Our Team

Office Team

Alyssa Gascho

Operations Manager

Alyssa is the Operations Manager for Artshine. She is an alumni from the University of Waterloo, having graduated with an Honours B.A. in Legal Studies and a double-minor in Sociology and Social Development Studies.

Alyssa holds a certificate in Indigenous Canada from the University of Alberta and a certificate in Foundations of Diversity and Inclusion from the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion.

Throughout high school and university, Alyssa took fine art and art history classes, and has visited art galleries across North America. Over the last five years, she has worked for many Kitchener-Waterloo based companies in guest service and program coordinator roles.

Alyssa's go-to coffee order? A grande brown sugar oat americano!

manager@artshine.ca

Brianne Gascho

Art History Consultant

Brianne is the Art History Consultant for Artshine. She has both an undergraduate and graduate degree in Art History, receiving her Master's from Queen's University in 2017.

Brianne has been working in the field of museum education for over five years, and is passionate about Artshine's mission to provide exceptional and affordable art education to a diversity of demographics.

What would Brianne do with 1 million dollars? Buy a house on the ocean!

Brittany Ostofe

Curriculum Consultant

Brittany is a part-time high school teacher and has been with Artshine since the beginning! She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Theatre from the University of Guelph and a Bachelor of Education from Brock University.

Brittany started with Artshine teaching programs in various schools and moved into the role of Curriculum Developer for elementary students, adult, and corporate programs. She loves creating projects that inspire and challenge students to bring out their individual creativity. In her spare time, Brittany creates and sells custom artwork, and hand lettered calligraphy. She also loves to paint, draw and make messy memories with her two children!

Brittany's favourite T.V. show growing up? Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

Caroline Lavalee-Milot

French Social Media & Instructor

Coming with humour, joy, and a most sacred love for uniqueness, Caroline is the hybrid instructor that blends an anthropology background to her current career as a portraitist, illustrator, and wall art painter.​

Emerging from a blissful six years in the French traditional sphere of education, she's further developed her connection with children of all ages by doing daily collective art masterpeices, bathing ears and minds in sounds that take the creation process to roleplaying levels. "Natural order comes from a human whose senses are engaged in creating...", and it's all about bringing a higher sense of appreciation for self, as art is this meeting sone within, that eases your ability to choose what you want to do, in harmony with who you are. Always.​

So wave your magic wands everyone, because you are ageless. You are good. You are everything this world ever was curious to meet.

Caroline's favourite cereal? Dry Cheerios with raw olive oil and herbs!

Emily Zehr

Office Assistant

Emily's background is in Recreation and Leisure Services and she is currently completing a Gerontology certificate through Toronto Metropolitan University. She has worked in long-term care providing recreational programming to residents and often incorporated arts into her programming as a form of therapy, encouraging seniors to tap into their creativity and express themselves. Emily enjoys spending time in the outdoors and finds peace in the beauty of nature. She is the mother of two active children and loves sharing her passion for the natural world with them.

Jennifer Hitrec

Graphic Designer (on leave)

For Jen, there is no greater joy than sharing her passion for art with others. Jen was born and raised in BC and has since lived all across Canada. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Concordia University in Montreal, studied graphic design at George Brown College in Toronto, and began teaching art to children and adults in Halifax. She now resides in Vancouver where she is exploring the thriving art scene. ​

She considers herself to be a multifaceted artist and designer who loves illustration, painting and learning new forms of art. She believes that art is important for everyone at all stages in their lives and she loves to help people discover their inner artist. Jen's favourite thing about teaching art to children is the sense of pride they feel after completing a piece and watching their confidence grow.​ She is so excited to be a part of Artshine!

Jennifer's favourite T.V. show when growing up? Rugrats, Hey Arnold, Arthur, and Recess!​
His dream job would be a MLB General Manager.

Joanna Barrington

French Program Assistant & Artshine
Instructor

Joanna is excited to join the Artshine team!
With a background in Child & Youth work, as well as a love for creative projects and crafts, Artshine is a perfect fit. Before having children,
Joanna spent years traveling and meeting people, and seemed to pick a new craft
or creative project wherever she went. With her many years experience working
with children, Joanna has seen a lot of value in letting children and youth
express themselves in creative ways. After working in group homes and a youth rehab facility, it became very obvious how therapeutic the arts can be.
In her spare time, Joanna can be seen on walks
in the forest, playing board games, or visiting with friends and family. She
also loves digging in the garden, playing with her goats, doing crafts, or learning new languages. 

