At age four Patti would stand on a stool in the kitchen “helping” her mother to bake cookies and prepare mid century standards like Rice A Roni and tuna noodle hot dish. But even in the Midwest of the 1960s, she knew there were other ways to eat. Through her father, raised in an Orthodox…

Meet Peg Medcraft, a devoted art educator and passionate creator. With ‘CRAFT’ in her surname, her creative path was destined. Affectionately known at school and in the community as “Crafty,” Peg has inspired over 2,000 learners during her 35-year teaching journey, nurturing a love for art and ceramics.

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…

Peter Juhl has been balancing stones for twenty-five years. He creates and photographs the work along the North Shore of Lake Superior, where the spectacular beaches provide ideal raw materials as well as a clean and colorful backdrop. In 2013 he published the first widely available guidebook on the art form: Center of Gravity: A…

Randy Gildersleeve has decades of experience playing, teaching, and recording music in many genres. He currently performs with North Shore Trail (bluegrass/acoustic), Saints of Swing (big band jazz), St. Croix Crossings (classic rock), and the Hosanna Lutheran Forest Lake worship band. As a teacher, Randy gives private lessons in guitar, bass, banjo, ukulele, mandolin, and…

Rosetta “Rosie” Peters is a poet, author, public speaker, storyteller, and activist. She is of Yankton, Crow Creek, and Oglala descent and is excited to be a part of the revitalization of her ancestral language, Dakota. Rosie is the recipient of a 2020 Minnesota State Arts Board Creative Support for Individuals grant and a 2021…

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.

Sarina Partridge is a musician, song-leader and educator in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She feels most alive when learning, creating and sharing songs, and enjoys singing with a wide variety of music projects – Eastern European and Yiddish song, old-time music, community song-leading… and everything in between. Sarina has traveled around the world to study with master…

Minnesota is the home of many outstanding artists of the Somali diaspora. MMFS is pleased to be welcoming Ardho Ismail, Hawa Aden, Halwa Daud, and Amina Shire to teach Finger Weaving! The Somali Museum’s mission is to celebrate and promote Somali culture and art, and they accomplish this mission in part by supporting the new…

Stephanie Thurow is a Certified Master Food Preservationist, with special interest in water bath canning and vegetable fermentation. She is a Minnesota native and the cookbook author of Can It & Ferment It (2017), WECK Small-Batch Preserving (2018) and WECK Home Preserving (fall 2020). Stephanie enjoys being in nature, organic gardening, spending time with family,…

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.

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…