Our Instructors
Instructors are certainly some of the most important people at The Macoupin Art Collective. These folks are the backbone of the MAC – the people who can help you become a better artist – and we appreciate everything they do for us.
Here are just a few of the people at The MAC who can teach you new skills and ways of thinking.
Rebekah Dawn of Mulberry Mudd
Rebekah works as a professional ceramic artist under the name Mulberry Mudd, creating drums, birdhouses, mugs, sculptures, and necklaces which celebrate the earth, plants, women, and healing of all kinds.
"I love doing custom work.. making things this way.. with specific people in mind. I find it feeds the creative process, and it gets me moving."
Find out more about Rebekah on her Facebook page:
Mulberry Mudd
Ruthie Jean Kahl
Ruthie teaches painting classes for us, most often in our Paint & Party events. Ruthie received a BA in Studio Arts from Blackburn College in 2012. She worked at LampLight Studio in Overland, MO as a part-time ceramics studio assistant/resident artist from 2013-2015. She has been instructing private painting parties, and parties for fundraisers, since 2014. In 2016, Ruthie was a chair painting artist for the Shop Local First Carlinville Chairs on Parade event, in which she painted over 50 chairs.
Find out more about Ruthie on her Facebook page:
Ruthie Jean Kahl - artist
Brandace Cloud
Ms. Brandy is a graduate from Lewis & Clark Community College with an Associates Degree in Graphic Design, a graduate of Webster University with a Bachelors of Art, and she also attended Southern Illinois University Edwardsville for some Post-Bach work learning the kilns under Paul Dresang. She started her teaching career through The Edwardsville Art Center. After 5 years of teaching for the EAC, she helped start up The MAC!
Find out more about Ms. Brandy and her clay work on her Facebook Page: Cloud Studios
Karen King
Ms. Karen found The MAC early on. She has been our #1 cheerleader since the beginning. She is joyful, excited and very creative! Ms. Karen dreamed up and taught our first Fairy Garden class. She brought story as well as visual art to the class. Ms. Karen is an avid photographer and naturally taught several photography classes. She is also our Paint Pouring instructor.
Sarah Redhouse Walker
Ms. Sarah has been a friend of Ms. Brandy’s for years! She is an avid potter and painter! She has BFA in Painting from Plymouth State University in NH. With an un-official minor in ceramics. She is currently enrolled in the MFA program at SIUE. Ms. Sarah has taught Oil Painting, Drawing, and Ceramics classes at The MAC!
Tori Tilton (Share the Soap)
Tori started making soap in 2003 to use up extra goat milk on our farm. That was the first winter her hands didn't crack and bleed in many years! She attended a soapmaking course and then started formulating her own recipes. She started selling her soap (Higher Calling Soaps) under their farm name, Higher Calling Farm. They sold mostly word-of-mouth but people could also find them in Green Earth Grocery in Edwardsville
In 2016 they started Share the Soap, a family farm business that makes soap & skin-care products & teaches soapmaking using goat milk, natural ingredients, essential oils and sustainable practices with a mission to give back to the community, both locally and globally. They’ve been able to teach many soapmaking classes locally as well as to help start a soap project in Haiti. They were supposed to go to Guatemala in the Spring of this year to teach soapmaking to teen girls & young women for vocational training, but that project is on-hold due to COVID.
Check out more info about Ms. Tori and Share the Soap HERE