Monthaven Art and Cultural Center

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Classes

Monthaven Art Classes

Register your child for art classes in sketching & shading techniques, anime drawing, painting, sculpting, fantasy art, and more.

CHILDREN'S ART CLASSES

We offer a variety of fun, skill-building art classes for children and teens. Our expert instructors will help your child explore painting, sculpture, anime, digital art and more. Click the button below and enjoy!
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ADULT ART CLASSES

Open to adults of all skill levels and backgrounds. Learn new artistic techniques in a fun and relaxing environment.
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BETWEEN THE LINES HEALING ARTS

Our experienced healing arts facilitators take an integrated (or intermodal) approach to the arts. They use imagery, storytelling, dance, music, drama, poetry and visual arts to foster growth and healing. Take a look at our classes and find the one that is right for you.
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SENIOR ART CLASSES

Designed for Seniors ages 55+ of all skill levels. We strive to create a program where every participant can tap into their own creative nature while experiencing a sense of joy and empowerment through participation.
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Art Classes for All Ages - Sumner County TN

SPECIALTY WORKSHOPS AND WEEKEND CLASSES

Workshops are designed to provide creative opportunities for anyone who wants to learn new skills and be energized and inspired.
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SUMMER CAMP

Paint, clay, mixed media, pastels, and more! Our summer camps will introduce students to a variety of artistic mediums and build on new or existing skills. Campers will have projects each day that allow them to be creative, express themselves, and show off their new skills.
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Learn A New Thing

Our Classes Are For You.

We create experiences and an atmosphere where our entire community can have place to express themselves. These are some of the focuses.

  • Acrylic Painting
  • Oil Painting
  • Digital Art
  • Watercolor
  • Observational Drawing
  • Portrait Painting
  • Still LIfe
  • Drawing Basics

"Art is the breath and
beauty of the world"

Who You Will Learn From

Our Teachers

LaurenMarkham_Headshot

Lauren Markham

Art Teacher

Lauren Markham

Art Teacher

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Rae-Balmuth

Rae Balmuth MA, RDT

Art Teacher

Rae Balmuth MA, RDT

Art Teacher

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Jessica Duke Bio Picture

Jessica Duke

Art Teacher

Jessica Duke

Art Teacher

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Sarah-Huffman copy

Sarah Huffman

Art Teacher

Sara Huffman

Art Teacher

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Dr. Priscilla Eichler

Priscilla Eichler

Art Taecher

Dr. Priscilla Eichler

Art Teacher

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kathryn-garcia

Kathryn Garcia

Art Teacher

Kathryn Garcia

Art Teacher

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Maria legett

Maria Leggett

Art Teacher

Mariah Leggett

Art Teacher

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Jessica-Lewis copy

Jessica Lewis

Art Teacher

Jessica Lewis

Art Teacher

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Untitled design (4)

Nathaniel Evans

Art Teacher

Nathaniel Evans

Art Teacher

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Eva Rabin

Eva Rabin

Art Taecher

Eva Rabin

Art Education Coodinator

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Untitled design (4)

Derris Dabbs

Art Teacher

Derris Dabbs

Art Teacher

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blake-donaldson

Blake Donaldson

Art Teacher

Blake Donaldson

Art Teacher

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Sandra Kandros

Sandra Kandros

Art Teacher

Sandra Kandros

Art Teacher

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Cain & Cyle Barnes

Art Teacher

Cain & Cyle Barnes

Art Teacher

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Lauren Markham

Art Teacher

Lauren Markham was born in 1989 in Montgomery, Alabama. She discovered her love for art as a child and got serious about pursuing her craft in high school. She went on to obtain her Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from Savannah College of Art and
Design.

Lauren went to work at Simply Put Paper & Gift in Atlanta, Georgia. There, she learned the ins and outs of graphic design, hand-lettering, and illustration. A few years later, she took the hands-on experience she’d gained at Simply Put to her new position as Senior Graphic Designer at Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, where she continued to learn and grow as a graphic designer. She now works as a freelance graphic designer and fine artist, doing work that she loves on her own terms.