Maya Grubisic

French Program Coordinator

Maya is happy to join the Artshine team as instructor in both Anglophone and Francophone schools. Originally from Kitchener-Waterloo, Maya completed a BA in Fine Arts specializing in printmaking from the University of Waterloo. She then moved to Montreal seeking adventure, creativity, and culture. While there, Maya finished an MA in Art Education from Concordia University and was also a member of the Atelier Circulaire printmaker collective. Her work, which plays with line, colour and texture, has been exhibited in group shows in Ontario and in Montreal. Maya enjoy being creative in every aspect of my life, whether it be cooking, crafting, teaching or spending time with her two artists-in-the-making at home!

Maya believes that education happens everywhere and can be for everyone. For Maya, teaching the visual arts embodies this belief: art education is an asset to all by providing them with a common cultural language. Not all students will become artists, but by being exposed to a variety of educational experiences including the arts, they will learn that there are many ways of understanding the world around them.

What would Maya do with 1 million dollars? renovate my house, quit my job, donate, and make art!

Paul Field

Founder/CEO of Artshine

Paul started on this journey with his
first job creating a mural at a Youth Centre working with the youth there.
There he saw firsthand the positive impact that art programs can have. One of his mural painters had an amazing talent but had never had the opportunity to show it.
The pride this young person felt when ever visitors praised the mural was life changing.  He saw him grow and succeed, getting his high school diploma and a job. This convinced him to bring art education to all of his social work roles, using it to create a safe healing space for his clients. What frustrated him though was the lack of consistent funding for art supplies and education in social programs.
He learned early in life and in
social work that money goes to essentials and there is rarely any left for art supplies or lessons. Still, he persevered and found the resources to make my art programs happen. What finally broke his resolve was a federally funded gang prevention program for youth. He worked with the at-risk youth in the program
helping them break the cycle of addiction and make better choices. He helped them open their own art studio and run their own art shows. These young people were able to create art while meeting with their counsellors, building confidence
and healing through expression. Some were able to sell their art. The program predictably lost its funding and the studio had to be shut down. Paul was so frustrated with the system at this point that he stepped away from social work.  He changed his focus to finding a way to raise money for arts programs by starting a business. Determined to solve this money
problem Paul established a consistent funding model by selling after school programs and workshops through Artshine. He then took the profits from Artshine and put them into the Arts4All foundation. Now through Arts4All he and his team provide scholarships, and free art programs at community centers, schools, shelters, care homes, and prisons. Though Paul is now an entrepreneur, he still supports social services. Still giving people the opportunity to heal through a creative outlet and to build confidence by learning new skills.
He just expanded access to his art programs to more people, giving everyone the opportunity to
participate and take their minds off their struggles and take a much-needed break from their screens.
Paul's favorite quote is: "When You Have More Than You Need, Build A Longer Table Not A Higher Fence"

Taryn Klinkman

Accessible Programs Instructor and Trainer

Art has always been a hobby of Taryn's. Throughout her children and teen years, she studied fine art and learned to work with a variety of mediums. In her adult years, Taryn put her education and passion for visual art to use by teaching through Artshine's non-profit sister company, Arts4All. Taryn loves working with people who do not necessarily like art but are will to try something new. She is often surprised at how many non-artists love learning new art skills and using that creative part of their brain. Art continues to bring Taryn joy and relaxation, and she tries to encourage others to give it a try and be open to the positive feelings art inspires.

Taryn's go-to coffee order? An americano with steamed milk and a tiny bit of something sweet!

Vanessa Hoff

Art Supply Room Assistant

Vanessa is a hard worker, motivated, and reliable. She has set goals for herself and has achieved some of her goals already.

Vanessa enjoys spending time with her family and friends. Some of the things she enjoys are reading, swimming, yoga, movie nights, baking, and going to the gym.

