Patricia Vanaman Witt is a lifelong native of Cumberland County on the Delaware Bay in southern New Jersey. Born February 10, 1927, Pat Witt began studying art in 1937, attending the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and Glassboro State College. She has had many one-woman shows, and has been part of group shows for more than 40 years at The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia Art Alliance, The Noyes Museum, Brian Parent Center, and as part of the American Painters in Paris Bicentennial in 1976 in Paris, France.
B.F.A. Tyler School of Art
Temple University N.J. Teaching Certification: Teacher of Art K-12
Rowan University
Matthew majored in painting and drawing at Tyler School of Art. After completing his degree he worked for some time with the Philadelphia Mural Arts Project under the guiding eye of Jane Golden. Matthew left the project to pursue a career as a high school fine arts teacher, a decision he has never regretted. As a child Matthew took classes in the non-competitive atmosphere at the Barn and was inspired by Pat and her innate connection with her students through fine arts. These days he finds inspiration in his own students. Their being is always driving him forward to find new ways for the youths of today to connect to fine art in a world of ever changing advancements in technology that seem to engulf there every waking moment. “I still believe there is a need for the eye and the hand of the artist in everyplace and everyone.”
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Printing Major/ Painting Minor
Kandice recently changed her major to printmaking with a minor in painting. Her current work is not based in one single medium, but varies among printmaking, painting, drawing, and at times the combination of all three.
Kandice began studying at The Barn at age eleven where she was introduced to the Arts and a sense of self, something that Kandice states; her art could not have matured without.
Kandice quickly moved into an apprentice role for the children’s classes. She will return this summer to intern with Pat, while earning college credits through the art work-study program.
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts: Painting Certification
University of Pennsylvania: BFA
Rowan University: NJ Teaching Certification - Teacher of Art K-12 MAE
Betsy first attended classes at the Barn as a teen. She then assisted Pat with the Tiny Tots classes and eventually taught the class. Her children, Carley and Jacob also grew up with the Barn. The importance of creativity and divergent thinking has been a way of life in the Tasker household.
She was the coordinator of the Fine and Performing Arts Department at Cumberland Regional High School along with teaching Studio Art and STEM Art.
Betsy has taught drawing at Cumberland County College and continues to paint, working mainly in oils.
M.Ed., University of Vermont
MFA, U Mass, Dartmouth
Nancy currently resides in Columbus, OH where she chairs the art department at The Wellington School. She teaches everything from drawing to 3-D design. She has taught hand paper making at Rhode Island School of Design and is a practicing artist working in hand made paper and mixed media. Nancy has been returning to the Barn every summer for the past 38 years to teach papermaking and photography.
M.Ed., Art Education, Boston University
NJ Certification : Art Ed K-12
Teaching: Winslow Elementary School, Vineland, NJ
K-12 certified
Kara Macon Rehm was born in Vineland in 1980. When she was eleven-years-old, her Aunt Lori bought her art lessons for her birthday. Upon meeting artist Pat Witt, owner of The Barn Studio of Art, her life was forever changed. Some of her best days at The Barn were spent learning the “magic” (as Pat would put it) of art and nature. Since then, she has worked to recreate that “magic” in art for her own students.
During Rehm’s high school years, she volunteered as an apprentice at The Barn. After class, Pat would have “art to art” talks with the helpers about the students. Ms. Witt would discuss the learning process and the teaching of Fine Art. These talks made her aware of what went into teaching art. Pat was no longer just her art teacher, but had become her mentor as well. Pat’s passion for her students and for her art made Rehm realize she shared those feelings and wanted to do similar things with her life. Rehm went on to receive her BA in Art Education from Rowan University. Upon graduating, she obtained an Art teaching position.
In 2010, Rehm received a phone call from Pat Witt. She asked if Rehm would like to come back and teach the Saturday children’s classes. The Barn is free-spirited and light- hearted, while maintaining a strong discipline in the Fine Arts. The lessons are the same as Rehm had learned twenty three years ago. They are based on close observation drawing and nature.
In 2016 Rehm obtained her Master’s degree in Art Education at Boston University. She earned the Art Educators of New Jersey Past President’s Scholarship for graduate school. Rehm also presented at the AENJ conference and spoke about Mosaic Murals and Communities. One of her mosaics earned her “The Best Friend” award from Cumberland and Salem Counties Big Brothers Big Sisters Club.
Philadelphia College of Art
Bill Ternay was raised on a farm in Olivet, New Jersey, where his parents also ran the local country store. He is a 1964 graduate of the Philadelphia College of Art. During his 45 year career as an illustrator and painter he has done everything from set design for the Mike Douglas Show, advertising illustration, children’s books, murals, portraits, and landscape paintings in a variety of mediums. His courtroom drawings have appeared on all of the major TV networks. He has taught at the University of the Arts, the Mainline Art Center, and the Wayne Art Center, in Pennsylvania. He was Chairman of the Illustration Department at Moore College of Art in Philadelphia from 1989 to 1993.
He currently teaches at the Barn Studio of Art in Millville, New Jersey, where he is Co-Coordinating Instructor for the annual Maurice River Landscape Painting Workshop. Bill has also taught painting workshops in Provence, France. He is a past President of the Philadelphia Water Color Society. His oil and water color paintings are represented by Hardcastles Gallery, in Centerville, Delaware, and Strodes Mill Gallery in Media, Pennsylvania. The artist has exhibited and won prizes in juried shows throughout the United States, including the "Arts for the Parks" competition in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. One of his water color paintings was selected for a national travelling exhibition by the American Watercolor Society. Bill lives in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. His favorite places to paint are in the South Jersey farmlands and wetlands of his youth, and on Deer Isle, Maine, where he has a log cabin. His paintings and adventures as an artist can be seen on his blog; Postcards from Philly
