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 23 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!
Stacey
Grieff
Stacey has a background in the Arts and Early Childhood Education. Her previous career as a fine art portrait photographer spanned more than 15 years. It was through this work, while photographing families and children, that she discovered a natural ability to connect with children and a desire to work with them in more impactful ways. Stacey earned her master’s in Early Childhood Education from The Erikson Institute. Here she gained a deep knowledge of child development and research-based instructional practices. Stacey holds a Professional Educator’s License with endorsements in both Special Education and English as a Second Language.
Since earning her master’s, Stacey has worked as the Assistant Director of a non-profit organization focused on early literacy, a parent-child literacy coach, a preschool teacher in Cicero Public Schools and, in conjunction with an Erikson Institute research study, she worked in Chicago Public Schools with kindergarten through second-grade students teaching mindfulness concepts. Stacey was a lead educator at By Discovery from 2019 through the spring of 2023.
Growing up in a family of artists and craftsmen, Stacey knows first-hand how creating something with your hands can build confidence, expand problem-solving skills, and fill one’s heart with joy. She believes all children benefit from creative experiences and cannot
wait to start creating with your children once again at 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, where she explores the theme of home, borders, and otherness within her diasporic experiences.
Sayera 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 enter her 2nd year teaching with By Discovery!
Greta Olson
​Greta Olson is an interdisciplinary artist based in Oak Park. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2023. Greta’s artwork is inspired by folk art, magic, and nature, often telling stories through bold colors, organic forms, and mixed materials. She describes her process as “playful prayer” - a journey of collecting, experimenting, and discovering. She explores a wide range of mediums and enjoys how working with different materials and techniques opens new creative possibilities.
Greta’s passion for public art and community-driven projects is at the heart of her practice. She creates mosaic murals that transform public spaces into welcoming environments, aiming to integrate art into daily life and foster connection and healing. She views art as a way to care for her community and loves sharing this joy through teaching and collaboration.
With extensive experience teaching and mentoring students of all ages, Greta is dedicated to creating a supportive space where students feel comfortable experimenting and learning. She believes art education should allow students to explore freely, make mistakes, and grow in confidence. She’s excited to bring her creativity and enthusiasm to the By Discovery Art Enrichment Program and inspire the next generation of artists. When not making art or teaching, Greta enjoys collecting rocks and shells, gardening, and cooking new recipes.
Emma
Lacy
Emma Lacy is an interdisciplinary artist from Huntsville, Alabama, living and working in Chicago, Illinois. She has received a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in photography from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Traveling around the Southeast with a large format camera, her art focuses on blending feminine aesthetics and craft into the ostensible male photographic canon using alternative photographic techniques like cyanotype and silver gelatin printing processes.
Emma is thrilled to join By Discovery as a teaching artist, where she looks forward to fostering creativity and learning alongside her students. Outside of the classroom and darkroom, she enjoys swimming, watching movies, and crocheting.
Gray
Snyder
Gray Snyder is an interdisciplinary artist and educator from Southeast Michigan, based in Chicago, IL. She earned her BFA in Art & Design from the University of Michigan in 2023. Gray works primarily with the mediums of sculpture, ceramics, fiber, and video. Through multimedia exploration her work explores themes of memory, intergenerational stories, and the role of objects and rituals in healing practices.
Gray believes that art making is an incredible catalyst for inspiring self discovery, community building, and intellectual curiosity. She has experience working as a Graphic Design Instructor at the Detroit Boxing Gym, and is thrilled to continue teaching with By Discovery. She looks forward to facilitating a supportive environment for expansive art making, where students are encouraged to confidently experiment, collaborate, and discover new creative processes. Outside of artmaking, Gray deeply enjoys dancing to good music, cooking with friends, and biking fast.
Lacy
Bohannon
Lacy Bohannon is an interdisciplinary fiber artist from North Carolina, based in Chicago, IL. She received her BFA in Studio with a concentration in fiber and material studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2025. Lacy’s work is inspired by the generations of women who came before her who made clothing and quilts for their families. She utilizes the traditional technique of quilting as a point of connection between domestic craft and fine arts, and enjoys experimenting with found materials and printmaking on fabric. Family and community inspire Lacy’s artistic practice, and she likes to create work that is interactive and collaborative. These values drove her toward a career in teaching, and in the past year she has enjoyed working with children at the mural arts nonprofit, Green Star Movement, where she helped students create mosaic murals at several Chicago elementary schools. She believes that art education is essential for young people to build self efficacy, embrace who they are as individuals, and enhance their social and cultural knowledge. Lacy is excited to work with your students at By Discovery and looks forward to a year of creating!
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Johanna
Wojewodzki
Johanna Wojewodzki is an artist whose work is deeply informed by her background in architecture. A graduate of University of Maryland’s School of Architecture, Johanna blends technical precision with exploration of imagined built environments. After earning her degree, Johanna relocated to Chicago, where she has continued to develop her creative practice.
Working primarily with ink, Johanna uses her traditional architectural drawing background to design illustrations that reflect whimsical and imagined skylines and buildings. Particularly fascinated by the interplay between built and natural environments, Johanna’s drawings interrogate these dynamic relationships.
Johanna looks forward to guiding your students as they develop their own creative skills. She hopes to inspire them to use their artistic skills as not only a form of expression, but also as a tool for navigating the challenges and joys that life brings. When not creating, Johanna is an avid reader, mancala enthusiast, and can often be found running along the lakefront.
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Lydia
Winklbauer
Lydia Winklbauer is an interdisciplinary artist based in Chicago. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a concentration in Fiber and Material Studies. Lydia’s work often focuses on representing overlooked communities in Middle America; regularly drawing from her own experiences growing up in Wisconsin.
What started as a simple high school nannying job quickly turned into a passion for youth education. She followed this interest into college, working as a Classroom Assistant for SAIC’s Middle School Art Program, a Teaching Assistant for the Contemporary Practices Department, and as an Intern at The Chicago Weaving School in Irving Park. Lydia is excited to continue this journey with the students of By Discovery; hoping to create a warm and welcoming environment where creativity runs free. In her free time, Lydia enjoys reading, building her CD, Tape, and Vinyl collection, and hiking.
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. Creating art with students has been especially meaningful and he looks forward to working with students as a substitute teacher 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.