Wayne McCracken

Subscription Coordinator

Wayne values creativity and connection above all else. He is from the East coast and is a graduate of the Film & Video Production program at the College of the North Atlantic. During school, his greatest strengths were project management and video editing. He moved to Ontario after graduating and has worked with bold and innovative companies ever since. Wherever there's opportunity to grow as an artist and make an impact in the community is where he'll seek to go. Hobbies include illustration, writing, photography, and watching/talking all about movies!

Wayne's favourite T.V. show growing up? Fresh Prince of Bel-Air!

Instructors and Curriculum Creators

Alanah Jewell

Curriculum Creator

Alanah is bear clan from Oneida Nation of the Thames. Her middle name is Astehtsi Otsistohkwa, which means Morningstar in her family's language. Art is very important to her and is a way to for her to share her culture.​
Check out Alanah's art: https://morningstardesigns.ca/

Amy Darkes

Artshine Instructor

Amy is a long-time art lover, and happy to try her hand at any medium available to her.
She loves to share her enthusiasm about art with like-minded people and is always up for a new challenge.
There's no limit to what can be created, so aim high!
Amy’s favourite childhood movie? Megamind!

Ari Nakum

Artshine Instructor

Ari is an undergraduate student studying at University of Waterloo and is thrilled to be involved with Artshine! Having spent a lot of her childhood with arts, she specifically loves watercolour painting and origami. Ari recognizes that children should express themselves freely and differently through art by using various art techniques and methods, and she encourages them to be as creative as they can be.

Ari's favourite T.V. show growing up? Friends!

Ashley Guenette

Artshine Instructor

Ashley is a Franco Ontarian artist from rural Northern Ontario. Her recent research draws from algorithmically-generated
social media content in order to reveal their hidden forms of oppression and reframe them in critical, feminist contexts. Using analogue methods (such as
painting, drawing, print and textiles) to interpret digital content. Her recent drawings, paintings and multiples challenge aesthetic conventions of painting
while engaging in an ongoing dialogue with its histories. She holds a BFA from the University of Ottawa and an MFA from the University of Waterloo. Ashley has a wide array of teaching experience at a variety of levels from working with little ones to teaching at the university level. She believes that teaching art is a collaboration with the students. Not all artists think and practice in the same way: some need more time and planning, while others work fast in gusts of energy and emotion. She
is simply here to guide the students through that process and offer insights, support and knowledge. Ashley hopes to encourage the students to believe in their abilities and instincts around colour, composition, emotions,
and creation. She hopes to help open their minds to the wide array of possibilities and to push them out of their comfort zones. 

Aziza Jaffer

Curriculum Creator

Aziza has always been a hands on type of person. Even at a young age, she knew pursing an art endeavour was going to be a part of her future. Born in Edmonton, Alberta, she moved to Toronto to study at Toronto School of Arts for Installation and Sculpture and Life Drawing. A year later, she ended up at her desired school - OCAD University in Toronto. Majoring in Sculpture & Installation, and minoring in Intergraded Media, Aziza worked in two different departments at OCAD; as a studio technician in the metal shop, and as a manager for the Audio/Visual Cage. During her formative years at OCAD, Aziza’s bodies of work conceptually dealt with diaspora, relationships, and time/memories while also touching on human forms, geometric shapes and mould-making, by utilizing multiple mediums such as metal, wood, clay as well as audio & film aspects.

Aziza is a multi-disciplinary artist who truly loves exploring new mediums, and to consistently be learning. Recently, she has taken an interest into street murals and graffiti, as well as working in the Film Industry in the Art Department.

Aziza is excited to be joining Artshine to help others on their creative journey and giving children a voice for exploration in a playful, artistic manner.

What was Aziza's favourite show growing up? I really can not choose just one, so some of my all time favs are... Reboot, Dinosaurs, The Magic School Bus, Recess, Rugrats, Arthur, Sailor Moon, Are You Afraid of the Dark? and Goosebumps - Just to name a few :)

Becky Dmitriekno

Artshine Instructor

Excited to be a member of the Artshine community, Becky brings a wealth of training and experience to the team. With multiple degrees in the areas of illustration, child development, special education, and applied behaviour analysis, Becky is looking forward to working with a variety of individuals and sharing her love of art!

Bev Morgan

Artshine Instructor

Bev is primarily a watercolour artist who enjoys teaching and plein aire painting while travelling abroad. Her work is based upon drawings from art journals, photos, observation and imagination. Her hope is that anyone who views her paintings can experience the excitement and vision that she had while creating them. Bev as an artist, teacher and mentor, continues to grow, explore, experiment and learn through her own experiences and from her students.

