Team

Kelly Valletta is an artist, experienced art educator and one of the founding team members of TAC. She attended Pratt Institute where she received her Masters in Art Education. She believes that the arts can play a vital role in community engagement, and thoroughly enjoys sharing her broad knowledge of art with people of all ages.

Kira Silver has been involved with TAC since 2010. Beginning as an intern, she soon after became a weaving instructor. She learned weaving in January 2009 at Oberlin and hasn't stopped since. Other than weaving, she runs her business By The Baker, dabbles in screen printing, sewing, some major plant-loving and cat snuggling. Her background is in teaching both kids and adults alike, creating displays for Anthropologie and tackling a wide variety of freelance creative opportunities.

So Ye Oh is an artist, making soft sculptures by using various types of fabrics. Through studies of developmental psychology from college and further research in graduate school, she focuses on a theme of a transitional object in relation to her childhood. She received a BA from the University of Michigan in 2016 and graduated from the MFA Fine Arts program at Pratt Institute in 2020. Starting as an intern in early 2020, she has been continuing to work for TAC, one of her big resources and inspirations for her current art practice.

Howard Ptaszek has undergraduate degrees in Physics, and Mathematics and a Masters degree in Industrial Design from Pratt Institute. He took his first weaving class at TAC in 2009, and has been weaving since, often showing his woven artwork in juried shows around the country. He likes to experiment with the weaving form, materials and processes.

Emma Redmond is a textile artist and teacher who creates handcrafted, one of a kind pieces for the home and adornment. All of her pieces incorporate hand sewing, reflecting her love of traditional methods, as well as her fear of technology. Many of her sewing and design techniques are also used in her quilt making practice. Her work is influenced by American folk art, near east textiles as well as a love of kitsch. She lives and works in her hometown of Brooklyn, New York. When she is not quilting or weaving she can be found teaching youth programs at Textile Arts Center.

Milo Godfrey (they/them) is a multi-disciplinary artist and experienced arts educator. Milo's roots as a performer inspires the social-emotional approach that they offer in all learning spaces. Milo is committed to chipping away at accessibility barriers to art making, and facilitating arenas where folks feel empowered to learn cooperatively. Milo has been a member of TAC's community since summer 2022.

Isa Rodrigues is a textile artist and educator from the South of Portugal and one of the founding team members of TAC. After receiving her MA in Textile Conservation, Isa moved from Lisbon to New York to work and learn from the textile collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Isa has been on staff at the Textile Arts Center since 2009, and was the founder and Director of the Sewing Seeds project. She likes to experiment with weaving and natural dyes, and her best ideas normally appear to her in dreams.