By Discovery
We are passionate about supporting children's growth through the visual arts.
Jocelyne
Adkins
Jocelyne Adkins is the Program Director and Lead Educator for By Discovery. Jocelyne founded By Discovery at Beye School in 2011 to offer children creative, project-based learning in art and nature-based science. She loves working with youth and is inspired by their enthusiasm, creativity and endless knowledge. As a child, Jocelyne was fascinated by the process of making and enjoyed bringing something into the world that didn't exist before. Her family's resourcefulness and creativity provided a foundation for her to build upon and she strives to provide the same for her students. Jocelyne holds a Master of Arts in Art Education degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Saint Mary's College in Indiana. She has 22 years of teaching experience, including preschool through college levels. She loves spending time with her family and their dog Luna, exploring nature and creative endeavors. She always looks forward to facilitating spectacular creative projects with By Discovery students!
Sally
Cho
Sally Cho is a Korean artist who lives and works in Chicago, IL. She holds a BFA degree in Painting and Drawing from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Sally’s practice involves painting and drawing and more recently writing and screen printing. In the past, she has worked as a teaching assistant for Korean Language Program at Clarksburg Elementary School. She has also worked as a teaching assistant for the Early College Program at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Sally loves working closely with students of all ages, especially children. She is inspired by the infinite creativity and curiosity of children. She is passionate about exploring the ways art making can be used to encourage their positive growth. She loves coffee, cooking, and reading books!
Alexia
Harris
Lexi Harris is an interdisciplinary artist from Oak Park. She currently works as a carpenter with a focus in wood restoration. She believes in the power of art to inspire, connect, and transform and this lead to the opening of a home based art studio during the summer of 2023. She offered free classes for the kids in her neighborhood with a focus on utilizing recycled and non-traditional materials with the goal of inspiring the next generation of artists to create a more sustainable future. As the mother of a Beye student Lexi is passionate about inspiring and cultivating the love of learning and creative expression in young students! When she has free time, Lexi loves reading (usually with one or both of her two cats in her lap), cooking and researching cooking technique and food science, making pottery and other functional ceramic art, gardening and preserving her harvest, and thrifting! She is absolutely thrilled to join the By Discovery team as a co-teacher and hopes to create a positive and inclusive classroom environment and to provide individualized instruction and support for students with diverse learning styles and needs.
Justin
Lee
Justin Lee is a multimedia artist and DIY enthusiast, based in Chicago, Illinois. Lee has received a Bachelors in Fine Art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Their recent works focus on painting and drawing practices but past projects include fashion and accessories, fibers and material work, and sculptures. Lee makes artwork that is auto-biographical and pulls inspirations from their own life and experiences. They are influenced by internet and meme culture and their own Asian-American identity working from imagery that they can relate to. While honesty is a big part of Lee’s studio process, they also appreciate working from a place of humor. Justin started their artistic journey in art classrooms and after school programs very similar to By Discovery. They are very happy to have the opportunity to teach and guide creativity in the next generation of artists. They also value teaching as a way of learning and look forward to learning all that they can from By Discovery students. When not in the classroom or studio, Justin enjoys going on walks, thrifting and upcycling, playing volleyball, and trying out new types of places to eat.
Catalina
Gongora
Catalina Gongora is an artist and educator from Colombia, South America. She holds a BFA in painting from Universidad de Los Andes in Colombia and just received her Master’s in Art Education from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She explores the use of painting and textiles and colors in her artworks. Catalina likes to express in her paintings the sensations that are generated by being in contact with people, nature and sounds. In the past she has worked as an educator at the National Museum of Colombia and as a teaching assistant in the Multi-arts Camp at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Catalina loves interacting with children, and she is passionate about helping them express their feelings through art.
Christen
Ketchum
Chicago-based artist Christen Ketchum specializes in drawing, painting, and printmaking. She is inspired by the profound beauty of nature, after growing up in rural upstate New York. Another subject that fascinates her is people; their forms, connections, and emotions provide endless material for exploration. Christen’s work has been featured in several exhibitions and publications nationally. She has been published for four years in college Literary and Art Journal, Kodon. Her art has been featured multiple times in the recurring 12x12 (Wheaton, IL) and Nonward and Upward (Wheaton, IL) shows, as well as in Small Works (Clifton Springs, NY) and at the Hungerford (Rochester, NY). She had her first solo exhibition, Cathedral of Trees (Wheaton, IL), in 2023. Christen loves sharing her artistic knowledge and passion with others, working for the past year as a Resident Teaching Artist with Americorps ArtistYear program to provide art education to over 350 elementary students. Their sense of wonder and innate creativity as they explored new mediums and art styles made this year deeply rewarding - I anticipate an equally rewarding experience this year in By Discovery.
