Kyara Andrews
​Acrylic Painting | Watercolours

Howdy! I’m Kyara (she/her), a multidisciplinary artist with a passion for anything creative. In 2019, I founded Drift Designs, my creative outlet, art business, and means to quite literally drift away from reality through the colorful world of creativity. 
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For me, artmaking is innately therapeutic and has the power to lift people up. It has done wonders for my own mental health and I hope to bring this positivity to others through my work.

Leona Bergeron
Children's Programming

Leona Bergeron (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist working towards a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) degree at Queen's University. Her personal art practice focuses on composition and is motivated by close observation of unintentionally made shapes and lines in her surroundings. Leona's philosophy about teaching art to children is one of experimentation, process, and play. She strives to foster creativity and expression in students through activities and projects which allow free exploration of materials and techniques. She hopes to support students in the first steps toward realizing their potential as artists

Michelle Bunton & GHY Cheung 

Michelle Bunton and GHY Cheung are artists currently based in Katarokwi-Kingston. As the duo Tear Jerkers and one-half of the micropress Small Potatoes, their way of working is open to play and failure, and committed to kinship-building. Their current project is an ongoing consideration of collective crying as queer performance. 
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Nicholas Crombach
Sculpture | Life Drawing

Nicholas Crombach (BFA, 2012) has been awarded the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Award. His solo exhibition, The End of the Chase, travelled in 2018-2019, exhibiting at New Art Projects in London UK, Art Mûr Berlin and Art Mûr Montréal. In 2019 Crombach produced an exhibition of collaborative works with artist Nurielle Stern entitled Whale Fall, presented at The Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery in Waterloo. Crombach's work has been reviewed in Border Crossings Magazine and Vie des Arts.

Crombach was commissioned by the City of Kingston to create Horse and Cart which was installed in Victoria Park in June  2021.
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From 2016-2017 Crombach participated in a year-long residency at The Florence Trust (London, UK) and has been invited to take part in a MASS MoCA residency (summer 2022) in Massachusetts.

Dominika Dembinski
Children's Programming

Dominika Dembinski is an experienced artist and educator. Driven by student success, she takes pride in providing students with the skills and tools necessary to pursue their artistic expression and develop idiosyncratic styles. Dominika is a current Master of Education student at the Queen’s Faculty of Education. She has a Bachelor of Education with a concentration in Indigenous Studies and a Bachelor of Fine Art specializing in oil painting. ​

Claire Dobbie
Children's Programming

Claire J. Dobbie is a Toronto-born artist currently working towards her BFAH with a minor in Art History at Queen’s University. Her practice looks at different relationships to the body through large-scale figurative painting and drawing, and abstracted sculpture works that incorporate new and natural materials. She is a part of the 4o8 Collective and has recently shown at Union Gallery and the Isabel Bader Centre in Kingston, ON. Claire has been a docent at the Agnes for 3 years and is passionate about arts education and accessibility, encouraging experimentation and curiosity in her teaching.

Floriana Ehninger-Cuervo
Drawing & Illustration

Floriana Ehninger-Cuervo came to Kingston for her BFA and never left. She believes in the small ways art can enhance everyday life, and finding the humour of the situation. She started Colourful Crow Studio in 2016, offering illustration, lettering, and sign painting services, and joined the Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning as a resident artist in January 2019. She maintains an active private practice in a variety of mediums, with special interest in people and portraiture. She exhibits at the Tett regularly, and in 2021 created work for two public art installations through the City of Kingston (Paved Paradise and the Downtown Storefront Project).
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As an instructor, she aims to lay a solid technical foundation for students to build upon, so they may express their creativity with confidence and clarity.  ​

Meenakashi Ghadial
Children's Programming

Meenakashi Ghadial is an artist from Brampton, Ontario currently completing her dual degree at Queen's University for a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) as well as a Bachelor of Education, with a specialization in First Nations, Métis and Inuit Studies. Her work primarily includes representational oil painting, focusing on portraiture and figurative work as well as conceptual sculpture using plaster, metal and textiles. She is part of the 4o8 Collective and has exhibited her work at Union Gallery as well as the Isabel Bader Centre of Performing Arts. Meenakashi is an active member of the arts community here in Kingston through her work as a Programming Committee Member for Union Gallery, as well as her work with the Community Foundation as a member of their Grants Committee. Meenakashi is excited to continue her commitment in arts education through her role at KSOA as an Arts Instructor this summer. 
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Claire Grady-Smith
Life Drawing | Figurative Painting

Claire Grady-Smith has been teaching drawing and painting since 2010. She has a degree in Studio Art and Art History from the University of Guelph (2008) and a Masters in Cultural Studies from Queen's University (2012). She is also a graduate of the Canterbury Fine Arts Program in Ottawa, in Visual Arts. Her interest is to provide traditional techniques to students, while also explaining the history of drawing and painting in Canada, including discussions about mark-making hierarchies and de-colonizing the Canadian art canon. 
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Valerie Kniazeva
Oil Painting | Marker Work

Valerie Kniazeva is a Toronto-born artist currently studying to complete her dual degree of BAH and BEd at Queen’s University. With an Art History and French joint honours, she focuses on Visual Arts and French for her two teachables. Working with many mediums throughout her life, she has found a calling to the depths of oil paints with the lovely tool of the palette knife. Exploring several environmental values such as water pollution, and overall themes of life and the simplicities and complexities of existence, Valerie aims to create philosophical works that resonate with their audience.
 
