Meet the Teachers  at The Creative Arts Academy Of The Quad Cities (Davenport, Iowa)

	Heidi Hernandez Heidi Hernandez studied art at Black Hawk College and St. Ambrose University, majoring in art and art education with a minor in art history; graduating with highest honors. She was the recipient of the John Schmit's excellence award in the arts. She taught art at Southwest Elementary School for 11 years and was very excited to join the Creative Arts Academy in Davenport, Iowa in 2017. In her spare time, Hernandez loves to read comic books and collect old and wonderful treasures. She also likes to listen to ... read moreeclectic mixture of music and collects LPs. Hernandez enjoys driving around town in her vintage Ford Galaxie and Vespa Scooter. Her husband-Kris and son-Oskar, spend time together at museums, outdoors biking and camping in their Vanagon. Hernandez is an exhibiting artist and primarily works in oil. Hernandez also creates sculpture and mixed media works that incorporate her love of items and the stories they tell about the past. Hernandez works at the Creative Arts Academy and St. Ambrose University in Davenport Iowa. Send compliment
	This teacher has submitted their own personal artwork! Click here to view their gallery.

Colleen Tomlinson Colleen Tomlinson teaches Communication and Media Arts courses at The Creative Arts Academy of the Quad Cities and Visual Arts at Eisenhower Elementary. For years as a lead artist, her niche has been large scale collaborative projects. She has engaged community members at Quad City Art’s Metro Arts Youth Apprenticeship Program, The Heritage for Elderly, Disabled or Handicapped, Boys and Girls Club, Hand in Hand, and Figge Art Museum. As an independent artist, her most current series includes a mixed media s ... read moreeries illustrating a narrative from her grandfather’s letters during WWII. Tomlinson received her B.A. from Augustana College and Teaching Certification from the University of Iowa. A professional leader, she is Communications Chair, Conference Chair for AEI’s 2021 Fall Conference, and Emerging Excellence Host. She served on the Iowa Department of Education’s Fine Arts Standards Adoption Team and the Statewide Fine Arts Leadership Team. She has passionately supported her district as an artsBASICS board member, Visual Arts and Media Arts Curriculum Team member and Collaborative Teacher Team Guide. Send compliment

Clint Balsar Clint has been a visual art educator for 25 years. Sixteen of those have been with the Davenport Schools; 5 at Monroe Elementary and 11 at Central High School. He has also taught Digital Photography at Scott Community College for 4 years. During his time at Central, he has helped several students achieve national awards. One of his students received the Best Manipulated Photo in the Portraits of Learning contest sponsored by Tech & Learning magazine. Another student that he instructed received 1st place i ... read moren the Annual Congressional Art Competition for the First Congressional District of Iowa and had his work displayed in the Madison Cannon Tunnel in Washington, DC. In 2017, he had a student receive a Gold Medal from Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Her work was on display at Parsons The New School of Design, in New York, NY as well as the Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building, in Washington, DC. Several of his students have also gone on to prestigious arts schools including the Kansas City Art Institute, Savannah College of Art and Design, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, and Full Sail University. He was recently selected for the 2014 Educators ArtLab to study animation at the Kansas City Art Institute. Clint is an Adobe Certified Expert in both Adobe Photoshop CC and Adobe Premiere Pro CC. He is also an Adobe Certified Instructor in Adobe Photoshop CC, and has recently become the Adobe Campus Leader for the Creative Arts Academy of the Quad Cities. In addition, he is also recognized as a Certified Journalism Educator by the Journalism Education Association and has judged several state and national competitions. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Art Education from Iowa State University and his Master of Arts in Teaching and Learning with Technology from Ashford University. Clint is a member of the National Art Education Association, the Iowa State Education Association, Art Educators of Iowa and the Iowa Alliance for Arts Education. Additional memberships include the Figge Art Museum, National Association of Photoshop Professionals, Adobe Education Exchange and ArtsBASICS. He also owns and operates Balsar Photography and Design. His photography has been displayed and received awards at both the local and national levels. Mr. Balsar has also produced a full-size bronze sculpture located at Neil Armstrong Elementary School in Park View, Iowa. He is married to Ticia and has a daughter, Jordan and a son, Charlie. Send compliment