Instructors

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…

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.

Fred Livesay is a crafts instructor and restoration carpenter residing in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is a founding instructor of North House Folk School.  He teaches various crafts at folk schools, art centers, museums, and gatherings in the five-state area, and is a frequent guest instructor at Spoonfest, Edale, England. Primarily a woodworker, he is…

I took early retirement from 9-5 jobs to pursue my creative interests: pottery, photography and more recently, botanical printing and natural dyes. My art studio is a converted ice fishing house on wheels I moved into my backyard in Minneapolis, to be close to my garden plants for natural dyes and botanical printing. Along with…

Bryce Johnson has been baking bread since he was a teenager and has been teaching bread classes for 10 years. In 2010, he guided the church where he served as pastor, White Bear Lake United Methodist Church, to build a community bread oven.  In retirement he has been making and selling bread at the Scandia…

Molly Sanford advocates for reuse and repair by spreading hands-on skills like sewing, welding, woodworking, and general troubleshooting. Molly believes that extending the lifespan of our belongings can be a joyful way to combat consumerism and climate change. She has taught a variety of hands-on classes at Fireweed Community Workshop (formerly Women’s Woodshop), Leonardo’s Basement, and the University…

Kirsten Skoglund is a fixture in the Twin Cities knitting and yarn world. She has always known how to knit, as far as she can remember, and loves the whole creative process. In fact, she describes herself as compelled to knit and can’t imagine her life without knitting. Kirsten was co-owner of Lila and Claudine’s,…

Kim is a fine artist, graphic designer, illustrator and teacher. She attended the University of Wisconsin- Madison where she received a BS in Art Education. She has received additional training at the University of Minnesota, The Center for Book Arts and Minnetonka Center for the Arts. She has participated in many group, juried and one-person…

When Libby Pomroy joined a folk-art class at her daughters’ Korean Saturday school, she was quickly hooked on hanji, Korea’s unique, strong-fibered paper that lends itself beautifully to intricate paper cutting. She shared the craft with friend Kat Wesley, who found it irresistible. Together, they created the Hanji Crew, a small business that teaches hanji…

Leslie Granbeck is a feltmaker and instructor born and raised in Minneapolis. Since 2007, Leslie has been sharing her knowledge of fibers and their magical transformation into felt. She teaches traditional wet felting, nuno felting, and her favorite – sculptural seamless felting. Her classes are full of color, creativity and adventure. They also include a…

Judy Sell has been creating dishes and vintage jewelry for over 25 years. She has been on HGTV: Crafters Coast-to-Coast and has been a Minnesota State Fair, Fine Arts, Blue Ribbon winner. She teaches mosaic art and our vintage jewelry tree classes.

Wayne Manthey is a nationally known drum maker and teacher of drum making.  His approach is spiritual, honoring the animals who provided the hides and the trees who donated the wood. “As I started making drums, I was especially interested in the vibration of rawhide and the sound it makes.  Once I was able to…

Originally from North Dakota, Greg worked as a prison therapist while pursuing art, carving and sculpture using a variety of different materials including ice (first place co-winner in the 1998 Winter Carnival Ice Sculpture-Amateur Contest!), silver, antler, wood, leather and scrimshaw.  Now a full-time artist, Greg makes sculptures by inviting nature to steel.

Carl Wegener is a photographer from the St. Croix River Valley. He has taught photography to children for 4-H and the Wilder Foundation. His passion is empowering children with photographic knowledge so they can see the world through a different lens which will last a lifetime.

With an eclectic professional background in journalism, education, and art, Candace fell in love with shoemaking several years ago and has been making them and other leather accessories since. After apprenticing with shoemakers around the country, she opened her shop, Hemlocks Leatherworks, in the Lincoln Park Craft District in Duluth, Minnesota. She currently teaches and…

Now retired, Larry Underkoffler taught Junior High Art for 25 years. He is a Marine Corps veteran who served in Viet Nam, Air Traffic Controller, Camping Director for 8 years, illustrator of children’s books and Sculpture and has served as the Superintendent of Art for the Washington County Fair for the past 18 years. He…