Bev’s paintings are represented by Fine Art America (https://fineartamerica.com) and website: https://bev-morgan.pixels.com/

Candice Stonham

Artshine Instructor

Candice is a mom of 2 girls, 18 and 11. She has always loved art; she took it throughout high school, taught the girls she was nannied (they still talk about their art we did), and loves making art with her daughters. Candice loves teaching and Artshine allows her to do both.

Carlina Andrews

Artshine Instructor

Art has been a huge part of Carlina’s life and self-expression for as long as she can remember. She loves working with many different mediums and exploring the endless possibilities that creativity, paint, and sometimes mistakes can bring. Carlina is excited to work with others to help them find their own creative expressions and abilities. 

Claudia Luz Doare

Artshine Instructor

Claudia is a current undergraduate student at OCAD University in the Environmental Design program.
Art has always been present in Claudia’s life and she knew from an early age she wanted to study and work in the field.
Having three years of experience as a teaching assistant, Claudia developed a passion for working with children and she believes it is essential to teach them about Art because it allows them to develop their creativity, their social skills, and express their emotions.
Having a positive experience with Art Claudia hopes to share her love for it with others.

Desiree Pryce-Jones

Artshine Instructor

Desiree has a love for the pursuit of creativity. She then worked in several creative and teaching jobs, including teaching art to children and adults from home. She has worked as an artist and teacher in the Palaeontology department at the University of Witwatersrand. She has also worked as a printmaking artist and teacher. She ran her own art consulting business until she left South Africa. When she moved to Canada, she volunteered for many years at the local primary school where her children attended. Desiree loved this as she enjoys being with people and find working with children to be exciting. Desiree loves contributing to her community and sharing her love for the arts.

Diane Montreuil

Artshine Instructor & French Program Assistant

Diane's mother enrolled her in an oil painting class when she was 8 years old. Her gift was the beginning of Diane's life long passion for art. Diane pursued her education in a joint program at the University of Toronto and Sheridan College, where she received an honors BA in Art and Art History.

As a museum curator, Diane designed exhibits and developed bilingual school programs, and took on a variety of roles within the elementary system. She am thrilled to be an art instructor for Artshine. It is Diane's goal to share her passion for art with children, just as her first art instructor shared their passion with Diane.

Diane's go-to coffee order? A Tim's double-double!

Émilien Roy

Artshine Instructor

Carried by passion and curiosity, Émilien has always kept a place for arts in his day-to-day life. He's always seen beauty in everything, even in the most mundane things. For him, creating both visual and musical pieces is a source of comfort, but also a meditating thing to do. Most of all, he has always found it to be a place of self-expression, one of his core values.He is very excited to work within Artshine's team, with a small yet fulfilling background in child & youth work. With a big heart, Émilien has always loved people, but he finds joy in working with kids as they are the most inspiring people. Émilien’s favourite jazz composer? Miles Davis!

Erica Spero

Ottawa Regional Manager & Artshine Instructor

Bringing a zeal for community and connection, Erica is thrilled to be joining the team at Artshine!

Erica is a professional artist and visual arts instructor with a passion for life drawing, character design and expressive art.

Having always been drawn to helping others, Erica has devoted herself to cultivating a career in the arts that positively impacts and aids in her community. For over 10 years Erica has been volunteering and working within social services, including the autism community. Working as a behavioural therapist provided an opportunity to teach visual art to children and youth with developmental disabilities and challenging behaviours. This experience impressed on her the value of creative expression and the importance of accessible art for everyone.

With practical work experience and a background in Illustration, Erica draws on her skills collaborating across disciplines to provide value-driven services to persons of all walks of life.

Her favourite quote: “Worthiness doesn’t have prerequisites.” - Brené Brown

Heather Strachan

Artshine Instructor

Heather graduated from the Univeristy of Guelph in 2017 with a major in studio art. Her passion is art and seh wishes to pass that passion onto others through teaching. She has worked with many mediums and has provided art instruction in different environments and to all kinds of wonderful people. She strives towards inclusive art instruction so that anyone can participate and not feel left out and because of this inclusiveness, Heather looks to combine her art experience and her expierence in supporting individuals with developmental disabilities in creating a safe and fun art expeirence for all.​

Heather actively works on her own artistic practice in-between instructor others in painting, drawing, sculpture, and more. Though she primarily focuses on piantings (either in acrylic, oil, gouache, or watercolour), she also enjoys creating acrylic pours or resin art in the spare time.

