marketing Management. Most rewarding to Jennifer is her experience teaching art to grades k-5 and directing a not-for-profit arts program at a NY public school. She is a purveyor of luxury notecards, stationery, labels calling cards, and created the brand and products at www/notepourri.com. As an art instructor, Jennifer aims to inspire the use of endless imagination, instill confidence in her students and most of all have fun as they express themselves through a variety of media. Jennifer is available for freelance graphic design projects, email her at colina.jennifermarie[@]gmail.com

Ryan McGivern
Glass Artist

Ms. Ryan McGivern works primarily in hand blown and mosaic glass art and currently lives in Staten Island, New York. Ryan began her art career at the Williston Northampton School focusing on ceramic sculpture in 1987.  She was introduced to hot glass (sand casting) in 1991 when she went to NYU as an undergraduate. In 1993, she moved to Santa Cruz, California where she apprenticed with several glassblowers and a glass mosaic artist. She returned to New York to start the graduate studio art program at NYU and began working as a faculty member at UrbanGlass in 1999.
 
Early in 2000, she joined the artist in residence program at Snug Harbor Cultural Center where she worked until 2004. From 2005 to 2010, she operated The Studio 150, a glass studio and gallery that showcased a number of national and local artists.

Ms. McGivern is available for commissions in hand blown glass, mosaic murals, stone jewelry and glass trophies. If you are interested in glass mosaic classes or commissions, please contact her at glassgirl[@]si.rr.com

Maria Ruggiano-Alekseev
Artist/PrintMaking

Maria Ruggiano-Alekseev is a mixed-media fine artist born and raised in Queens, New York. Maria graduated from Pratt Institute, NYC with a BFA in Fine Arts, specializing in Printmaking. She also holds two AAS degrees from The Fashion Institute of Technology, NYC in Photography and Advertising Design.
Maria’s artistic background is wide ranging; including photography, graphic design, multiple printmaking processes, and a broad spectrum of fine art mediums and techniques.

Maria has had a solo show recently in Staten Island, Sick at Open Art Surgery and Familiar Tempo at Paula Barr Gallery in Chelsea, NYC, in 2005 as well as several group shows in and all around the NYC area since 2001. Currently teaching art to children, Maria has also worked as a graphic designer and gallery/curatorial assistant at a variety of creative firms and art spaces including The Art Directors Club, Hope Street Gallery, Media Marketing Solutions and Screenvision, a Technicolor Company.

www.purplepigeonpress.com

Laura Del Prete Conde
Mixed Media Artist

Laura Del Prete is a mixed media and collage artist from Staten Island, with more than 15 years teaching experience at various programs and museums such as the PS 22 Virtual Y Program, Alice Austen House Museum, and the Chinese Botanical Gardens at Snug Harbor. As an artist Ms. Del Prete has received a Priemer Grant Award from COAHSI and a personal art grant from the Puffin Foundation.  As a teaching artist, Ms. Del Prete has worked with ages 3 to senior citizen, and every age inbetween.