Today, Lauren continues to seek out new sources of inspiration, expand her horizons, and push her artistic limits. Fascinated and awed by the history of artists before her, she is ever honing and sharpening her skills and artistic voice. With each painting she is excitingly challenged with realism, two-dimensional elements, and the relationship among form, space, color, and light.  Each new work represents an adventure and an opportunity to test out new techniques, explore uncharted artistic territories, and venture into new realms of craftsmanship and emotionality.

Lauren is now exhibiting her work within the Nashville area and can be found painting or
drawing in her studio everyday. With every brush stroke, she arrives at a better understanding of herself and the world around her – and her journey has only just begun.

Rae Balmuth MA, RDT

ART TEACHER

Rae Balmuth MA, RDT, is an experienced performing arts educator who has spent 15+ years experience supporting the behavioral and emotional wellness of others.  With degrees in both education and psychology, training as a Drama Therapist, and certifications in Autism Movement Therapy, Therapeutic Art Life Coaching, and as a Reiki Master, Rae is able to marry creativity and mindfulness in a way that allows students to learn meaningful skills that will benefit them for years to come.  Her students can expect to move, create, explore, and play through learning modules that lead to enhanced self-esteem and an overall feeling of empowerment.  Rae is Nashville-born, Los Angeles raised (by two South Louisiana natives), and Southern California educated.  She is excited to have returned to Tennessee now with her husband and daughter to grow roots in Nashville’s rich community of creatives.

Jessica Duke

ART TEACHER

Jessica is an Illustrator currently based in Nashville. She studied Illustration and Painting at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. She works digitally and specializes in portraiture.

People that inspire Jessica are Vivienne Westwood, Tomoyo Kamoi, and Wes Anderson.

Some of her hobbies include cooking, gaming, and antiquing. I look forward to making art together!!! 

Sara Huffman

ART TEACHER

Sarah Ruccio Huffman is an expressive therapist and clinical chaplain who has worked in the environments of residential addiction treatment, inpatient psychiatric treatment, medical hospitalization, and hospice care. Sarah strongly believes that creativity helps the process of mental, emotional, and spiritual recovery as it empowers individuals to make choices, access buried thoughts and feelings, and share their story through a new lens. Sarah is grateful to be part of the Healing Arts Program at Monthaven as a group facilitator to bring therapeutic art to community partners and help cultivate a culture of recovery through the creative arts. “Art is the set of wings to carry you out of your own entanglement.” -Joseph Campbell

Dr. Priscilla Eicher

ART TEACHER

Priscilla Eicher is an artist/art educator from Nashville, Tennessee. She began drawing before entering elementary school, painting a few years later. She has a B.A. in Fine Arts and a master’s in special education, both from Vanderbilt University. Priscilla also earned her doctorate in developmental psychology and taught special needs children for many years. She has used her love for drawing and painting wherever her career has taken her. Now that she is somewhat retired, she is able to make more time for her passion for art. “Life is always an adventure!”

Kathryn Garcia

ART TEACHER

Kathryn Garcia is an exhibiting visual artist and educator in Nashville with a Master’s Degree in Studio Art from California State University, Sacramento. She has exhibited and taught in both private and public institutions including Sierra College; Boston College of Art; the University of the South, Sewanee; and Watkins College of Art. Her large paintings and drawings have received purchase awards at Cal State, Sacramento; New Works Award; and Sacramento Metro Arts Commission. She has taught at all levels across the country for 20 years.

Mariah Leggett

ART TEACHER

Mariah Leggett is a professional artist, born and raised in Memphis, TN and moved to Nashville 7 years ago. While she dabbles in mediums from photography to sculpting, she specialized in mixed media, including watercolor, acrylic, teas, and coffees. For her, art has been a means of discovering and exploring herself, but the world around her.