Jackie Traverse

Artshine Instructor

Heather graduated from the Univeristy of Guelph in 2017 with a major in studio art. Her passion is art and seh wishes to pass that passion onto others through teaching. She has worked with many mediums and has provided art instruction in different environments and to all kinds of wonderful people. She strives towards inclusive art instruction so that anyone can participate and not feel left out and because of this inclusiveness, Heather looks to combine her art experience and her expierence in supporting individuals with developmental disabilities in creating a safe and fun art expeirence for all.​

Heather actively works on her own artistic practice in-between instructor others in painting, drawing, sculpture, and more. Though she primarily focuses on piantings (either in acrylic, oil, gouache, or watercolour), she also enjoys creating acrylic pours or resin art in the spare time.

Jemima Seminari

Artshine Instructor

With a background in music, including voice and piano, as well as a passion for drawing, Jemima has been surrounded by art throughout her life. Her favourite forms of visual art include acrylic paint, collages, and pencil drawing. Jemima also has experience in tutoring children for French grammar and literature.  She believes that art is primordial as it can be a positive and constructive outlet through which anyone can learn about themselves and therefore learn to love themselves.  Jemima’s favourite food? Definitely Mexican cuisine!

Jessica Penney

Artshine Instructor

Jessica Penney is an artist living in Cambridge Ontario with her husband and two young boys. She studied Art at L'Ecole des Beaux Arts de St.Etienne, FR, as well as Ontario College of Art and Design, in Toronto. She's primarily an oil painter, but loves to experiment with all mediums. "Teaching kids keeps you honest & inspired. Children are the most creative of all, and it's important to help them maintain that creative confidence as they grow."

Jessica Vanasse-Verner

Artshine Instructor

Jessica is currently taking her degree in Graphic Design at Niagara College, and she hopes to get her Ph.D. in Art. She has worked in multiple daycares and summer camps. She loves making art with different mediums, but her favorite would have to be paint. She has always believed that children express themselves through a form of art. "Art has no limits" as she would say. Jessica is excited to be part of the team and to see all those bright faces that will spark a little artist in them.

Julie Brunet

Artshine Instructor

Julie has been drawing for as long as she can remember, and her notebooks from grade school to university were always full of doodles. She loves drawing and painting nature and all of it it's beauty. Julie is a retired teacher and taught art classes from grade 5 to 8 for most part of her career. She loves to see the glow of satisfaction in her student’s eyes when they realise they create something beautiful. She believes
that if you believe in them, they can do anything, and loves Mark Twain quote that says: “They did not know it was impossible so they did it”. During her teaching
career Julie also directed many school plays. Providing students with the opportunity to express their creativity is very important to her. Julie is a country girl and the grandma of 7 beautiful grandkids.

Karum Ramani

Artshine Instructor

From as early as Karun can remember, the world of visual art has mesmerized me through multiple mediums. Whether it was a videogame or an animated film, Karun was hooked to the idea that these masterpieces were created from imagination and skill.

Karun has an animation education and has worked as a pre-production artist for 2 years. He then pursed my passion for storytelling and published his own children's books. Karun has been teaching children for over 3 years. It helps him to understand the new generation's psyche and understanding towards concepts for stories.

Katelynne Cagliostro

Artshine Instructor (Halifax)

Katelynne is an Nova Scotia-based artist/illustrator currently residing in Halifax, ON. She recently graduated from the University of Toronto’s Art and Art History program where she specialized in drawing and painting. Katelynne's work in her artistic practice is often autobiographical, discussing topics such as body positivity and self care.

Katelynne is a firm believer that everyone is an artist—no matter the skill, practice, etc. What Katelynne loves about Artshine is that she gets to share my passion for art with children, as well as inspire the artist in every single person she teaches. The amount of creativity the children have in the Artshine program amazes her, as every child has their own interpretation on each project they do together. It’s inspirational, not only to them but they inspire me as well. Katelynne hopes to continue to spread the message that art is for everyone, and continue to inspire each child.

