Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Lace Booysen

Hi, I’m Lace! I have been an artist since childhood, and I am passionate about various forms of art, particularly portraits and anatomy studies. I enjoy understanding how muscles move to accurately portray different motions. My preferred mediums include watercolor, gouache, craft paper, and alcohol markers.

I attended cosmetology school at Paul Mitchell The School. Before that, my lines in art were quite shaky. However, once I started working with hair, my lines became steadier, allowing me to refine each piece of art I created. This experience also solidified my understanding of color theory.

I have four years of experience working with children, and I find this work to be both humbling and rewarding. I understand that it takes time to learn and achieve progress as an artist. I aim to encourage my students by showing them that dedication and practice lead to achieving their artistic goals.

I am grateful for the opportunity to work closely with Martha Booysen in the position of teaching assistant, supporting the teachers at Children’s Art Classes. I always strive to better myself and gain as much knowledge as possible, and I look forward to receiving specific training in the Children’s Art Classes curriculum. I am excited to be a part of every student’s learning journey and can’t wait to see how they grow as young artists.

Rachel Cortner

My name is Rachel Cortner, and I am excited to be joining the team at Children’s Art Classes. I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Art with a Teaching Certification from Harding University and have spent the past 28 years teaching art to students ages 2–18, with most of my experience as an elementary art teacher.

Coming from a family of artists, creativity has always been an important part of my life. I enjoy drawing portraits and exploring watercolor in my own artwork, and I love working with a wide variety of artistic media and processes in the classroom.

Making art with children is my true calling. My goal is to help students grow not only as artists, but also as confident problem-solvers and communicators. I believe art provides a wonderful opportunity for children to discover their creative abilities, build confidence, and develop skills that extend far beyond the art room.

One of the greatest joys of teaching is working with students over many years and watching their confidence, creativity, and artistic abilities flourish. I look forward to building wonderful relationships with the talented students and families at Children’s Art Classes.

Riley Housden

Riley has held a love for art ever since she saw her first cartoon. While animation is her greatest love, she also enjoys experimenting with various mediums, including gouache, watercolors, and graphite. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Animation from Lipscomb University, where she studied under animators from the classical Disney era of the 1990s.

Riley has four years of experience working with children, including teaching at Art of All Nations in Longview, Washington, and Jewell’s Gems Academy in Nashville. She looks forward to combining her artistic knowledge with her love of teaching. As a teacher, she enjoys connecting with and inspiring her students to express their creativity, fostering confidence in their ever-growing artistic identities.

Riley is excited about building strong, lasting relationships with her students at Children’s Art Classes. In her free time she loves horseback riding, reading, and playing board games!

Martha Booysen

Martha believes that the arts are fundamental. Art is a response to our individuality and our nature, and it helps to shape our identity. Art has a beautiful universality; it can speak many languages without a translator. It does not discriminate. Art lifts us up. Martha is the owner of Children’s Art Classes. She has been trained specifically in the Children’s Art Classes curriculum and has been enthusiastically teaching this program since 2017. Striving for the highest quality in teaching, she works closely with the founder of Children’s Art Classes. Her mission is to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.

Martha Studied Social work at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. She moved to the United States in 2003 with her family. Throughout her children’s school years, Martha volunteered in the public school system and tutored reading and writing. Martha is the proud mother of three adult children. She holds a part-time position in social work. In her free time, she enjoys painting, drawing, jewelry making, sewing and gardening.