Heather Kirtland, an artist, received a BFA in painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Heather currently teaches encaustic workshops and is focused on her own studio practice. She was awarded The Maryland State Arts Council Grant and was a resident artist at The Holt Center. Most recently she has become a West Elm Local artist. Her work has been exhibited throughout the Mid- Atlantic region, abroad in Italy and Wales, and has appeared in Modern Rustic magazine and Country Living UK. The Make-A-Wish Foundation and Montessori school have commissioned her work, as well as many private collectors. Heather recently moved from Baltimore to a more rural part of Maryland where she lives with her husband and two children and their dog. When she is not painting, she loves to read, run and encourage other mothers to find a creative outlet through a project she co-founded with Marissa Huber; Carve Out Time for Art.
Marissa Huber is an artist, connector, and creative instigator for the Carve Out Time for Art community and co-author of “The Motherhood of Art”. She works primarily in water-based mediums, digital drawing, and occasionally attempts linocut printing and silk dyeing. Her work is influenced by the colors, patterns, or plants spotted in daily life that may record a memory or fleeting moment. Her work has been featured at Brooklyn Art Library, HGTV Magazine, Design Love Fest, Minted, Create! Magazine, and Makers Movement. Her greatest joy (besides her kids) is connecting with kindred spirits over an experience, a funny story, or shared dreams and feeling positively lit up. She believes in taking her dreams quite seriously, but tries not to take herself too seriously. She has a dayjob as a Sr. Occupancy Planner, commutes 10 hours a week where she thinks up all of her ideas, and lives in South Florida with her (painter) husband Mike East, two kids, and mom.