About the Artists
Miche Booz, watercolor 
Miche Booz was born in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1950. His childhood was spent in the Middle East and the Indian Sub-Continent. He attended George School, a Quaker school in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He graduated with a Bachelors in Fine Arts from the University of Maryland in 1975, and went on to receive his Masters of Architecture degree in 1987. Currently, he works at his architecture and painting studio in Brookeville, Maryland, where he lives with his wife, Diane Teague, and their three children, Paul, Noah, and Ella.
Miche paints abstractly and figuratively in watercolor and mixed media, and is a highly regarded and much collected artist in the Washington, DC area. He has exhibited his work in galleries around Washington, DC and Yvoire, France. He also exhibits yearly at his studio in Brookeville. In April 2008 he had a one-person show at Galerie Oleum in Yvoire, France. Miche's work currently can be seen at ARThouse in Sandy Spring, MD. Also, samples of his work may be seen on his web site at www.michebooz.com.
As an architect, Miche has earned much admiration and respect in the Washington area and beyond. His firm, Miche Booz Architect, Inc., specializes in residential and institutional architecture, design and urban planning. He is the winner of the 2004 Outstanding Architect Award from Montgomery Preservation for his contribution to historic preservation in Montgomery County. His architecture has been featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, and on HGTV's "Old Homes Restored", among others.
Miche's style in watercolor is distinctive, fresh and alive. With unusual bright color choices, he paints in a loose, semi-abstract manner that captures the essence of the subject, or transports it into another realm altogether! He likes to paint outdoor scenes from his own street in Brookeville, to the Acadia region of Maine, to the quaint town of Yvoire, France. With his mature and sophisticated handling of this difficult medium, Miche Booz is an exceptional artist.
Paul Colombini, photography 
Paul Colombini was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, in 1981. He graduated from the University of Maryland, Phi Beta Kappa, in 2003 with degrees in Art History and International Finance. He received a Masters Degree in International Development from American University in 2008, and is currently working for the United States Agency for International Development.
Paul has always loved to travel—the more exotic the place, the better! He did a semester abroad in Rome during college, and began to hone his talent for photography in Italy. After college he lived and worked in Asia for three years, teaching English to support himself as he traveled. After spending one year in Osaka, Japan, he realized that to really experience Asia, he had to live in China. He procured a job teaching English to university students in Changzhou (west of Shanghai) and later in Shenzhen (the gateway to Hong Kong). During Paul’s sojourn in China, he managed to travel to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and India, as well as return to Europe via the Trans-Siberian Railroad! He spent the summer of 2008 in Delhi, India, working to improve the lives of wastepickers.
All along the way, Paul, or course, took pictures. Paul has an eye for portraying the inherent dignity of people around the world, showing them at work and at rest in their environment. His images are often poignant and arresting, the compositions simple or bold, the viewpoint original. He practices “straight photography”, using no embellishments with computer imaging software, other than cropping.
Paul also likes to write, and most of his photos are accompanied by interesting commentary about the scene. Truly he is more a photojournalist than merely a photographer—so often he receives the compliment, “You ought to be working for the National Geographic!”
Incidentally, Paul is the elder son of Marco Colombini and Susan Murphy Colombini.
Peggy K. Duke, sumi-e artist and botanical illustrator 
Peggy Duke was born and raised in New Jersey and some of her early influences include enjoying native wildlife and her fiddle-playing father. She graduated from the University of North Carolina with a master’s degree in Botany and became a botanical illustrator. She met her husband there, James Duke, also a botanist and noted author of numerous respected books on native herbs and medicinal plants. His illustrator for many of these books was none other, of course, than Peggy.
In addition to botanical illustration, Peggy is a very accomplished sumi-e painter (Chinese brush painting). She has been president of the National Capitol Area Chapter of the Sumi-e Society of America and has received instruction in the art from some of the country’s top masters. Peggy’s sumi-e work is very elegant, very deft with the brushwork, and often very complex. Her botanical illustrations reveal incredible drawing skills and an ability to sort out a complicated subject into its essential parts. She is a member of the International Guild of Natural Science Illustrators and has exhibited in many national venues.
Peggy lives and paints in Fulton, Maryland (Howard County). She and husband Jim maintain an amazing garden, called The Herbal Vineyard, which is toured by groups from all over the country. It is the source of much of the inspiration of this interesting and excellent artist.
