As a storyteller, Sobaz makes use of tools such as the West African Djembe drum, film cameras, voice (music and radio production), and community-based theatre. He earned a BFA in Film and Video Production from York University and BA in Political Science and Mass Communications. Sobaz is the Founder and Executive Director of an arts-based nonprofit in Halifax called In My Own Voice (iMOVe) Arts Association. He has produced films for the National Film Board and the CBC. ​

“Hi, I’m Anna! I am a Swedish-Canadian artist. With many years of experience in front of the camera in fashion as a model and performing on stage as a musician, I am uniquely empathetic to those I photograph, because I’ve worked with hundreds of photographers and know what it’s like.

Throughout the many different twists and turns my life has seen so far, my camera has always been with me, a constant through it all. I am deeply heartfelt and detail oriented, yet I find lightness and joy wherever I can – because I really love to laugh! I am mother to my daughter Agnes, and to my animals – two dogs and a cat. I seek to visually capture and share the beauty of the natural world, through both portraiture and nature photography.”

As for her teaching approach, Anna aims “to encourage my students to take a creative approach to photography. I want them to see the camera as a tool to express themselves. That while there are no stylistic expectations, there are lots of fun techniques they can learn to use the camera creatively.”

Amélie Brindamour is an artist and art educator based in Montreal, Canada, exploring environmental and urban issues through place-specific projects including temporary actions, participatory performances, eat-art, and photography. She favours impact art and education initiatives that fostering communities, as well as contexts that encourage nature appreciation, inclusion, collaboration, and experimentation. Amélie holds a Bachelor degree in Visual Arts and a Master in Art Education from Concordia University. She speaks fluently French, English and Spanish.

Patrick Burgomaster is a painter and cartoonist. He loves to laugh and enjoys life. He has been teaching Introductory Drawing classes for adults and kids since 2009; Patrick believes he learns as much from his students as he teaches them. His goal is for students to have fun while also absorbing basic principles of fine art.

Patrick has a BFA from NSCAD. Besides teaching, he works as an illustrator. You might see him around the city playing piano at stand-up comedy shows.

Carol has been teaching yoga/movement classes and retreats for 20 years. She is constantly amazed and curious about how humans move. To Carol, being in the outdoors is medicine. She has recently returned from four months of travelling in her van with her dog, Juno, hiking and exploring Newfoundland/Labrador and Cape Breton, and has discovered that being more ‘wild’ connects her with everything. Her teaching philosophy is: “Being. Wild. Moving in the outdoors connects us to who we really are.”

Jennifer Green resides in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where she is an Associate Professor of Textiles/Fashion at NSCAD University. Her research practice is cross-disciplinary and collaborative. In April 2022, she launched the Flaxmobile Project, working with local farms to revitalise a flax fibre industry in Nova Scotia. Jennifer graduated from London’s Royal College of Art with a specialism in woven textile design. She has designed for mills in Britain and Japan and collaborated on projects relating to fashion, vehicle design, footwear and accessories.

Sara Hartland-Rowe is a painter and installation artist who lives in Halifax with her husband and son. In her first career as a professional musician, Sara played with the Calgary Philharmonic, the Vancouver Symphony, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Toronto Dance Theatre, and in numerous string quartets.

Hartland-Rowe attended NSCAD (BFA 1990) before moving to Chicago for post-graduate work (MFA, UIC Chicago, 1993). She returned to Halifax in 2000. Hartland-Rowe has exhibited across Canada, and in the US, South America, and Europe. Significant solo and two-person exhibitions include Small World (Textile Museum of Canada, 1998), Days Are Where We Live (Museum London, 2000), The World in the Evening (Dalhousie University Art Gallery, 2002), all things good and pure (Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, 2004), Look to the Living (MSVU Art Gallery, 2012) and sweet, sweet painting (Hermes Gallery, 2020). Travellers (2014), a permanent public art commission for Halifax Transit, at the Dartmouth Bus Terminal, was a finalist for the Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia’s Masterworks Award, 2015.

Hartland-Rowe has received funding from national and provincial arts councils; her work is in private and public collections. She is an instructor in the Painting and Drawing Department at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.

Dave LeRue is a Montreal based artist, writer, and educator, and is currently pursuing a P.h.D in Art Education at Concordia University. He was born and raised in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, getting his BFA at NSCAD University in 2014. He moved to Montreal in 2016, completing an MFA in painting in 2019. He lives in Cote des Neiges with his beloved Charlotte and overly affectionate cat, Wilburtheaus.

