University in Melbourne. In 2004 Nicole returned to RMIT and completed her Ph.D. in Fine Arts. 

Nicole's residencies include: the International Ceramics Studio in Kecskemet Hungary, Grey Street Studio in Adelaide Australia, the Vermont Studio Center in Johnston Vermont, and in 08 she was a Visiting Artist & Scholar at the American Academy in Rome, Italy. Nicole has had 6 solo exhibitions and participated in over 100 invitational/juried exhibitions internationally.

Nicole has presented over 25 lectures on her work & is published in over 35 books, catalogues + websites. Her work can be found in the collection of the International Ceramics Studio in Kecskemet, Hungary + the Riga Porcelain Museum in Riga, Latvia.

Q & A  

The membership of SNAG is passionate and diverse.  How do you view the president's role in energizing this group, growing our membership, and fostering a sense of unity within our organization?

Nicole: Overall I believe the strength of SNAG's membership is the diversity of its members. It was started by just a few passionate people but has grown because of the communities it provides for its members in which to share, grow, develop new ideas, techniques, partnerships and friendships. Its participants are makers with diverse backgrounds who are all encouraged to engage with the larger community through the various outlets that SNAG offers.

Generally I see the president's role is to help identify and facilitate the interests of the various members. In that role the president should listen to the changing tides of what they would like from their organization and help develop new programs where they feel part of the whole and not simply paying their dues. I feel the president has a responsibility to be visible and available to the entire group, she/he would welcome all member ideas, provide a platform for new programs and help the board identify where new life is needed for existing events.

I want members to have ownership of this organization and to actively help SNAG become a stronger organization. I think creating that comes from engaging members and building meaningful relationships from within. I also believe that members have a responsibility to take ownership of their organization and be heard so we can all work toward the goals of the organization together.

Tedd McDonah

Tedd currently lives in Millersville, PA where he works in and maintains his blacksmithing and non-ferrous metalsmithing studios. He is a part time studio artist, part time educator, part time tool-maker/repairman, and in the summer time, avid fisherman. His metalsmithing training came from the University of Wisconsin - LaCrosse and Arizona State University where he earned the degrees BS in Art, and an MFA, respectively. This semester he continues to teach at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ, and for the first time at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC.

Q & A 

The membership of SNAG is passionate and diverse.  How do you view the president's role in energizing this group, growing our membership, and fostering a sense of unity within our organization?

Tedd: Open-mindedness is a key factor when serving any diverse group. SNAG is certainly no different. I understand the members' expectations of SNAG are currently (and will likely continue to be) as diverse as the group itself. That fact alone sets well with me knowing there are rich learning/sharing opportunities in a broad educational sense. The future and vitality of SNAG is, and will be directly impacted by the membership - it will be important for me to discover new ways of promoting SNAG to universities, high schools, art centers, galleries, museums, privately owned studios, etc. If elected, I intend to pursue an informative initiative for those who may already have a vague idea, but are not completely aware of who, and what SNAG is. I am strongly attracted to the idea of educational, critical, and thought provoking discourse within the organization; through which, an energy and sense of fostering can come.