Register your child for art classes in sketching & shading techniques, anime drawing, painting, sculpting, fantasy art, and more.
We create experiences and an atmosphere where our entire community can have place to express themselves. These are some of the focuses.
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.
Heather Gorbski graduated from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2022 with a BA in both Art(Drawing) and in Asian Studies, concentrating on Japan, alongside a minor in Japanese Language. She enjoys using a variety of mediums such as pen/pencil, marker, watercolor, and digital software to create works revolving around fantasy creature, character, and environmental design. When she isn't creating, Heather unwinds by playing video games, watching the "Critical Role" live-stream, and spending the majority of her time with her cats.
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!!!
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
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!”
Barbra has a Bachelor of Science with a focus of Studio Art from Tennessee State University. She also has a Master of Arts in Teaching from Trevecca Nazarene University, Nashville, Tennessee.
She was a prior ELA teacher for 4 years and currently teaches art at Liberty Creek High in Gallatin, Tennessee.
Barbara is extremely passionate about students and their willingness to see the world around them in a colorful way and can't wait teach classes at Monthaven.
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 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.
Gina Kelley has been an artist and art educator for over ten years, teaching in a variety of settings like private lessons, studio classes, and K-12 classrooms. Gina has been a creative spirit as long as she can remember, and grew to love painting and drawing at an early age. In her college years, Gina specialized in realistic watercolor portraits but has since discovered a love for jewelry-making and metalworking. She currently runs her handmade jewelry shop from her home studio, visiting markets and craft fairs across the Southern United States. Gina currently teaches art lessons and classes to students of all ages in Sumner and Wilson County and resides in Westmoreland, TN with her husband, Lucas.
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.
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 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!
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 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.
Sadie Collins is a director, actor, writer, stage manager, and graduate student of Randolph College studying Theatre Directing. While pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in Theatre at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, she revitalized a student-led Shakespeare Company and was a co-creator of the Chattanooga Film Festival: The Roosties. Throughout her career in the performing arts, she has had the opportunity to work with many wonderful theatre companies including The Chattanooga Theatre Centre, The Robertson County Players, and Obvious Dad.
A life-long theatre advocate, Collins is interested in directing performances that show the importance of the arts in our everyday lives.
I help people get more creative with mixed media art classes. I help women deal with anxiety and stress while exercising their intuition. I want to help people get exactly what they are looking for, the perfect gift for someone special. I hope to bring more feminine energy into their lives by classes and home décor.
I love teaching art to children and adults at my home and various other places around town. And when I am not teaching or in my home studio, I can be found watching TV with my husband. I also like to read romance novels or young adult fiction books by the pool on my kindle.
I have a Bachelor of Fine Art in Graphic Design from the Art Institute of Atlanta. I worked as a web designer teaching and designing hospital websites. Then I decided that I needed to do what I loved and became a full-time Mixed Media Artist. You can find my work at The Artisan Hatchery in Gallatin TN and The Basement Marketplace in Mt. Julliet.
Ekramy Maher is an Egyptian director and producer. A graduate from the Nashville Film Institute, Ekramy’s goal is to share his American experience with his colleagues in Egypt, share his passion for film and production with the Nashville community and become a worldwide filmmaker. Before coming to Nashville, Ekramy worked in the film industry for 15 years.Ekramy has won 20 awards for his movies titled Test of Faith, 5 awards for Butterfly Cinema and more. In addition to filmmaking, Ekramy has taught acting in both Cairo and Nashville as well as screenwriting workshops and lectures at WIFT Academy with Nashville Women in Film & TV.
Brooke Hammond is a Nashville based artist with a passion for painting and sculpting. She expresses herself through creating surrealist art inspired by nature and self discovery. She grew up surrounded by a family with multiple artist and has been creating since a young age. She’s taught multiple painting classes in Hendersonville and also ventured out to painting murals locally. She is enthusiastic about teaching art and helping other’s experience creative learning and pursuing their passion in art.
Drew Kirk is a multifaceted artist and Navy veteran, whose creative journey has been enriched by his diverse experiences. Holding a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Austin Peay State University, his passion for art blossomed into a profound exploration of mixed media, sculpture, photography, and pottery. Drew has shared his expertise and creativity as a middle school art teacher, inspiring countless students to unlock their artistic potential.