Katelynne's favourite movie? Encanto!

Kemahee Baker

Curriculum Creator

Kemahee is an instructor for Artshine. She is an alumni from the University of Waterloo and was born and raised in Kitchener. Kemahee loves culture, art, and music. She Graduated with an Honours (B.A) in Spanish, with a specialization in Latin American Literatures and Cultures and a minor in Psychology. Kemahee began painting as a therapeutic means after a car collision changed the course of her life. Prior to the collision, she did not know that she could paint. It wasn’t until after the collision she realized that she was blessed with the gift of art and desires to share her art with the world. Kemahee says “there’s always a blessing in every situation”. As an Instructor, Kemahee loves to encourage children to find their creative voice and express it through their art. She often diversifies the art lesions to encourage children to add their own personal touch to their art. Kemahee’s main priority is to help build and nurture children’s self-esteem. “Its amazing what encouraging a child can do. I really believe in the vision behind artshine and I desire for every child to get the full Artshine experience!

Lisa Henkel

Artshine Instructor

Lisa has always been passionate about art and creative expression throughout her life. Her family's background in performing, painting, and craftsmanship have helped her to develop and explore different art forms. She has always loved to build and create things with her hands and welcomes the opportunity to foster a love of the arts with others. Her current passions include decoupage, macro photography, and chalk sign painting.

Lisa is thrilled to be a part of the Artshine team and can't wait to work with a diverse range of artists through Miss Frizzle's motto: "Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!"

Liz Pybus

Artshine Instructor

For as long as Liz can remember “creativity” has been part of her life. Watching her Grandpa and Mom paint were early inspirations. Attending Art camps and paint days were always joyfully anticipated.​

During school and varied work carriers, “creative projects “were never far away. Liz had the pleasure of organizing and teaching children’s art programmes for many years in Owen Sound, Walkerton and Hanover. She enjoys hearing from these past student “Picassos” that still call her “Miss Liz”.​

Liz is an award winning artist, wife, mother, friend and a new favourite “grandma”. Liz’s work can be seen in local venues in Bruce and Grey Counties, Durham Herb Fair, Folmer’s Spring in the Garden, Walkerton Juried Art Show, Davishill Nurseries, Legacy Gallery and Spirit of the Season. Since retiring, Liz has taken up the watercolour brush to add to her creative repertoire.

“By doing what you love, you inspire and awaken the hearts of others”

Louise Lalande

Artshine Instructor

Louise spent her girlhood immersed in the creative atmosphere of different cultures. This led her to study art, psychology, and architectural design, and later teach creativity and advocate for the arts and wellbeing. She is super happy to be part of the Artshine team.

Whether in French or English, she works with authenticity, kindness and humour. She focuses on the art-making process and its metaphors, encouraging imagination and discovery, rather than a defined end product.

Louise loves colour and flowers. The beauty and wonders of nature’s designs fascinate her. For more information about Louise please visit www.coCreations.ca

Go to coffee order: Chai

Marika Morelle

Artshine Instructor

She originates from Quebec but recently moved to Ontario. She’s a multidisciplinary artist but her main skills are in painting and drawing. Owner of a small business, she believes art is a wonderful way to express yourself and your emotions and turn it into something beautiful. That’s why she joined Artshine! She hopes that by teaching art to kids, she can help them express themselves by using their creativity.

Maya Mawlawi

Artshine Instructor

Maygen Kardash

Artshine Instructor (Saskatoon)

Maygen Kardash is a mom, Girl Guide leader, social influencer, and drawer of window art and menu boards. You can find her take on mom life and beyond on her blog, Sneakers and Lipstick, and her daily musings on Instagram where she goes by @sneaksandlipstick.

Maygen's favourite book? Anything by Margaret Atwood!

Megan Fisher

Artshine Instructor

Megan has had a passion for art since she was a little girl. She was enrolled in Saturday art classes and took every art and creative course that was available to her throughout high school. Her current passions include DIY projects, watercolour painting, and transforming old furniture with a splash of colour.

Megan is a Child & Youth worker working full time with young moms and their children. She became involved Artshine when Paul came and provided the young women she supports with an art class. Megan fell in love with the program and knew she wanted to be involved.

