Peter Beasecker was born in Toledo, Ohio, and received a B.S. degree from Miami University and an M.F.A. from Alfred University. He joined the VPA faculty in August 2009, coming from the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University, where he taught since 1992. As a professor of art, he received numerous distinctions, most recently, SMU’s distinguished Ford Research Fellowship. He has exhibited extensively in national and international venues, and his work is included in the collections of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution and the Minneapolis Institute of Art. He has been a visiting artist and workshop leader at over 50 institutions, including Anderson Ranch, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, and the Penland School of Crafts.