Our Instructors

Sharon Hart

Instructor

Art Esteem
Kids in the Kitchen
Stuffie Creation
Free Play

As a Child and Youth Advocate for many years, Sharon has created and delivered healthy relationship programs to students in grades one to nine in both the public and private school systems. She believes having a healthy relationship with oneself is the foundation to developing strong connections with others.

Tarayn Hiddink

Instructor

Miss T of Magical Movement
Lil' Yogis Nature Camp

Tarayn is a certified yoga instructor who possesses a 200 hour YTT certificate paired with her Rainbow Kids Yoga certification. She enjoys teaching on her deck overlooking the Bay of Quinte, as well as in schools and libraries. She comes with years of experience working in the Social Service Sector and has been a home educator to her daughter and other children for the past few years.

Summer Camps are her jam and she loves bringing her mix of child-led play, mindful crafting, nature walks and Magical Movement to Baxter each year.

Magical Movement started in 2018, with Miss T teaching lil yogis on her deck overlooking the Bay. Her years of yoga practice, her love of the magical minds of children, and the tranquility of nature all came together to create what is now Magical Movement where she brings her mobile studio to you.

Stew Jones

Instructor

Oil 101
Life Drawing Basics
Dynamic Composition

Jones’ work focuses mainly on the sidelines of the city and the relationships of light and shadows within the urban environment. His subjects are the often overlooked, seemingly unimportant places and moments within the cities he paints. His unique compositions – the unexpected angles and perspectives, the shadows and light between buildings – are described with a passionate and confident touch, making these spaces instantly familiar, and yet new and exciting all at once.

Jones is currently a Professor with Sheridan’s Bachelor of Illustration program and has been teaching Drawing/ Painting since 2023. He has taught Years 1 - 3 Life Drawing, and Painting.

Stew holds a 4-Year Associate Diploma in Drawing & Painting from the Ontario College of Art Toronto (1995) and graduated from Sheridan College’s 3-Year Classical Animation program Oakville (2001). Jones is an active founding member of the Canadian Art Collective and City Field North Shore Painting Collectives, and his work can be found in several corporate collections nationwide. Jones has gallery representation in Ottawa & Prince Edward County. He currently lives & paints in Prince Edward County, Ontario. Read about his artistic journey in the Fall 2020 Edition of Invest in Style Magazine.

Angela Jane Lavender

Instructor

Art Break March Break Camp
Acrylics Skills Summer Camp
Like the Masters Summer Camp

Angela is a local mixed media artist and mom of two. In 2012 she graduated from The Visual and Creative Arts Program at Sheridan College of Art and Design with honours, a silver medal and a 4.0 GPA. Prior to that she studied Art Fundamentals through distance education at AIS in Minneapolis, Minnesota and in 2021, obtained her certificate for the Mastery Program virtually through Milan Art Institute in Georgia. She is a member of the Prince Edward County Arts Council and has taught art through the Baxter Arts Centre, The County Arts Lab, and out of her home studio in Picton. She loves sharing her passion for creating with the next generation.

Jeremy Smith

Instructor

Dungeons & Dragons
D&D Summer Camp

Jeremy Smith is a professional theatre maker living in Picton. He is the Founding Artistic Director of Driftwood Theatre, a company with a rich history of touring outdoor summer theatre, now dedicated to the development of epic and mythic stories by Ontario-based playwrights.

Jeremy has also been playing D&D for an epically long time and brings his skills as a professional theatre performer, director and dungeon master to enliven each and every adventure he leads. He lives in Picton with his wife, two daughters and their cat Merlin, Grand High Wizard of Catnaps.

Kiki Harvey AKA Isabella Hoops

Instructor

Aerial Arts
Circus Camp

Isabella Hoops aka Kiki is an actor, singer and dancer. She spent 5 years in Edmonton performing in children’s musicals, touring shows across Alberta and B.C., and performing in the Edmonton Street Performers Festival. Owner of NorthFIRE Circus, Kiki has been performing and teaching hula hooping all across Canada for over 14 years and in 2015 she won the CanSpin Award for best hula hooper of the year! She is a diverse circus performer: from fire performing, to mesmerizing LED light shows, clowning and kids entertainment, Isabella Hoops does it all!

Victoria Wood aka Pyrobelle

Instructor

Circus Camp

Pyrobelle is a professional circus performer and instructor from the Peterborough Academy of Circus Arts.

Lucy Sterezylo

Instructor

Artful Adventures

Chantal Leblanc

Instructor

Little Guardians of the Land

Lisa VanGalen

Instructor

Introduction to Line Dance
Beginners Line Dance
Beginners 1 Line Dance
Beginners 2 Line Dance

Lisa has been line dancing for 35 years, teaching for 13. She is fond of the classics, but loves to learn new choreo to share with her students. She also likes to change the music up, including everything from country to rock. Her and her husband are new to the County and still working on their permanent accommodations, and are looking forward to getting back to country living. They are a military family, with two grown children who were replaced by two large dogs (they don’t dance). They can’t wait to meet you all!

Could this be YOU?