For Megan, Artshine is more of a creative outlet and she thoroughly enjoys seeing what the kids and youth she teaches comes up with.

Megan Taylor

Artshine Instructor

Megan has always had a passion for the visual arts especially painting.

She loves working at Artshine because of her love for children as well as teaching and the arts. Megan hopes to travel and to continue to explore her creativity and art across the globe.

Megan's favourite T.V. show growing up? Scooby Doo!

Monica Burton

Accessible Program Instructor & Curriculum Creator

Monica has loved art, especially drawing, since she could hold a pencil. For Monica, it has always been the best form of expression and conduit for her imagination. Her love for working with children led her to acquire a bachelor's degree in education.​

It was through Artshine that Monica not only got to use her two favorite skills, but she also discovered a passion for working with people of all ages with disabilities and special needs. Through these programs everyone is able to let their creativity loose and accomplish something beautiful, and Monica is proud and grateful to be a part of this process.

Monica's favourtie cereal? Honey bunches of oats!

Nancy Lemelin

Artshine Instructor

Since she was a young girl, Nancy has always had a passion for all things art. She enjoys exploring new art mediums with her three children but mostly prefers drawing and painting the beauty around her. She is a firm believer that art is for everyone, and that creativity is your imagination set free. Nancy is excited to join the Artshine Team and looks forward
to sharing her love of art with others.

Nathalie Langlois

Artshine Instructor

Nathalie is a newly retired elementary teacher. In the last 20 years of her career, she worked in a small school where she taught art to kids from pre-kindergarten to grade 6. After 35 years of teaching, Nathalie still enjoys being around kids and working with them.
The Artshine program will be a fun way for Nathalie to reconnect with my love of teaching art. She looking forward to embracing this new project!

Nivine Nahli

Artshine Instructor

Nivine is a student at Niagara College, who previously studied Graphic Design and is now working her way towards the Social Services field. Art has allowed Nivine to find ways to express herself and appreciate how much we can do with it. In the past, Nivine got to work with children of all ages. Working with kids brings her so much joy and she aspire to be a good role model for children by encouraging them to express themselves and be who they truly are. From a young age, Nivine always loved art and got to create her own projects and today Nivine hope to give back to the community by embracing art and helping kids find their passion! With her background in Graphic Design, Nivine had the wonderful opportunity to find her own style. She worked with mixed media and learned fundamental skills. She loves to create pointillism art, as it follow many design principles and elements such as contrast, balance, emphasis, movement and so on. Nivine excited to be a part of Artshine because she strongly believes that art should be encouraged and children are have so much talent that will shine right through!

What would Nivine do with 1 million dollars? Open youth shelters and travel the world! Also pay my student debts.

Renee Murray

Artshine Instructor

Renee has always loved to draw, even as a child. Creating different ideas and watching as it comes together. It was no surprise that she went to art school at Sheridan college and later on to Algonquin college for animation for television.

Working with children in the Artshine program has been a fun, creative way to motivate in a positive way. Renee considers herself a kid at heart, so we all can be silly! On the side she also oil paints and is part of a theatre group in her community. Renee says that "the “arts” have always been in my blood".

Renee's favourite book and movie? Lord of the Rings!

Robbin Cook

Artshine Instructor

Robbin has loved the visual arts her entire life and has
finally decided to pursue her passion professionally. A recent graduate of the Illustration and Concept Art program at Algonquin College, she is now a freelance illustrator bringing her dreams, and the dreams of others, to life. A huge animal lover, Robbin’s artwork – using both traditional and digital media - often centres around the natural world and both mundane and fantastical creatures. She is beyond excited to share her passion for creativity with children and inspire them to be themselves, to explore artistic expression, and to have fun!

Senka Stankovic

Artshine Instructor & Curriculum Creator

Studying for a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Ottawa, Senka is passionate about helping students access their creative potential and develop their technical skills through fascinating projects. She believes that art should be open to everyone, regardless of experience or “talent.” Mainly practicing in sculpture and media arts, Senka is equally enthusiastic about painting and drawing, believing that all mediums and art forms can grow alongside one another. In her teaching, she encourages students to challenge themselves all the while remaining true to their creativity.

Senka's go-to coffee order? A hot cup of peppermint tea!