Jay Gartenhaus, photography Jay Gartenhaus grew up in Bethesda, Maryland, the son of successful business owner. After graduating from Marietta College in Ohio, where his interest in photography was first kindled, he immersed himself in the family business and worked at it for many years. Along the way he married his wife, Suzanne, and had three children. Eventually he was able to find some time to devote to photography and joined the digital revolution. Jay’s photographs are amazing. He seems able to observe things in nature that most would never look at twice, and to identify and capture something beautiful or intriguing about them. We have only a few samples of his work on this website—you can see more at www.jaygartenhaus.com. Jay “focuses” on taking pictures of things in their natural state: wildlife, plants, water, dogs, wood, insects at work, and many other subjects from nature. Looking at his pictures places you in a better frame of mind, and makes you wish that you could enter the picture and be there. Michaele Harrington, watermedia artist Michaele Harrington was born in Boston in 1947, and has lived in Maryland since 1978, currently residing in Baltimore. She is a graduate of the Massachusetts College of Art and later obtained a Master’s Degree in Painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. She has been working as an adjunct professor of art at Montgomery College in Rockville for the last 8 years, and is a very well-respected and popular teacher there. Michaele is a nationally recognized artist with many significant credentials, and is in demand as a lecturer, juror, and workshop leader. Originally earning a living as a commercial artist, Michaele honed her drawing skills and remarkable ability to depict almost anything! She began focusing on creating her own fine art when her two children were born, first working in watercolor and later a variety of water-based media, using them transparently and opaquely, and with collage. Her work evolved from more realistic representations to pure abstraction, and today is very expressive and evocative. Michaele is not afraid to reach into her inner life and pull out feelings and experiences, creating a personal narrative that reflects her thoughts about herself and life. She is truly an artist’s artist, being a master of many media, and a master of self-expression. Stylistically, Michaele’s work is usually bold and intense, often edgy, and not necessarily beautiful. An artwork does not have to be beautiful to be successful, and this is clearly demonstrated by many of Michaele’s paintings. She is willing to explore many realms and is not afraid of “breaking the rules”. To see more examples of her work, visit her website at www.michaeleharrington.com. In short, Michaele Harrington is a highly regarded professional artist—come see her work at ARThouse. 
Ted Kobrin, woodworking 
Once aspiring to be a major league baseball player, Ted Kobrin had a serious injury during spring training (under Casey Stengel!), which forced him to change his career path. That career path took an interesting turn, when graduation from the University of Michigan with a degree in journalism led him to become a CIA agent! He worked for the CIA for 30 years, sometimes stationed in Hong Kong and the far East, and sometimes back in Washington.
When Ted eventually retired, he became intrigued with the idea of fashioning objects out of architectural salvage materials and using funky faux painting to finish them off. He took a course in faux finishing and began to collect “junk”—old doors, shutters, balusters, and weathered French posters from Paris. These he turned into a marvelous collection of home “decorator” pieces such as side tables, pedestals and cabinets. Each piece is one-of-a-kind and reflects Ted’s wacky creativity. They are being collected by sophisticated Washingtonians who seek the unusual and unique.
Several of Ted’s pieces are available through the Gore-Dean Gallery in Cady’s Alley, Georgetown. But we have more of them at ARThouse! You really need to see these pieces in person, so come take a look!
Susan Avis Murphy, watercolor and ARThouse director 
Watercolor never ceases to amaze and amuse me. I have enjoyed experimenting with it in many different ways and have covered a vast array of subject matter, both realistic and abstract. Each pigment in this watery medium behaves in its own unique way—something that both challenges and stimulates the user. The watercolorist has to learn which colors on his palette will stay put when laid down in a wet wash, and which ones will take off through the water and blend in with a disappearing edge. You have to learn what to expect! As the oil painter says about watercolor, “I don’t like watercolor, because the paint don’t stay where I put it!” I have been delving into this intriguing subject for more than 30 years now, and have explored the art world in all its permutations and ramifications. I have served as an art guild president, exhibit coordinator, cooperative gallery director, juried show participant, juried show juror and judge, watercolor demonstrator and lecturer, private instructor, studio designer, picture framer, elementary school guest, small business owner, workshop instructor, photographer, leaf raker and acorn picker-up-er, and throughout it all, a studio artist, always trying to find a new way to balance those difficult choices that lead to art which is original in concept or style, yet appreciated by those who enjoy good art, though they may not be artists themselves. My work has been honored with inclusion in many significant exhibitions, such as those of the American Watercolor Society, Allied Artist of America, the National Arts Club, the Butler Institute of American Art, the Southern Watercolor Society, and many others. It has been purchased for more than 20 major corporate collections, such as General Motors, Beatrice Foods, the Kresge Foundation, International Harvester, Quaker Oats, and the FDIC. I enjoy meeting the people who buy my art, and for that reason have served as my own agent for the last 10 years. My work can be seen primarily at my home studio/gallery in Sandy Spring, Maryland, now called “ARThouse, a beautiful post-and-beam structure next to our house. Please drop by any time, or call ahead for an appointment. My husband, Marco Colombini, and I enjoy meeting and talking with all people who are interested in art.
