The Orange Easel Teaching Team

Allison May Jensen, owner

​Allison founded Orange Easel in 2014.  She lives in Liberty MO with her husband of 20+ years and two teenagers.  All her spare time is taken up by watching her kids play sports and she loves every minute of it.  She's also a die-hard Cubs fan and rarely misses a game.  Her favorite media to teach is watercolors!  

Sara Woolfolk, Platte Woods GM

​Sara is the GM at our Platte Woods studio and Orange Easel's most-veteran (that sounds better than "oldest") instructor.  Before Orange Easel, she served as the manager of the Creative Services department at The Kansas City Star. She lives in Liberty MO with her husband, Steve, and their son, Sam, the world's worst dog, and an incredibly grumpy cat named Saturday.  Miss Allison asked her what her favorite media was for this bio and she listed them all...so lets just say, she likes ART.

Adrienne Benson

Adrienne earned her undergraduate degree from Kansas State University, followed by a master’s in counseling from Denver Seminary and further education at Pittsburg State. After working as a family counselor, she followed her passion into the classroom and now teaches middle school art in Kansas City, Kansas. Adrienne loves working with fiber arts, especially weaving, and also enjoys creating mosaics. Outside of the art studio, you’ll find her practicing yoga, listening to audiobooks, or catching up on reality TV. She and her husband, Ryan, have three almost-adult kids.

Akira Alves, instructor

​Akira is our resident clay expert in the studio!  She has a bachelor's degree from Missouri State University and enjoys watching movies and trying new coffee shops.  She also plays the ukulele and is a BIT of a Disney fanatic!

Alaina Mink, instructor

​​Miss Alaina is a current student at Park University studying graphic design.  She loves dancing as well as drawing and coloring. Her specialties include digital art and alcohol markers. 

Bailey Basgall, instructor

​​Bailey is an army veteran with a degree in Elementary education.  Outside of Orange Easel she spends her time child-wrangling, binge watching The Office and LOTR, reading, and gardening.  Her favorite media to work with is charcoal.

CeCe Holt, instructor

​CeCe works as a caricature artist who also works reading specialist in a local montessori school.  She holds a bachelor's degree in marketing and loves painting and kayaking in her spare time.  

Xavier Holt, instructor

Xavier has loved art for as long as he can remember, often helping teach younger students during his school years. He’s worked as a caricature artist at Worlds of Fun and currently enjoys his role as a ride operator at Powerplay. He specializes in digital art and ink drawing. In his downtime, Xavier also enjoys playing video games—but art is always his favorite way to relax and express himself!

Ella Canon, teacher's assistant

​Ella is a senior in high school and an Orange Easel student.  This is her first job, and she has three older brothers, a younger sister, and three pugs.  Her favorite medium is watercolor!  Outside of art and Orange Easel, to quilt, knit, cross-stitch, run track, collect bottle caps, and read.

Grace Ventimiglia, instructor

​​Miss Grace has been teaching at Orange Easel since 2016.  She is a creative soul with a background working in hospitality and childcare industries.  Her favorite media to work with is acrylics, decoupage, or just plain ol' sharpie.  Outside of Orange Easel, she likes to play video games, cook (and bake for her Orange Easel teammates), and record music with her partner, Aaron.

Jackie Anderson, instructor

​Miss Jackie has spent most of her career working in the medical field is is thrilled to finally get to do ART (her love) as her job!  She enjoys drawing, sketching, and chalk pastels the most. She and her husband of 15 years relocated to KC after her husband retired from the military.  Outside of work, she loves reading and doing any type of art activities with her 5yr old (who is also an Orange Easel artist).

Kristi Ford, instructor

Kristi is currently attending MCC.  Before joining the team at Orange Easel she was a server at First Watch for 10 years.  She loves fiber arts and has been crocheting for 20 years.  She lives in KC with her two kids and two dogs. Outside of work, her favorite hobby is crafting with friends.

Kylei Harris, instructor

Miss Kylei holds a Bachelors Degree in Art Education and Art History.  She is currently an K-12 art teacher in the public schools.  She lives with her fiancé, Jake, and her black lab, Gator.  Kylei's favorite media is fiber arts, outside of work she enjoys running, crocheting, and reading.

Laura Jane Roland, instructor

​Miss Laura has a BA in English from Truman State University and an eclectic work background: she has been Snoopy at Camp Snoopy, given temporary tattoos at Worlds of Fun, roasted coffee, been a bookseller, and worked in a bakery. She shares her home with her husband of 12 years, 10 year old daughter, and three cats: Pokey, Nigel, and Macaroni.  She loves watercolor, graphite, and pen and ink.

Lily Menzies, teacher's assistant

Lily is a junior at Liberty High School.  She's been an Orange Easel student since we opened in 2014 and has volunteered to help in classes and camps for the past three years.  She likes working with acrylic paints and mixed media art.  When she's not at work or school, she enjoys baking, coloring, and reading.​

​Liz Reinhardt, instructor

​Miss Liz is the magic many of the Orange Easel birthday parties on Saturdays in Liberty.  During the week, she teaches alittle bit of everything...drawing, multimedia, and evening sewing!  She lives in the KC metro with her husband Matthew and her 7 year old son, Malcolm.  Outside of Orange Easel, she's an avid runner.  She and her family travel to Iowa every summer to participate in a seven mile race!

Mason Horwitz, teacher's assistant

​Mason is a high school junior and longtime member of the Orange Easel community—he’s been creating with us since he was nine years old! After four years of volunteering in the studio, he’s excited to officially join the team as an instructor. Mason enjoys working with graphite and oil paint, and is currently pursuing his International Baccalaureate diploma. When he’s not at the studio, you’ll find him reading, swimming, or participating in debate.

Melissa McCullough, instructor

​​Melissa is an K-12 art teacher with the Liberty Public Schools.  She lives in Liberty with her husband and three young children.  She holds a masters degree in Studio Art & Theory and loves drawing, photography, and printmaking.  Outside of worktime, she love rehabbing her house and working on her photography.

Nancy Martin, instructor

​Nancy has been with the Orange Easel instructor team since we opened back in 2014.  She has a bachelor of fine arts from the Kansas City Art Institute and a Masters of Fine Arts from the Art Institute of Chicago.  She's a former teacher at KCAI and the Nelson Atkins Museum.  In her time away for the studio, she loves taking long walks, reading, listening to music and going to great restaurants.

Stephanie Torres, Studio Services Coordinator

Stephanie Torres brings her background in hospitality and event management to the creative world of art education. She earned her BA in Hospitality Management and spent seven years as a Convention Event Manager in Dallas before making Kansas City her home. Stephanie enjoys working with acrylic paints and alcohol inks, finding joy in bold colors and fluid designs. Outside of the studio, she loves reading, spending time outdoors, and, of course, making art. She lives in Kansas City with her husband and their two kids.

 

We're always looking for amazing individuals to join our teaching team!

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