Instructors
Jaime Souza has 20 years of teaching experience in the great outdoors. She has worked for incredible organizations, such as the Wild Rivers Conservancy of the St. Croix and Namekagon Rivers, Osprey Wilds, and the Tahoe Rim Trail Association, leading a variety of nature-based adventures, classes, programs, and workshops for people of all ages. In…
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“Through both my paintings and therapeutic art workshops and retreats, my goal is to help others experience the joy and wonder of creating with child-like freedom,” Jane says. “For many adults that inner child may have gone unnoticed and unexpressed for many years. I want to re-awaken that child within because it is an essential part of…
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A long time resident of Marine on St. Croix, Janet has a fine arts degree and professionally works as a teacher with at-risk and Special Education students. She is never far from wool, creating fiber garments and accessories using knitting, crocheting, naalbinding and other fiber arts techniques.
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West-African Drumming Ensemble Janice Hunton taught at the Perpich Center for Arts Education for 27 years and lead the African Drumming Ensemble there for 15 years. She studied West-African music at the University of St. Thomas, Hamline University, and has traveled two times to the Dagara Music Center in Ghana.
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Jeff Bartol is a fine arts painter, trained in architecture and graphic design at the University of Minnesota. He currently lives in Forest Lake, MN, and his paintings can be viewed at JeffBartolArt.com. Born in rural Boulder CO, Jeff grew up surrounded by a pastoral farm life, shadowed by the Rockies and fed by Boulder…
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Jess Lindell has been painting watercolor pet portraits for over 20 years, earning multiple State Fair ribbons and a feature on Twin Cities Live. She was first introduced to the magic of watercolor by her aunt Meridith and quickly fell in love with the medium. Her mother’s work as a veterinary technician later opened the…
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Jim Lammers was educated as an architect at a time when freehand sketching was an integral part of the curriculum. He holds degrees from Columbia University and Iowa State University. An inveterate world traveler, persistent writer, and relentless sketcher, Jim has been published in a number of professional journals and online publications. His drawings have…
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Joe Manthei began leathercrafting in 2011, starting with bookmarks made from fish leather. In 2019, he began tanning his own fish skins in response to growing interest in locally sourced fish leather. Joe has taught wallet-making and handbound journal classes and continues to share his craft through teaching. Although retired, he still works as a…
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John Hanson is an artist, woodworker and soap maker from Minneapolis. He has been teaching soap making for over four years, with many of his classes resulting in wait lists. He sells his soap products in over twenty local stores including at his first customer, the Seward Co-op.
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Josie is a weaver, focused on creating locally sourced, ecologically friendly, ethically produced textiles. She believes traditional crafts provide a connection to the feeling of a life well lived, and teach regularly to share this joy with others. Josie can be found teaching and demonstrating at Folk Schools and Gatherings across Minnesota. She is looking…
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Kaitlin Wadley is a lifelong Midwesterner whose life can be divided into two halves: growing up in Lafayette, Indiana, and later settling in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she currently resides. Curious by nature and always eager to learn, Kaitlin is a multidisciplinary artist working in drawing, painting, embroidery, knitting, printmaking, and beadwork. Her influences include High…
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Kara Lundin is a Community Wellness Practitioner who focuses on both traditional folk and clinical approaches to herbalism. She holds a Certificate of Integrative Health from Red Rocks Community College in Denver, CO. Kara grows and forages most of the plant medicine she uses for herself, her family, and the community.
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A local artist from Grant, Karen Engelbretson has been making needle felted birds since 2008. She regularly teaches needle felting at St. Croix valley locations. Karen is a semi-retired graphic designer currently working with organizations to communicate the need to improve water quality and restore wildlife habitats.
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Karen has a lifelong interest in textiles, craft and art. She’s had an active and interesting life with a BS in Home Economics Ed., MA in Art History and M.Div. She’s a Women’s Army Corps veteran and retired Episcopal Priest. She’s lived in Italy and Germany and traveled a lot! Karen knits and sews and…
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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…
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“After spending years in the software consulting world using my creativity to build software solutions for my clients, I decided to retire. Then there was Covid. I decided I needed to make changes in my life. I bought a dog – a Siberian Husky full of life– and I learned to paint. I fell in love with alcohol…
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When my son was a baby, we started watching Steve Ross’ dad’s show to help fall asleep. One day I saw an ad in community ed with Kristi Nelson, a CRI (Certified Ross Instructor). I thought I’d give it the old college try. Here I am. Since then, I went directly to the source and…
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Kevin Nyenhuis is an avid paddler and woodworker. Enchanted by the upper St Croix as a canoe instructor 30 some years ago, he has raised his family in Marine, and on the waters of the region. Kevin teaches our build-your-own-paddle classes and is also the mayor of Marine on St. Croix.
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I strive to create functional art that is meant to be seen and used everyday. Creating my work brings me so much joy because I know that each piece will continue to share its beauty with the world. A platter will bring people together as it is passed around a table, a mug will offer…
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