We’re grateful to partner with local creatives who also call this community home. These kind, talented teaching artists bring new techniques and energy into our studio. Join them for classes and workshops that nurture exploration and a sense of belonging.
Elena
We’re so happy to have Elena teaching at Petite. Elena is an incredibly talented artist and a truly wonderful human who cares deeply about creativity, connection, and creating spaces where people feel comfortable being themselves. A lifelong artist working primarily in watercolor, she brings a thoughtful, intuitive approach to art making that feels very much at home at Petite.
Elena has lived in Bedford for the past five years, teaching art to children and adults of all ages. You may have seen her leading summer pop up workshops at the John Jay Homestead Farmers Market. She discovered her love of teaching during the pandemic, when she began creating elaborate and engrossing art projects the whole family could enjoy as a break from long days of Zoom school, and somewhere along the way, realized she had found something she truly loved. Elena recently completed a Master’s Degree in Psychology at the Spirituality Mind Body Institute at Columbia University’s Teachers College. Her classes blend traditional art skill building with intuition, magic, play, and inner knowing.
Elena believes creativity is our birthright, and that making art is about much more than mastering materials. It is a way to connect with ourselves, trust our instincts, and find joy in the creative process. Her classes at Petite offer a beautiful space to reconnect with your creative self and make art part of your own wellness practice.
We are so grateful to Elena for bringing this thoughtful approach to our studio and cannot wait for you to experience one of her classes.
Art + Wellness
Jenn
Preschool Art Enrichment-
DoodlEWorm Classes + SEwing Classes
We’re so happy to have Ms. Jenn at the studio, bringing with her extensive experience in early childhood education and the arts. A lifelong maker who grew up drawing, sewing, sculpting, and arranging, Ms. Jenn studied Early Childhood Education at the University of Vermont while also taking studio art courses and working in the campus pottery studio.
After becoming a certified teacher, she centered the arts in her classrooms, weaving open ended creative thinking through every subject. She taught for many years in preschools across Vermont and New York City before moving to Katonah with her husband to grow their family. Most recently, she has worked as an art specialist at a local camp, taught after school art classes, and served as a curriculum consultant.
You’ll find Ms. Jenn teaching our DoodleWorms classes during the week, where she brings a warm, sensory smart approach to our youngest artists and encourages curiosity, independence, and play. And while she is truly wonderful with our littlest artists, she is also an incredibly creative maker herself and teaches sewing and textile classes for our older artists.
We feel so lucky to have her at Petite and can’t wait for so many of our artists to create with her!
Lacy
Mini Art Camps &
Glass Fusing Workshops
We are so lucky to have Ms. Lacy, and her radiant warmth and kindness, at the studio. Ms. Lacy has taught art for over 15 years, beginning in Texas and later running her own art studio in New York. She dreams up the most fun projects and loves seeing children apply new skills with real materials, as each artwork reveals a bit of who they are. She trained in glass fusing, including how to teach it safely, and fell in love with the medium. Today, she shares that love with the community while guiding young artists across a range of media, including drawing, painting, printmaking, mixed media, and kiln based processes.
Her philosophy is simple: the studio should be a safe place to explore, imagine, and create without fear, because “good mistakes” often spark the very best ideas. You’ll find her at Petite leading the best mini art camps on school break days and offering special glass fusing workshops. And if you’re lucky, you’ll meet her daughter, Violet, who often joins as her mom’s assistant.
Ms. Lacy is walking sunshine and brings her Southern charm to the studio. Y’all are going to love her.