Beloved local artist Chris Drake served as Artist-in-Residence at the Arts Center in the mid-1980s. A longtime teacher at the Center, he influenced numerous artists who continue to work today, including Betsy Orbe Lester, Perri Neri, Bud Smith, Sharon Proffitt, and Robyn Voshardt. He was a passionate, inventive artist who instilled that same passion in both his work and the work of his students. An early resident of the original Artspace (now Artlofts), the artist Betsy Orbe Lester has his original sink in her studio.