Klara Dodds was born in Prague in 1974. She studied Management of Fine Arts at Western Czech University in Pilsen (BA) and then went on to do an MA in Theory of Culture at Charles University in Prague. She has been doing ceramics for 15 years and art all her life. After a period of teaching pottery to Romany (Gypsy) children at a school in Prague, Klara founded the Muddum Art Centre in 2004 with her husband, Joseph Dodds. Muddum runs a variety of art courses, including ceramics, painting, pastels, collage, paper-making, and more. They also have a gallery exhibiting their own work and also showcasing new artists’ work through their artist of the month program. Muddum also holds numerous cultural events from film nights to poetry readings. Klara teaches ceramics and collage for artbreak™.

Tatiana Irbis was born in 1956 in Omsk, in Siberian Russia. She studied at The Art College in Pensa from 1975-1980. She thereafter moved to Moscow to study stage design at The College of High Theatre. In 1984 she became a member of the Union of Artists of the USSR. Tatiana has produced original staging and designs for over 40 plays and ballets. In 1994 Tatiana became a member of the Russian Avant Garde group in Vladimir. In 1999 she moved to Prague, where she paints and designs costumes for actors and theatre groups. Tatiana teaches painting en plein air and life drawing for artbreak™ and has regular exhibitions in Prague.

Natasha Sutta grew up in England and did her university studies in Russian language and Theatre Studies. She thereafter moved to Taiwan, where in the course of a decade taught art and languages, mastered Mandarin Chinese, and completed a degree in Asiatic Fine Arts. An authority on both Chinese art and 19th century Czech painting, and herself a master of Chinese brush painting, she teaches art history at the university level in Prague, and lectures artbreak™ participants during visits to major galleries.

Valeria Puppin was born in Treviso, Italy in 1985. Valeria had her first contact with stop motion animation at the age of 12 for a school workshop. After receiving her diploma at Art Liceum, in 2003 she started a three-year course in Visual and Spectacle Arts at the University Institute of Architecture of Venice. During her studies animation became the main focus of her work, and she produced a number of films: “Disorder” (2005) and “The man who couldn’t sleep”(2006), which won the Pasinetti Video Award in Venice, and was screened at the 64th Venice International Film Festival. She currently lives and works in Prague. Valeria teaches film animation for artbreak™.

Katka Dederova completed her university studies at Charles University’s Faculty of Humanities in 2007, with a degree in NGO management, and is a licensed tour guide with a specialty in Prague architecture.

Susanne Kass has studied art and photography in Sweden, Finland and Germany, and has exhibited throughout Europe and in Australia. She will be teaching film animation on Thursday.