Seeking to get involved with the arts community in Kingston, Valerie is incredibly excited to get to know the youth of the Kingston community and inspire them to find value and joy in the arts. As an educator with several years of experience, she hopes to bring on challenges in the class and encourage students to build and explore their creativity. 
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Tiina Kukkonen
Felting 

​Formally trained in painting and drawing, Tiina uses a range of media in her work but specializes in pencil drawing and acrylic painting. She is also a self-taught felt artist, approaching felted landscapes much like painting whereby colours are combined and layered to achieve visual effects. As an arts educator and researcher, she has taught visual arts to students of all ages and advocates for equal access to arts education opportunities for rural and underserved communities. Tiina holds a Ph.D. in Education from Queen’s University, where she is also an instructor of visual arts education.

Lisa Leskien
Printmaking | Acrylic Painting

After studying studio art and earning a Fine Art Degree from York University, Lisa put her art on hold to pursue her teaching career. She has since returned to painting and printmaking with a passion and has had her work displayed in a couple of different galleries, and has sold numerous paintings and prints including specific commissioned pieces of work. Many of Lisa’s ideas for her work come from exploring the trails as a competitive trail, ultra and snowshoe runner. Lisa also teaches the arts and health part-time for the Limestone District School Board.  She teaches "Learn to Crochet," painting and printmaking classes at Tie One On Creativity Bar in Kingston, and is a running coach and race director at Spafford Health and Adventure. ​

Lisa’s new website, where you’ll be able to see all of her work, will be launched soon. You can also find Lisa on Instagram . 

Brandon Liesen
Charcoal & Pencil Portraits

A self-taught, life-long artist, Brandon began pursuing art seriously after retiring in 2019 from a 20-year career as a Senior Chief in the U.S. Coast Guard. While Brandon considers himself primarily a charcoal and pencil portrait artist, his interests and skills include oil landscape painting, photography, and custom picture framing. Brandon is eager to introduce you to his methodology and passion for creating realistic and expressive portraits that you will be proud of!

​You can find Brandon on Instagram.

Alicia Moura
​Children's Programming 

Alicia Moura is a young artist and elementary certified school teacher who wishes to connect all children to the joy of artistic expression. Since her time obtaining her Bachelor of Fine Arts and teaching licence at Queen's University, Moura has been working with young children to develop their foundational artistic skills within a variety of mediums. In her classes, focus is placed upon merging classic techniques with student innovation! Students should expect to create fun projects, discuss art history and practice creating with a growth mindset!

Abby Nowakowski​
​​Printmaking

Abby Nowakowski (she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist using printmaking, illustration, labour and story-telling to spread advocacy for care, share stories, and make space for weirdos. Abby’s artistic practice extends into a range of collaborations including workshops, performances, and community weaving opportunities that put an emphasis on skill development and creating safe-brave space.

Laura Palma
Children's Programming

Laura is a local elementary school teacher with ALCDSB and radio show host with CFRC. She grew up in Kingston and attended Queen’s University to study Art History and Fine Art before continuing with her Bachelor's of Education at Duncan McArthur. She loves to work with a variety of media both with her grade 1/2 class and on her own time. Laura is inspired by nature, music and of course art through the ages.​

Natalie Palma
Children's Programming

Natalie Palma graduated from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University with a Bachelor of Commerce.  She is currently working as a Personal Support Worker and also volunteers as an assistant ballet teacher at The Conservatory and an inclusive arts facilitator at H’art Centre.  Natalie is hoping to gain entry into medical school! Natalie has been practicing as a hobby artist since high school and primarily enjoys acrylic painting, watercolour, and sculpture.Natalie describes her art as a creative outlet for self-expression, personal well-being, and identity formation. She loves capturing the things she loves (especially flowers and dogs) and uses her art as an opportunity to connect and share with others.

