Instructors

Becky raises sheep and makes fiber art, specializing in feltmaking. Using the wool from her flock of sheep, she creates two- and three-dimensional felt art pieces including wall art, garments, accessories, rugs, and vessels. Felting combines her love of animals and nature with her passion for art. She enjoys teaching and sharing the magic of…

Liesl Chatman is a spoon carver, kolroser, and teacher. Her kolrosed spoons have been exhibited at the American Swedish Institute and the Vesterheim Museum, and she has taught kolrosing, spoon carving, and given demonstrations at North House Folk School in Grand Marais MN, ASI and Fireweed in Minneapolis, the Spoon Gathering in Milan MN, Greenwoodfest in…

Carson is a wild-food enthusiast and educator. His fascination with fungi began in Western Pennsylvania, when a friend showed him a bright orange chicken-of-the-woods mushroom. He was immediately hooked and set out to learn everything he could about foraging for mushrooms, an obsession that continues to today. Carson joined the Western PA Mushroom Club in…

Chiaki O’Brien is a SAORI Leaders Committee Certificate recipient. She began SAORI Weaving in 1996 in Japan. She worked as an instructor for the SAORI head office/school in Japan before moving to Minnesota in 2004. She’s been teaching a variety of ages and abilities at schools (including special education classes), at facilities for people with…

In the early ’90s a friend took me on my first true Boundary Waters canoe camping trip – a group of women. The camaraderie, the laughter, the solitude for reflection, the joyful teamwork as we gently paddled and portaged the wilderness…I WAS HOOKED! I’ve now racked up some 25+ years of wilderness trail experience, leading…

“My family grew up loving the outdoors, and we always took an interest in what it was we were seeing out there,” says Setterholm on his start in geology. He worked for the Minnesota Geological Survey for 40 years before retiring. “Geology is everywhere,” he says. “It’s the study of the earth, and we all…

Emily Anderson leads workshops that help students create fresher and more intuitive paintings. A life-long artist, Emily recently picked up the paints again and has begun the joyful journey of creating playful and layered landscapes. Students will come away from the class feeling excited to know that often, the paintings that took the shortest amount…

Mark sees the color chart when he looks at the world.  He has a long standing art background that he draws from as he creates warm and wonderful environments.  He loves plants, gardening and KNITTING. Mark learned to knit 12 years ago and has not stopped.  He particularly loves to knit the same thing over…

Brennan’s fascination with food culture and history was catalyzed by a trip to Western Europe in 2009 to study communal brick ovens. He began baking bread soon after, baking out of his father’s own brick oven and selling at local farmers markets during his high school summers. He has a degree from Whitman College in…

Kirsten Aune (b. 1968) grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts and attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City where she received her BFA in 1992. She lived in New Mexico before coming to Minnesota in 1994 where she maintains Kirsten Aune Textiles. She has had exhibitions in Minnesota, Illinois, Massachusetts, Sweden, Norway, Denmark,…

Katherine has a degree in studio art from Macalester College. She enjoys many fiber-related arts, including weaving, spinning, ply-split braiding, and braiding with Sami tin thread. Whether it is spinning the yellow pages, computer tape, or adding telephone wire to weavings and braids, she likes finding something different and fun to do with her art. She is not…

Twin Cities-based glass artist, Susan Tracy, uses the beauty of her natural surroundings and Scandinavian heritage as inspiration for her art. She uses color and design to represent nature and often embeds natural elements like real leaves and silver in her glass art. Her holiday art features a modern twist on traditional ornaments and decorations.

Ross Safford is a master baker. He has worked largely with at-risk youth and families, getting food to those in need. He currently works with at-risk youth in schools. He is a huge Boston Red Sox fan and loves to sing.  At MMFS, you can often find him teaching with Bryce Johnson, another community-focused baker.