WORKSHOP LEADER

Becca Osborne is a middle school teacher who loves to craft and be creative. Her experience includes working as a farm-based educator, a STEM teacher, and the clay studio coordinator at CraftStudies. Currently, she is completing a fellowship focused on increasing meaningful hands-on learning for middle school students. Becca also enjoys gardening, and hiking in the woods with her dog and partner.

WORKSHOP LEADER

Deborah Churchill has taught middle school math since 1988 and pottery since 2015. As part of her career as a math teacher she has always looked for ways to incorporate projects that deepen her students' understanding and enliven their learning. With a passion for geometry, her projects often focus on the art of geometry such as tile and mosaic design, quilting, barn quilts, and building three-dimensional objects such as benches and raised bed gardens. In 2010, her passion for geometry led her to study Islamic Art which in turn led to her study pottery.

WORKSHOP LEADER

Elizabeth recently retired after 32 years, teaching art at Hanover High School in Hanover, NH. She taught many mediums - drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, pottery, photography, and jewelry.  Her overarching takeaway is that being a maker is each person's birthright, and it is more important than the media.  It has been Elizabeth's goal to help others find their media and their passion for making.   Development of technical skills, direct observation of process and product, and fostering a studio that includes lots of joy and trust is the basis for teaching others to explore their gifts.  Elizabeth works in encaustic paints now, but has focused on many different media over her life.

WORKSHOP LEADER

Jill Koppers’ love for clay began in elementary school with the simple act of rolling a coil and has been developing ever since. Her favorite clay work is alternative fires including Raku and wood fire salt kilns. She has studied ceramics at Westchester Community College in New York, with several independent teachers throughout New England, and at CraftStudies and the League of NH Craftsmen. Jill has been in the field of education for over twenty years and is now joining her skills of teaching, love of working with children and adults, and her passion for clay in what she strives to be an experience where each person’s unique and beautiful spirit is celebrated and expressed through the medium of clay.

WORKSHOP LEADER

June has taught handwork, including knitting, crocheting, sewing and embroidery to students in grades one through eight at the  Upper Valley Waldorf school for thirty years. A lifelong learner, she has taken embroidery classes at San Francisco School of Needlework and Design and Royal School of Needlework, among local workshops in various fiber arts. She enjoys natural dying, and incorporating this process into her work. June regularly teaches embroidery and shibori to adults at CraftStudies.

COURSE LEADER

Lisa Brahms has served as the Executive Director of CraftStudies since 2021. From her first days, she was inspired by the generosity, creativity, and shared commitment to craft that define the organization.

Her career has focused on how people learn through creative processes and on designing environments that encourage hands-on engagement. Before joining CraftStudies, she served as Director of Education at the Montshire Museum of Science, developing programs and partnerships to share the joy of science with children and families. Previously, as Director of Learning & Research at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, she led a team of educators, artists, and researchers to make hands-on creative processes accessible to diverse audiences. She led the design, research, and launch of the Studio, focused on fine arts, and MAKESHOP, the first museum makerspace for young children and families to explore handcraft and creative technologies.

Personally and professionally, craft has been a lifelong source of inspiration, joy, and connection for Lisa. A passionate textile enthusiast, she often turns to needle, thread, and fabric in her own creative work.

COURSE LEADER

Paul brings 30 years experience as a musician and educator to his role as Co-Founder and Co-Leader of the Community Engagement Lab and the Project Design Lab. His innovative school- and community-engaged projects have been GRAMMY nominated, featured as models of best practice at national conventions, and received national awards for children's media.

WORKSHOP LEADER

Tracy Gillespie is an artist, teacher, and Vermont/New Hampshire–certified 7–12 mathematics educator living in Strafford, Vermont. She believes creativity is central to being human and works to help others connect with their own curiosity and sense of discovery.

As an artist, Tracy is drawn to block printing for its accessibility and its ability to transform simple sketches into striking images. She often enhances her prints with watercolor, adding layers of color and emotion. She believes art is for everyone and hopes her work inspires others to create.

Tracy also teaches mathematics at The Sharon Academy, where she currently leads middle school Algebra I. She uses a discovery-based approach grounded in strong skills, and values her students as her greatest teachers.