Mimi Clayton, Director
Mimi is a renaissance woman who exemplifies the holistic principle of happiness through integration of a healthy mind, body and spirit. Mimi has a B.A. in Sports Medicine, has been a bodywork professional for 17 years, and is the owner of a 10 year old clinical massage therapy practice. Mimi has been an educator and clinical supervisor for the Soma Institute. She is a professional photographer, a triathlete and a loving mother to her collie/aussie shepard mix, Sydney. She enjoys Qi Gong, spending time with friends and creating culinary dishes in her free time. Mimi’s goal is connecting all the talented individuals she has met through her many activities to create a multi-disciplinary network of creative, committed artisans who embody organic principles.
Diane Ponder, Curator and Business Development
Diane Ponder is a painter and digital photographer. Her work has been displayed locally at Navy Pier, Grant Park, and Oak Park; nationally at The Rockford Gallery in Rockford, Maine, the Art Center in Orinda, California and the New York Art Expo, and internationally, at the first abstract art show in Jeddah Saudi Arabia where she was the only woman artist. Diane’s work has also been featured in the Oak Park Wednesday Journal and the Chicago Tribune. Diane owned the Living Room Gallery, a multidisciplinary art space, was featured in a PBS documentary of an art series benefiting Sarah’s Inn, a women’s shelter, and has been artist in residence with the Art House, an artist’s cooperative. Diane showed at the Lincoln Park Art Fair and at the Chicago Cultural center in the Mark di Suervo sculpture, “The Peace Tower”.
Jen Berman, Marketing
Jen Berman is a Reiki Master and the owner of Metabody Studio. Jen opened Metabody Studio in 2008 and has worked as a professional Reiki Practitioner and Energy Worker since that time. She is a staff Practitioner at The Spirit Spa of Life Force Arts Center, and appears every month at Give Peace a Dance. Before opening Metabody Studio, Jen worked as an advertising strategic planner and a market research/consumer psychology consultant.