Here you can learn more about our class instructors! Use the buttons below to navigate to instructors by class-type. You can also click on instructor names to see what they’re teaching this season!
While growing up, Colin was very shy and quiet. The only outlet he had was drawing; eventually his fellow classmates would point out his doodles with amazement. Finding that this was a great means of making friends but more importantly, for him a way of connecting with someone without words. Over the years he has developed his skills in the different mediums of Fine Arts at UFV which led him into various fields of work such as an Illustrator and as an instructor at the Chilliwack Cultural Center where he hopes he can help others make a connection through their drawings as he did.
Local artist Mary Goertzen takes inspiration from our scenic Fraser valley for many of her paintings, trying to capture a sense of home connection and community in her work. Her paintings are displayed and sold at a number of Chilliwack businesses.
Light and our perception of it are at the core of Dan’s work. His brilliant watercolours are both spontaneous and detailed in their depiction of light. His commissioned pieces are highly prized by collectors for their detail and accuracy. He enjoys instructing people of all ages in Art.
Darryl is a Canadian artist who studied at the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary, Alberta and the Center for Arts and Technology, Okanagan in Kelowna, BC. Darryl has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree specializing in printmaking.
Rosie Laponder is born and raised in Chilliwack. She works at Julie Anne’s Art Centre and is very passionate about art in all forms. She has taught hundreds of people how to do fluid acrylic painting over the past several years and shares her acquired knowledge with many useful tips and tricks to help make your art successful.
Pat loves the surprises of painting with water colours and the simplicity of acrylics. She enjoys experimenting with mediums such monoprint, pencil, pen, and pastel. Her work is varied and has been shown at Galleries and Museums in B.C. and Alberta. She is passionate about Nature’s raw beauty and enjoys sharing these impressions with others through her art. Teaching art classes is a wonderful opportunity to share what she has learned and to learn from her students.
Growing up in Slovakia, Ursula developed a deep fascination and appreciation for art. She studied art at the University of the Fraser Valley and graduated with a Fine Arts Degree. She now lives in Mission, BC, and enjoys teaching art to children of all ages.
Born and raised in the Fraser Valley, Sidrah Ahmad is a Henna artist and currently lives in Chilliwack with her husband and 2 kids. She was introduced to a variety of arts and crafts from a young age and really enjoys Henna, crochet, knitting, painting and beadwork, amongst others. She loves sharing artistic techniques and has been teaching a variety of workshops in Chilliwack for the past five years.
“Photography is my means of creative expression”. Vickie Legere is a portrait, fine art & event photographer, who shares her passion for photography as an educator for the Chilliwack Cultural Centre and Elder College. She is a member of the Abbotsford Photo Arts Club and the Chilliwack Visual Artists Association.
Jessica Fairweather has made the direct decision to practice art every day. After having four children, she decided she needed to dedicate daily some much-deserved time to follow her passion to grow as an artist. She creates with many mediums, including watercolour, acrylic, pastel but chooses to specialize and follow her passion for glass mosaics.Jessica’s mission is to see what happens when she continues learning, creating, teaching and inspiring. www.JFairWstudios.com
Originally from the Highlands of Scotland, Mairi now lives in Chilliwack and has been making pottery for about 20 years. She loves to share pottery techniques to encourage each individuals’ creative process while exploring the challenges and joys of creating with clay.
Mellissa first learned to knit and embroider from her mother at the age of 8, and is largely self-taught beyond that. She has pursued a variety of fibre arts and crafts for almost 40 years, and medieval arts for 15 years. You’ll be hard-pressed to find her without a craft in her hands! She lives in Chilliwack with her husband and children, and is owned by two cats.
Born and raised in the Fraser Valley, Sidrah Ahmad is a Henna artist and currently lives in Chilliwack with her husband and 2 kids. She was introduced to a variety of arts and crafts from a young age and really enjoys Henna, crochet, knitting, painting and beadwork, amongst others. She loves sharing artistic techniques and has been teaching a variety of workshops in Chilliwack for the past five years.
Mostly self-taught, Emily has been sewing off and on since she was 12 years old, but started seriously applying herself to the craft about 10 years ago, and has since then designed and constructed costumes for cosplay, historical dress reenactment, and theatre productions. In 2019 she won Best Costume Design at the Theatre BC’s Fraser Valley Zone Festival for her designs for Chickens: The Musical. Her prized sewing possessions are sewing machines that have been passed on from both her grandmothers, plus a treadle powered Singer from the early 1900’s that she recently acquired from her godmother and godfather.
Deanna Wium
Deanna learned basketmaking and weaving at Xa:ytem Longhouse Interpretive Centre. Over time Deanna has learned how to work with pine needles, and now makes beautiful baskets out of them. The making of all her baskets has brought such great joy and has been teaching the art of weaving for over 20 years. She is here to change the world one basket at a time.
Stó:lō artisan August(Augie) Mekw Mekw Williams August Williams, whose traditional name is Mekw Mekw, has been making drums for the past 23 years. Taught by his cousin Francis he went on to be mastered by the late Nelson Leon. He doesn’t just make drums; he is also a hunter, fisherman, and an artisan who works with beads, cedar, hats, and rattles. He has great knowledge of the Halqemeylem language and people and is currently working for the elders.
Abrianna Leaming is a local author with a Bachelor in Creative Writing. Her novel writing is imbued with her passion for exhilarating stories that are set in worlds that captivate. Her books have been exuberantly received, and she’s diligently working on her next project, a standalone novel set in a young world presided by very old gods.