Roberta Staat, drawing and oil painting 
Roberta has joined ARThouse recently and I have asked her to start teaching drawing classes. We have had two courses so far, both very well-received. Here is Roberta's own very clever little autobiography: Roberta Staat (mid-west native), n. 1. Born in Indiana, raised in Illinois, Missouri, and Wisconsin. 2. received her BFA from the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire, in 1971. 3. lived in Chicago in the early seventies, studying at the Art Institute of Chicago, painting and exhibiting. 4. 1995 moved to Houston, Texas. Studied at the University of Houston, received BS in Art Education and began teaching. For twenty years she taught art with experience in a variety of settings and students of all ages from kindergarten through college. 5. 1987 moved to the Washington, DC area, entered American University and received her MFA in painting in 1993. In the spring of 1993 the American University Studio Faculty awarded her the Stanley Wolpoff Award for Works on Paper. 6. exhibited in Wisconsin, Illinois, Texas, Maryland and Virginia. Adjunct instructor Maryland College of Art and Design, Howard Community College, Villa Julie, Maryland Institute College of Art. 7. 1994, individual grant recipient awarded by the Montgomery County Arts Council. 8. 1999, artist in residence at Sandy Spring Friends School, Sandy Spring, Maryland. 10. co-organizer Plein Air Olney 2009, Olney, MD. 11. drawing instructor at ARThouse 2009 - present; volunteer Artist in Residence at Brookegrove Retirement Community, Olney, MD. 12. Roberta resides in Brookeville, MD with her husband George Niederehe and grand-dog Emma, and has two grown daughters, Alison and Katherine.
John Weske, pen and ink Dr. John R. Weske, 1899 – 1996 John R. Weske, a respected engineer in the area of fluid dynamics, was also a prolific artist throughout his life, and contributed a wonderful body of artwork concerning the Sandy Spring/Brookeville/Olney area. Born in Camp, Germany in 1899, John emigrated to the United States in the 1920’s and received his doctorate in engineering from Harvard University in 1934. He taught engineering at the University of Maryland for many years and retired as Professor Emeritus. Prior to that he also taught at Brown University, Case Western Reserve University, and Johns Hopkins. He traveled throughout the world in connection with his research, and drew many sketches and complete pen and inks, as well as watercolors, during almost all of his trips. He and his wife, Dorothy, gave remarkable hand-drawn Christmas cards to all of their friends every year. They settled first in Brookeville, in the Valley House, and then later in Sandy Spring on Doctor Bird Road. He and Dorothy had allied themselves with the Quaker faith early in their marriage, and were enamored with the character of this peaceful area. Dr. Weske continued his life-long avocation in our area, producing dozens of fascinating pictures, including many “overviews” such as “Sandy Spring as Seen from an Imaginary Rock”, shown on this website. His works are wonderful, whimsical depictions of life in the rural Maryland he loved so much, and are a lasting pictorial legacy for this area. Carol Zilliacus, polymer clay and watermedia Carol Steinman Zilliacus was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. Some of the early influences in her life that affect her work today include her mother, who was a coutoure dress designer, a complex family life, her participation in dance, and living near the sea. Carol worked as a Montgomery County teacher for many years, and started creating artwork very industriously in her retirement. She lives in Silver Spring, MD, with her husband Steve. Carol’s art career started with watercolor painting, then evolved into working freely with liquid acrylics and collage, and also quickly entered the polymer clay field. She has established a firm reputation with her use of polymer clay, creating innovative techniques, style, and imagery that earned her a place on magazine covers and television shows. She is known for introducing the idea of “polymer clay paintings” to the art world, and has become a leader in the field. She is frequently asked to demonstrate her techniques to art organizations and occasionally gives classes. For a detailed version of her CV, see Carol’s website at www.carolszilliacus.com. Carol is also a member of the Studio Gallery on R St NW, in Washington, DC. The artwork of Carol Zilliacus is remarkably diverse and creative. She draws on those early life experiences to create rich tapestries that evoke feelings of joy, sorrow, loneliness, and the complexity of human relationships. Her polymer clay work is often bold, colorful, textured and raw. Her liquid acrylic and collage work is striking, rich, and multi-faceted---the original paintings must be seen to appreciate their beautiful surfaces. Carol also creates wonderful objets d’art from polymer clay, including “tribal masks”, unusual figurines, talisman, and jewelry. Her jewelry is very original, fascinating, and much in demand. You can see samples of the necklaces on this website and purchase them through ARThouse. 