Sayera
Anwar
Sayera Anwar (b. 1995; Pakistan) lives and works in Chicago. In 2018, Anwar completed her Bachelor's in Visual Arts from the Beaconhouse National University, Lahore. In 2024, she finished her Master's in Fine Arts from The Art Institute of Chicago, where she was granted the prestigious New Artist Society Merit Scholarship award. Her work is interdisciplinary and as an educator, she sees her teaching as an extension of her practice. She is drawn to working with children because of their remarkable sense of intuition and uninhibited approach to creativity. In addition to her artistic practice, Sayera has taught as a teaching fellow in the Beaconhouse National University in Pakistan and the Art Institute of Chicago. She is enthusiastic to join the By Discovery program for the 2024/25 school year!
Grace
Papineau-Couture
Grace Papineau-Couture is a Canadian artist from Edmonton, Alberta, currently based in Chicago, Illinois working across sound, installation, and performance. Grace has an interest in using sound as raw material to address the tensions of modern life using elements of folklore, ritual and superstition through the creation of field recordings, sampling and handmade uncanny instruments.

An artist and performer, Grace has exhibited their work across Canada and the US, most recently at dc3 arts in Alberta, Waveforms Festival at High Concept Labs, Purple Window Gallery and Comfort Station in Chicago.
Grace has an interdisciplinary artistic background, trained across the visual and performing arts. They hold a Bachelor of Fine arts in experimental media and printmaking from the University of Alberta and a Master of Fine Arts in interdisciplinary studio practice from Columbia College Chicago.
Grace held a position as a graduate student instructor of record at Columbia College Chicago where their passion for arts education and accessibility blossomed. Grace is delighted to join the By Discovery community and looks forward to being inspired by the unique sense of wonder that children have and helping children build self-confidence through creativity and art. In their free time, when not making art, Grace enjoys doing yoga, going for runs and figuring out which book to read next.
Mark
Adkins
Mark Adkins is a mixed media artist who enjoys working abstractly with pen and ink, collage, watercolor and acrylic paint. He has been a participant in sixteen exhibitions, inclusion in nine publications, including New American Paintings, New York Arts Magazine and featured in a 2006 Chicago Reader artist profile by Fred Camper. He retired from a twenty-eight year career at the Art Institute of Chicago in 2019. Since then, Mark has volunteered behind the scenes in many of By Discovery's day to day operations and also as a substitute teacher. For the 2023/2024 school year, Mark joined By Discovery as a Teaching Artist, supporting an additional program space on Wednesdays for our Lincoln families. Creating art with students has been especially meaningful and he looks forward to working with students again this year! In his spare time, in addition to art making, Mark enjoys spending time with his family, his dog Luna, and exploring nature.
Pamela
Penney
Pamela Penney is a textile and mixed media artist who has enjoyed teaching children and adults for the past 25 years. Through the Oak Park Education Foundation, she has taught in the Art Start program for D97 schools and OPEF's Summer BASE Camp. Pam is actively involved at the Oak Park Art League as an instructor, artist member and having served 6 years previously on their board. Prior to this, Pam had a studio gallery in the Oak Park Arts District and was the Director of the Arts District Kids Camp for many years. In addition, she taught after school art programs through the O.P. Park District. Pam raised two children who are now adults. She continues to enjoy the company of working creatively with kids, including substitute teaching for By Discovery, when she's not spinning and weaving in her studio or out walking her two dogs!
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Heath
Penney
With seven years of experience as a STEAM educator, Heath has a desire to inspire children to love learning. Committed to stoking curiosity and creativity, Heath has experience teaching in after school programs at Holmes, Longfellow, and Lincoln schools. He worked at Code Play Learn for 5 years as teacher and assistant manager. Heath has also worked with the Oak Park Arts District Summer Camp and has worked individually with children as a math & science tutor.
When he isn’t teaching children, Heath loves reading and studying a diverse range of topics, including history, philosophy and science. He also enjoys listening to podcasts on current events, politics and history.
Heath joined By Discovery in 2021 and this year, in addition to pursuing his educational goals, he will join us as needed as a Substitute Teacher.
Bruce
Judson
Bruce Judson is a self-taught American artist who lives and works between Chicago and Fontainebleau, France. Originally from the California Bay Area, he moved to Chicago in 1991, where he became an active member of the local art scene. His work primarily consists of mixed media collages on wood panels, incorporating acrylic paint, found and prepared paper, fabric, spray paint, pencil, and inks, exploring the fusion of human figures, animals, and abstract elements. Bruce's creative process is intuitive and dynamic. Layers of paint and paper blend, images emerge and recede, and the final compositions invite viewers to find their own connections and meanings. His inspiration extends to the natural world. “I like to walk on the beach and collect stones that draw my attention. The reason that one pebble is more interesting or unusual than the rest is similar to what draws a person into a painting. I want my paintings to have a quality that the viewer is curious and is drawn into that one image out of all the others.” Bruce has lived and worked in California, Utah, Chicago and France. He is partnering with By Discovery as a visiting artist for special events!
