Haven Art Studio
State of the Art Facility
A newly refurbished Haven Art Studio, a bustling hub for art lovers at 29 Haven Avenue, visible from the Port Washington train station OPENED November 1, 2013!
The artfully renovated Studio and Gallery, shining with vibrant colors is brimming with fresh offerings of classes delivered by an enthusiastic, dedicated and enlarged staff. There is no place like our Center for Art, Ceramics, Crafts and Design. Come on in to meet us in our exciting, modernized home and staff! We are constantly raising the bar here at our studio. We pride ourselves on hiring only the best working artists that are creative, caring and nurturing.
Heidi b Stephens
Owner/Artist/Instructor
Heidi has spent her entire professional career in the arts. She received her Bachelor of FIne Arts at the College of Ceramics at Alfred University and continued her education at the School for Visual Arts, Parsons School of Design and The Realist Drawing Academy in New Mexico with Gary Faigin.
After moving to NYC, she worked ten years + for two of the largest Fortune 500 companies in NYC as Art Director and Design Director. During that time Heidi also honed her ceramic skills as a student of master ceramic artists, painted, exhibited in numerous venues and sold her paintings.
Laura Badke
Ceramic Instructor
I used to collect pottery because I always loved the shapes and glazes. I decided one day to take a class and I haven’t turned back since.”
Starting her pottery journey in 2010. Graduated from NYIT with BFA. As a graphic designer, she combines her talent of design to translate in her ceramic work.Merging design and ceramics creating bodies of work that tell a story. Her love is Raku horsehair firing, but also loves to experiment with layered slips and texture.
Laura worked as the ceramics studio manager at the Art league of LI and also helped teach classes. Her work has been published in LI Living Magazine, and was on display at various galleries on Long Island.
Lauras teaches from beginner to advanced, helping her students find their voice in clay.She also teaches Horsehair firing workshops here at Haven.
Patricia Bridges
Ceramic Instructor
Patricia offers them several decades of experience as a potter. She has a large knowledge base about ceramics from wheel throwing and handbuilding to glazes and kilns. Her training comes from early days with the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen,
Patricia has produced several instruction videos that hundreds of thousands of people have watched. Haven Art Studio fosters a supportive and creative environment where Patricia can help students grow their creativity and artistry.
Judy Doyle
Sculpting Specialist
A long time resident of Port Washington (since the early 80s), Judy lives with her husband,Patrick, and her dog and cat (their children are grown).She retired from the world of finance 15 years ago and traded her NYSE Broker’s License for a Real Estate License. She enjoys helping others sell and buy homes and enjoys the creative side of staging a home, as well.
Her heart will always be in the arts: visual and performance. She is actively involved in the community performing in local theatre groups (acting, singing and set design), raising money
for various charities.
At Haven, Judy mostly conducts multi-media classes and birthday parties for children, She is all-in body, mind, and soul and has fully transitioned from the corporate world to the world of art.
Jen Sommer
Beginner Wheel Instructor
Jenn Sommer is a working ceramic artist and graphic designer from Oakdale, NY. She graduated from SUNY New Paltz in 2014 with a BS Degree, with a duel concentration in ceramics and graphic design. When not playing with clay, Jenn enjoys drawing, gardening, and exploring long island!
Brianna Parrino
Art Instructor
Briana Parrino received her Bachelor’s in Visual Art Education from SUNY New Paltz and her Master’s in Creative Art Therapy and Counseling from Hofstra University. She currently teaches 4th through 8th grade in Queens. Briana combines her love of art making and self-expression to ensure her students always feel comfortable and safe in her classes. She strives to have her students learn about a variety of artists, art periods and art techniques while simultaneously expressing their thoughts and feelings into their artwork. In her free time, Briana enjoys drawing and painting however she loves to experiment with 3D sculpture and ceramics as well.
Julia Farinacci
Art Instructor
Julia specializes in Drawing and Painting, her specialty are portrait studies
Jen Streim
Fashion Designer/Sewing Instructor
Jen attended Undergraduate at SUNY Oneonta where she received a Bachelor’s in Family and consumer science which back then was called HOME ECONOMICS. There she learned all my basics of sewing 101, draping design,etc.
In her Senior year s transferred to Fashion Institute of Technology (F.I.T) & Spent 3 more years learning the Fashion ,Advertising and Toy industry.
Jen holds degrees in ADVERTISING DESIGN / FINE ART with a specialty in TOY DESIGN from FIT.
She worked for Mattel Toy Company and Fisher Price Toy company (which is one company) for over 24 years designing Plush soft toys such as ELMO, Cookie monster and Disney toys, including Mickey & Minnie Mouse , Winnie the Pooh as well as hundreds of plastic toys for Thomas the tank, Dora the explorer ,Shimmer and Shine ,Octonauts as well as Nickelodeon branded toys. Jen is a port mom that you may see teaching at Om Sweet Om yoga studio as a yoga instructor
Kileen Peterson
Fashion Designer/Sewing Instructor
Fashion Designer/Sewing Instructor. Kileen studied Fashion Design BA. With Acting Minor at Columbia College Chicago. She comes to us with her own fantastic creative energy and full of brilliant ideas.
Louis Rabman
Owner/Financeer
Born in England and raised in South Africa and Israel, Louis is an international star. After serving four years in the Israeli army, he immigrated to the U.S.A. where he continued his education and career. Louis has spent his entire professional life in finance, helping to grow small businesses. Currently, Louis and his partner of twenty years own and run Conative Capital in Manhattan.
After Louis married Heidi, the couple and their three children moved to Port Washington which has been their home ever since.
Paul Spina
Private Instructor
Paul Spina has been actively making things out of clay since June, 2010 when he first found himself distracted by a potter’s wheel. As a late bloomer, at 42 he is a self taught potter. When he was a young child he remembers visiting his grandparents in southern France and visited a small neighboring city called Vallauris where he recalls all the beautiful reflections from the pottery poured out on to the streets from the Studios. He has also taught himself to hand build which he finds equally rewarding. He adds greatly to the studio and takes pleasure in helping others due to his passion for clay. He has an affinity for Raku but appreciates greatly Renaissance Ceramic Art and has been combining wheel thrown pieces and decorating them with hand build decorations.
Nathaniel J Smith
Website GURU
A business website is an extension of oneself which means that it must be executed to reflect not just your business, but it should also reflect you as a person. This means that to be able to truly trust a web development firm with your online business, you need to be able to trust the founders of the firm. Why should you trust me with your business? I am in the business of creating companies online through website design, development, online marketing, SEO & SMO. Building a beautiful website is like any other sort of creative medium; you feel a certain amount of pride and a sense of achievement once it is completed.
Flyweb Media is the perfect example of utilitarianism at its finest. Let us do what we are best & bring your business online while you do what you are best at, which is running your business. Give me a call at any time of the day or night & we can talk about how I can help your business thrive online.
Mario Tucci
Master Painter
Award Winning Artist, Gallery Curator, Instructor, Lecturer & Jurist.
“Artist in Residence” At The Guggenheim Estate in Sands Point, 2013
“Outstanding Advocate for the Arts Award” Of The Long Island Arts Council at Freeport, 2013
Portrait Society of America’s Ambassador to NYS, 2003-2013
Member of the NYS Grants for the Arts Selection Committee, 2008-2011
Chairman of the NYS Grants for the Arts Selection Committee, 2012.