Sonia Nadeau

Artshine Instructor & Curriculum Creator

Sonia has a lifelong devotion to art and children, starting her journey with art at the age of 2. Sonia has illustrated over nine children’s books. Her most recent book earned her the 2016 mom’s picks award and a bronze Moonbeam award.

Sonia has earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts and a diploma in Early Childhood Education specializing in inclusion, supporting children with special needs. Sonia sees her role at Artshine as a perfect opportunity to connect both of her passions. She loves the art the children create through the program and she loves the positive outcome the art creates for the children.

Sonia's favourite T.V. show growing up? Looney Toons!

Stephanie Fehrenbach

Artshine Instructor & Curriculum Creator

Stephanie has loved art ever since she was little. She have my Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours Degree from Queen's University and has been working in Arts Education.

Stephanie began teaching with Artshine in 2013 and immediately fell in love with the program. The focus was on process rather than perfection - teaching students to use their imagination and develop their technical skills in fun and engaging ways. When she's not teaching with Artshine, Stephanie runs her own art studio. Her work can be viewed at Paula White Diamond Gallery in Waterloo and at Canvas Gallery in Toronto.

For more info about me and my work visit: www.stephaniefehrenbach.ca

Stephanie Paré

Artshine Instructor

Stéphanie is a graduate from the University du Québec à Montréal
(UQAM) in graphic design. She also holds a diploma in Fine Arts and photography.
For as long as she could remember, Stéphanie has had a thing for art and drawing since childhood where she would draw on every piece of paper she could find. She had a revelation after her grade one teacher decorated their art class with a poster of the Rooster Unicorn by Jean Dallaire. She understood that art is for everyone, and like people, can come in different shapes and forms.
Stéphanie is excited to be an art instructor at Art Shine and wishes
to inspire and motivate kids in a positive manner like it did for her.
In her spare time, she enjoys various sports, watching anime, and crochet.

Tamara Kazaniwsky

Artshine Instructor

Tamara is a passionate creative explorer, delighting in finding new and exciting forms of art, crafting, and creativity everyday The world surrounding us is full of much beauty and she draws her inspiration from nature, incorporating sustainable practices, recycling, and making her own art supplies into her work. She is passionate about teaching and spreading the joy of art into the lives of those around her.
The feeling that drives her art and creativity is a desire to give someone a moment. A moment to think, to slow down, to savour. To give the gift of time even if it is a minute in a person's day.
She Is passionate about painting in all forms, colours, patterns and all things they apply to, and has been a multidisciplinary artist, maker, and creative since she was young child. A passion she loves sharing with a new generation, and beyond.

Tchayé Briat

Artshine Instructor

Tchayé is a multi-disciplinary artist with a great passion for painting and visual arts. She loves conceptual and abstract arts, and she believes that art is a great way to empower communities and make changes. She also really enjoys teaching to kids and watch them grow in their creative journey. She aspires to be able to help younger people to express and discover themselves through art.

Tchayé's favourite cereal? It's a two-way tie between Krave and Frosted Flakes!

Tina Lund

Artshine Instructor & Regional Manager, Barrie

Tina is an artist with a passion for polymer clay. Having the privilege of teaching children's art for over 10 years has given her the opportunity to share my love of creating. A fine arts graduate from Georgian College, Tina is a wife, mother, pet owner, and outdoor enthusiast living in Innisfil, Ontario.

Trina Nadeau

Artshine Instructor

Trina Nadeau, active in community arts, enjoys creating and sharing in the arts experience with Artshine. Music plays a part in Trina's life, with various bands, and teaching. She is grateful for being part of the creative journey Artshine and music cultivates.

Vanessa Postma

Artshine Instructor & Curriculum Creator

Vanessa is a Kitchener local who has always practised art. Whether it's painting, knitting, sewing, making jewelry or macrame, she's always creating something. She's excited to join the Artshine team and help others on their creative journey!

Wendy Kulhay

Artshine Instructor

Victor Rosas

Artshine Instructor

As a designer with the soul of an artist, Victor is passionate about the arts, especially watercolour and oil painting. There is nothing he enjoys more than being outside and connecting with people. Currently, he is studying interactive media at Seneca College and has just moved from El Salvador. From the age of six, he has been interested in painting, and he has learned a number of different formats and mediums since then.