Heather Poechman​ Drawing | Illustration | Acrylic Painting

Heather Poechman (They/She) is a community-rooted arts educator. Through their company, RubiArt, Heather designs community-building workshops that create impactful social change
and tangible organizational growth simultaneously. You can find more information about Heather online at www.rubiartist.com or on social media @RubiArtist

Rubal Preet
Children's Programming 

Having dabbled in painting all my life, I’ve learnt to express myself through art. I believe creating art is the only time I feel real connection with life, in this world of make believe. In my childhood, I used to work in graphite and pen and eventually moved on to oils and acrylics in my Bachelor of Visual Art degree, which has intrigued me for most my adult life. I like to paint my emotions in different forms and brush strokes on the canvas and like to motivate everyone to explore their inner self through their artistic expression. I also love incorporating art history knowledge while teaching, based on each person’s individual style. Teaching art has changed me as a person as I get to learn a lot from the students, and it inspires me to move towards collective growth. It motivates me to be more inclusive, patient, and open to the unknown beauty. 

Marta Scythes
Ink | Watercolour

Marta Scythes is an illustrator, researcher and educator. Her work has been published in Harrowsmith Magazine and by Simon & Schuster and Harper Collins. McClelland & Stewart featured her illustrations in their best-selling UP NORTH nature series and in The Canadian Encyclopedia. Marta holds a Master of Science in Biomedical Communications from the University of Toronto and Master of Design in Strategic Foresight & Innovation, from OCADU. She is currently collaborating with Queen's University and Providence Care Hospital in Kingston, researching novel art-based strategies for stroke rehabilitation.

Lauren Smart
Children's Programming ​

​Lauren Smart is an interdisciplinary artist working towards her BFAH and BEd at Queen’s University. She has exhibited work at the Union Gallery and the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts. Working primarily in oil paint, acrylic yarn, and found-object sculpture, she explores themes of memory and identity to create work that is honest and vulnerable. As an instructor, she is passionate about fostering creativity and curiosity in the learning environment.

Bruce St. Clair
Oils| Watercolour | Acrylics | Drawing | Coloured Pencils

Since studying at OCA, Bruce St. Clair has been painting professionally for more than 50 years, showing at Toronto galleries (Aggregation, becoming Wynick/Tuck, then later Nancy Poole's Studio and Joan Ferneyhough Gallery in North Bay) as well as teaching drawing and painting courses for well over 30 years, most recently at Loyalist College, the Kingston School of Art and Kingston's Senior's Centre. A past gold medal winner for Realism in an international competition in Italy – the Grollo d'Oro, he won the People's Choice Award in the Kingston Arts Council's 2014 juried show for his watercolour Three Gables, again in the Quinte Arts Council's Expressions 2015 show for his acrylic painting Bailey's Blanket, and again in the 2016 Nonesuch Awards for works on paper (opening in Parrsboro NS, then Montreal) – once more for Three Gables. He has also three  times juried the Kingston Paint the Town show and co-juried the 2018 Juried Exhibition and Sale at the Window Art Gallery.

Nancy Steele
Oils | Acrylics | Plein Air​

Nancy is an enthusiastic educator who teaches the foundations of observational painting and drawing practices, both indoors and outdoors. Nancy graduated from NSCAD and Queen's University, and continues to study master classes worldwide. Nancy seeks to explore, understand, and capture those moments when pauses in our awareness meet spaces in our environments. Nancy earned Best in Show at SquareFoot 2021 at the Tett Centre in Kingston. 

Majella Turcotte
Mail Art| Origami| Woodworking​

Majella has been doing art all of her life. Her creativity spans a wide variety of skills and mediums. However, Majella now refers to herself as a "paper artist," after spending a year in Japan and immersing herself in the paper arts. She also is a woodworker, a beader, origami instructor, and mail artist. Majella makes sure to set aside a bit of time each day for art. It's good for the soul!

Hillary Werth
​Children's Programming​

Born and raised in the U.S, Hillary Werth has been an artist and athlete all her life. She was an all American track & field athlete who received a full scholarship as a student athlete to the University of California Los Angeles and received a degree in history/ art history in 2009. After graduating, she was accepted into the University of Nebraska’s art education program where she studied there for one year until she hung her paint brush up to be an Olympic hopeful. 

Hillary tried out and was named as a member to the U.S. Women’s National Bobsled Team. Due to injury she retired, picked her art career back up, and ran her own successful business as a working artist. From making guest speaking appearances at K-12 schools and universities, to national publications, to international recognition, Hillary has had great success as an artist and athlete.
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In 2018, Hillary wanted to complete her teaching certification where she enrolled at the University of Missouri St. Louis. For the last 5 years Hillary has put all her creative energies into being an art educator. In 2021, she moved to Kingston to marry her wife. As of October 2022, Hillary received her permanent residency here in Canada and is eager to jump into the Kingston art and education world.

Specializing in drawing, abstract painting, mixed media, and spray paint, the way in which Hillary creates is similar to the way she teaches. Focusing on balance, layers, and composition. “The space we create in is just as important as what we create. Producing a therapeutic environment for people to feel calm and themselves is what I aim for.”

You can find Hillary on Instagram and on Etsy.