Jessica Lewis

ART TEACHER

Jessica Lewis has been a professional artist for over 20 years with a focus on oil painting. She is especially known for her enchanting portraits of children and out-of-the-box thinking when approaching art. From commissioned portraits to plein air landscapes to largescale mural installations, her work is thoughtful while inspiring and delighting.

She has exhibited in numerous venues and has received a multitude of awards. In 2018 she was awarded 2nd place in the Portrait Society of America’s, Out of The Box category. Most recently, in 2020, she was awarded 10th place in the Commissioned Portrait category in the Portrait Society of America. She was also honored in 2020 to be selected for the Red Clay Survey, an exhibition showcasing the best in southern contemporary artists exhibited in the Huntsville Museum of Art.

A Nashville resident for 14 years, she recently moved to Goodlettsville and spends her time doing commissioned portraits, plein air painting as well as teaching. She is also a member of the Chestnut Group, a plein air painting group dedicated to the conservation and preservation of vanishing landscapes and historic buildings in middle Tennessee.

Nathaniel Evans

ART TEACHER
Nathaniel Evans was born in Ohio and raised in Tennessee. He studied Fine Art painting at the Academy of Art in San Francisco where he received the Frank Lanza Award and the 2nd Place Contemporary Painting Award. He has participated in exhibitions and art fairs in Europe and the USA, and earned a residency and solo exhibition at Espositivo Gallery. Nathaniel works primarily in oil paint, blending traditional realism techniques with haunting surrealist imagery. He currently resides in Nashville, TN. 

Eva Rabin

Education Coordinator

Eva Rabin is an artist and originally from Los Angeles. She enjoys many things—traveling, art, history, reading, organization, and documentaries. While her interests may seem a bit scattered, they are the foundation for complex inquisitiveness. At the root of her work is the continual exploration to find meaning and understanding in both the present and the past. While a student at Smith College where she studied History and Studio Art, she spent a year abroad at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. After graduating from Smith, she returned to the UK and graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University with a BA in Three-Dimensional Design. In 2017, she graduated from the MFA Applied Craft + Design program in Portland, Oregon. She has dabbled in printmaking, jewelry, silversmithing, and ceramics before falling in love with embroidery and textiles. Before moving to Nashville in 2021, she was a manager at a bakery and yes, she has a big, sweet tooth.

Derris Dabbs

ART TEACHER

While pursuing a bachelor's in biology, Derris studied fine arts and animation on the side to fuel a life-long love and appreciation for art. After graduating, spending time working in a laboratory by day, and doing illustrative work at night, she realized that art was her calling and began to work as a freelance digital illustrator and character designer full time. Her past clients range from news and information podcasters, TTRPG live play shows, and authors.

Blake Donaldson

ART TEACHER

Blake is an artist with a passion for drawing and animation. This includes drawing many different poses as well as characters and stories.  As a kid, he always had doodles or pictures in a notebook and as he got older, he continued this habit.  Characters are his favorite things to draw, and he wants to help others feel the same passion as he does.  Let’s create together!

Sandra Kandros

ART TEACHER

Born in Washington, Pennsylvania, Sandra started out her art teaching career in 1970 at the Junior High School level for two years in Pennsylvania and then moved to Hendersonville, Tennessee with her husband Larry, and started teaching at Hawkins Jr. High School. In 1985 she started teaching at Hendersonville High School and is currently teaching the upper-level art classes including A.P. Art. She also teaches two nights a week at Hendersonville Arts Council where she has been teaching since the mid 1970’s.She has served as a board member of TAEA, taught Arts in the Park, participated in Fall Into Art, mentors new art teachers, shown her work at Monthaven and has been a strong advocate for the Arts in Tennessee.

Cain & Cyle Barnes

ART TEACHER
Cain and Cyle Barnes were born and raised in Florence, MS. They studied painting and photography at Delta State University before moving to Nashville to pursue music as a full-time career with their band The Weeks in 2010.

In between their stints on the road, they've continued creating art over the years, through music videos, band artwork, printmaking, painting, and embroidery work. As twins, they love collaborating on works of art together and enjoy sharing this passion with others. 
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