Of his teaching philosophy, Dave says: “The hardest part about making is starting. I structure my classes to encourage doing before thinking. Make a mark! Pick a colour! Take the exercise as far as you can! Once a project is in progress, I view myself as a mediator. Let’s work with what you have! I encourage my students to focus on their strengths, ideally helping them to channel their excitement and energy into the work they’re doing. I love the excitement that young artists bring to their practices, and the feeling of discovery when the unexpected happens. When class is going well, I’m merely steering the energy, calling out directions for students on their own ships to interpret as they will. If I’ve done my job well, students come away seeing things in a new way, learning new techniques, and feeling more confident in their abilities and ready to take on new challenges. Failure is always an option.”

Jamie was Ross Creek’s property manager and eco-educator from 2020 to 2022! She is an experienced nature program facilitator, an expert wayfarer of the Ross Creek landscape, a wealth of ecological knowledge, and knitting enthusiast.

“I have worked with multiple nonprofit organisations who offer outdoor education and community programming. This work has always been centred around ecological discoveries for youth and the public. I am currently at school to further my education and build on my technical skills as they relate to horticulture and agriculture. My goal is to refocus my efforts in the environmental sector to combat climate change as it relates to restoration and food security.

My teaching philosophy is to use our connection with nature as a tool for building strong relationships with the outdoors, community, and self. By taking the time to explore all the little things that are found in nature, we can foster confidence in children to play and learn outdoors and empower the next generation of environmental stewards.”

Ami MacKay is the author of three bestselling novels–The Birth House, The Virgin Cure, and The Witches of New York—as well as the novella, Half Spent Was the Night. Her memoir, Daughter of Family G was named a CBC Best Book of 2019. McKay is also a playwright, composer, and essayist. Born and raised in the Midwest, she now lives in Nova Scotia.

Ian loves helping people become Makers. In the past, he has run workshops at the Ross Creek Centre for the Arts in basic robotics, making art from upcycled electronics and rocketry. He used to be a High School teacher in a former life and still loves to facilitate groups of enthusiastic learners when he shares his passion for STEAM (Science, Technology, Art, Engineering and Math) with others.

I’thandi Munro is a mixed Afro-Euro L’nu woman living in K’jipuktuk, Miꞌkmaꞌki, the unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People. Munro is a professional performance and visual artist. In 2020, she completed her BFA, earning a double major in Photography and Jewellery Design and Metalsmithing from NSCAD University. As a racialized person living in a postcolonial environment, Munro uses the representation of line and of lineage as underlying concepts in her fine art, craft, and dance. Often merging different mediums into finished pieces, there is always a sense of multiplicity within her work, melding notions of the digital and the physical within her craft. Leaving space for her pieces to naturally evolve through reaction and discussion, Munro creates an ever-changing body of work that can be explored and realised in different ways.

In November 2022, Arts Nova Scotia and the Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council awarded I’thandi an Emerging Artist Recognition Award. 

Elizabeth trained as an artist in France, where she learned many drawing and painting techniques, as well as clay sculpture. In her work, she has always been drawn to portraiture. Elizabeth’s most recent exhibition was at the Icehouse Gallery in Tatamagouche in October 2022, as part of a group portrait show called “Face Value.” She has been teaching art for over 25 years to both adults and children. Elizabeth is a member of Visuals Arts Nova Scotia’s PAINTS (Professional Artists In The Schools) program and is active with Memory Café NS, which brings art and music to people living with dementia. She enjoys teaching in Ross Creek’s highly imaginative and friendly atmosphere.

Elizabeth’s teaching approach “is very flexible! I like to get to know my students and try to offer each individual something personal to take away from a workshop. Materials and imagination go hand in hand, so I spend a lot of time helping students learn to use a variety of different materials. I show up for a workshop with a well-defined project and then improvise a lot. Many of my workshops have also included a ‘play acting’ element; for example, a physical warmup where students act out geometrical shapes, so they can reproduce the ‘feeling’ of their gestures in their drawings. With juniors I use a lot of make-believe and story-telling.”

Tyler is a self taught electronic musician with a life-long interest in the subject. Inspired by the great Brian Eno, who described his craft being the “ability to replace technical ability with judgement,” Tyler has a special focus on teaching electronic music composition in a way that is accessible to anyone regardless of budget or musical experience.

“I believe electronic music is this generation’s form of folk music. Never before has making music been so accessible and so affordable. Even though all the blinking lights and knobs and menus can seem intimidating at first, I believe with a bit of encouragement and direction, anyone is capable of conveying the thoughts and feelings they have through the medium of electronic sound.”