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Teaching Artists

Dedication. Expertise. Passion.

We love our artists and are proud of the creative and passionate individuals that are at Ash Creek Arts Center. We are so grateful for their dedication to the arts and the greater community. 

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Julie Marjerrison

Julie Jeanseau is a creator, maker and painter. She graduated from U Of O, with a BA Art Ed, attended Oregon School of Arts and Crafts and has her Masters in Curriculum and Instruction.

 

Julie has lived along the
entire west coast from Seattle to San Diego. She has three daughters and one adorable granddaughter. Julie actively works on two bodies of
work, one more accessible and recognizable landscapes and another that carries religious
symbolism and looks at the structure of religion within the christian church.

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Sonia Allen

Sonia Allen is a painter, printmaker and sketchbook journal keeper. For over 25 years she has been a teaching artist in the Willamette Valley working with Salem Art Association, Bush House Museum, Ash Creek Arts Center, Lake Oswego Center for the Arts, Art Conspiracy West
Valley, and with Summer Art Camps and Family Art Days at Willamette University’s Hallie Ford Museum of Art.

 

Believing there is always something new to learn, Sonia enjoys helping students engage the arts as a means of self expression and discovery. She relishes that “aha!” moment when students catch a concept, nail a technique, or share the hands-on joy of art-making. Sonia loves to travel, and her sketchbook journals are treasured souvenirs.

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    Stephanie Juanillo

    Stephanie Juanillo is a Mexican-American artist. She graduated from Linfield University in 2022, with a B.A. in Studio Arts and a Minor Psychology and Visual Studies.

     

    Through her art, she honors her experience as a first-generation immigrant. Latinx music, memories, people and nostalgia inspire Stephanie’s choice of bold color, pattern, texture and Mexican iconography. The work centers around the coexistence of grief and joy and how they play an active role in the topics she chooses to investigate. Topics such as migration, community, family, loss, distance and intergenerational healing. The act of creating, whether that be through painting, printmaking, collage or installation serve as a way for Stephanie to stay connected to her Mexican roots.

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    Michele Haney

    Michele Haney has been an arts educator for over 10 years, creating with all ages from Kindergarteners to college students, with a number of years spent with middle school-age students. She is fascinated by the interplay between the natural world and the arts.

     

    She earned her BA in Art and MS in Arts Management from the University of Oregon and her MAT from Western Oregon University. She currently teaches seasonally at Oregon State University. Outside of raising her two boys, she loves to watercolor, make prints, use chalk pastel and practice figure drawing! 

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      Maia Jones

      Maia has been exploring art in many forms for many decades. She has worked in various visual arts mediums, including graphic design, illustration, and drawing and painting, as well as spending many years in the field of modern dance. She particularly likes teaching art to young people and inspiring them to find their own unique creative path.

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        Sarah Wolfer

        Sarah is a contemporary mixed media artist who lives and works in Salem, Oregon. She graduated from Western Oregon University with a Bachelor of Science in Fine Art and a minor in Art History.  Papers, unique tools, paints, pigment sticks, and other elements find their way into her art. She is, above all things, a joy chaser. Sarah's work can be found across the Willamette Valley in Portland, Salem, Corvallis, and more.  

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        Toben Roark

        Toben grew up making art with their family and continued to pursue it alongside Zoology at Western Oregon University. They collected techniques from many art forms and enjoy mixing media. They are often inspired by the intricacies of animal behavior and the intersectionality of injustice that pervades the world.

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          Jessica Rehfield

          Jessica Rehfield-Griffith is a teacher and artist. They teach kids and adults about drawing, zine-making, making stamps and prints, how to do embroidery and painting at Ash Creek Arts Center, The Arts Center (Corvallis) and Salem Art Association. Jessica has taught adults how to read and write as a language tutor. Jessica lives with their cat and wife at their home in Salem, where they also like growing plants and Studio GHIBLI movies. Jessica likes encouraging students of all ages to experiment with words and images and to use their creativity to try something new in all mediums!

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            Ash Earls

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            Ash has been teaching art that encourages social-emotional learning and self-exploration for 3 years. Ash has supported youth and parents by exploring emotion, mindset, and child and brain development through art, creativity, and connection. They enjoy working with people of all ages and abilities. 

            Ash has their BA in Early Childhood Development & Education in 2019 and has been studying the arts for their lifetime. Their primary art is suppis the support they offer to youth, parents, and families navigating difficult parenting struggles. They enjoy spending time with their partner, daughter, and service dog Trevor. Their favorite types of art are multimedia including: Daybooking, Pyrography, Wood, Powertools, Stains, Paint, Collage, and Nature, and Repurposing old things.

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            Ash Creek Arts Center gratefully acknowledges the generosity of the City of Independence & the City of Monmouth, the Oregon Legislature, the Oregon Cultural Trust, the Oregon Community Foundation, and the Polk County Cultural Coalition for Coronavirus Relief Fund.  They have allowed us to run art education classes for all ages, and distribute free art packs to the community.

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            Ash Creek Arts Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

            © 2026 by Ash Creek Arts Center.

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