Siem van der Ven

BIO: Simon van der Ven received an undergraduate degree in printmaking with a minor in sculpture. He worked as a goldsmith and carpenter/builder before becoming an award winning high school art teacher. Seventeen years in the classroom were interrupted only by a year-long sabbatical in the south of France, where van der Ven worked in Les Buffile clay studio and studied painting and critical theory at the Marchutz School. Later, while still teaching, van der Ven earned an MFA, concentrating his studies on ceramics and drawing.