Charlotte Milan

She/Her

Charlotte works in waste diversion and has a thing for cool old stuff. Aesthetically driven, she considers herself a crafter aspiring to be an artisan, drawn to the everyday usable objects that make a home cozy, such as mugs, bowls, pillows, and mending. Charlotte is drawn to this project from a commitment to community building and deep economy. She looks forward to the experience of building something together, from scratch! She is one of the co-founders of Mystic Open Studio.

Nicole Weber

She/Her

Weber is a environmental biologist by day & an artist for every other minute. She finds herself in the contradiction of not doing enough for climate justice through her classroom experiences, and attempts to work through some of these issues  through her studio practice and upcycled interior design. Her studio practice focuses on the male-dominated science silo, children losing their want/right to play outside, our addiction to plastic, and our connection/protection of mother earth. She is one of the co-founders of Mystic Open Studio.

Correy Denihan

He/Him

Correy is a self-taught potter currently living in Arlington, MA. He has been making pots since 2017 when he wandered upon a passion he never knew he had. He works with both porcelain and stoneware to create functional wheel-thrown and hand-built pottery. As he favors working intuitively, his work has an eclectic style that is constantly evolving and ranges from refined forms with muted colors to bright organic forms. More than anything else, he enjoys making unique pots that people can use every day and that feel good in the hand.

Nora Starhill

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Nora is a mixed-media artist interested in storytelling, mythology, and translation. Her studio practice is intuitive and experimental, using inexpensive materials and simple forms to create imaginative characters and environments. Nora has been the director of the art program at a summer camp in Wisconsin for several years and takes inspiration from the imagination and self-assurance of the children she works with.

Mary Brooks

She/Her

Mary Brooks is an artist, a scientist & educator. She worked for many years in cancer biology labs. At the same time, Mary continued to develop her fiber arts skills in weaving, dyeing, spinning, knitting and basket weaving. After getting her masters’ degree in Creative Arts & Learning from Lesley University, Mary created and taught arts integrated lessons in biology and chemistry classes for high school students in the Boston area. She continues to work on STEAM (STEM+Arts) and is living at least one of her dreams of teaching loom weaving to students of all ages.

Audrey Diallo 

Audrey Diallo is a certified drum instructor who has been teaching West African Drum classes to adults and children in the Boston area for over 15 years. She has studied with some of the greatest African master drummers both here and in Africa. She empowers her students with a can do attitude, making the magic and healing of drumming accessible to all.

Tomika Gotch

She/Her

Tomika's passion for paper crafts began at the age of seven, when she learned to fold her first origami crane. As she grew older, her interest expanded into bookbinding and the wondrous world of book arts. In recent years, Tomika has delved into learning traditional paper techniques, including joomchi and momigami. She is currently focused on the construction of zhen xian bao—the Chinese thread book—exploring the versatile nature of paper to create unique book art objects.

Carissa Englert

She/Her

Carissa is a beginner clay artist who finds that this natural medium connects with her passions for both sustainability and community. She has always been an art lover, and she is trying to reconnect with the artist she was as a kid.

Jen Erbe

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Jen is a photographer and mixed media artist based in Arlington, MA. Her work focuses on transitional spaces, and the intersection of landscape and street photography. She can often be
found photographing the environment around her, finding moments of humor and quirkiness.
After her kids went to college she rediscovered her love of mixed media, including clay, encaustic and embroidery. Jen studied at the Art Institute of Boston, and graduated with a diploma from The Museum School in 2002. She holds a B.S in Chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University and worked as a biochemistry researcher for 7 years. She has recently worked as a
Teacher Naturalist at Mass Audubon.

Marina Strauss

She/Her

Marina has been working in the field of Expressive arts therapy for over 20 years. The arts have clearly been calling out her name louder and louder. She has been drawn to clay, textile arts (weaving and embroidery, knitting and crocheting), book arts, mixed media, and different ways of printing (eco printing, cyanotype, gelli printing). She is curious about learning and experimentation and is interested in building community around the arts. She is one of the co-founders of Mystic Open Studio.

Marella Averill 

She/Her

Marella first learned to hand quilt at a small fair in Eastern Kentucky while studying in college.  It was love at first stitch!  She dabbles in many textile arts - knitting, sewing, needle felting, embroidery - but hand stitching continues to be her favorite. The past few years she has focused on using (mostly) recycled and repurposed fabrics and materials in her creative work.  
Marella has also been teaching children for the past twenty years.  Eternally inspired by their innate creativity, wonder and ability to play, she tries to bring that same spirit to her own teaching, learning, making and doing.

Aine O'Malley

She/They

Aine is our yoga meditation guru and a soulful gem.

Mina Burton

They/Them

Mina spends their days surrounded by an incredible collection of art as a visitor services assistant at the Harvard Art Museums. In their own work, Mina aspires to create beautiful, functional art. Their favorite mediums to date include bookbinding, embroidery, and ceramics.

Mukta Joshi-Pendse

She/Her

Mukta is a medical imaging professional and mother who is creative and crafty. She loves learning different techniques and media, especially ceramics and sketching.

Elena Clamen

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Elena has always had a passion for art & photography. She captures vibrant color, texture, emotion and vitality in everyday items; a child's hand reaching into a bowl of crayons, a bowl of soup, teddy bears and dolls nestled on piles of old books, a glass globe filled with brilliantly colored gumballs, a bottomless jar of grandmother's old buttons. Elena's photos elicit memories and capture the innocence and comfort of childhood and everyday life. Elena also enjoys photographing Somerville scenes, moments in nature as well as children and families. In addition to her love of photography Elena enjoys creating collages and experimenting with different expressive arts mediums. Elena is a licensed mental health counselor and expressive arts therapist in private practice. She loves to integrate art & photography into her therapeutic work with clients.

Devlin O'Malley

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Devlin, a Reiki Master and Neo-Shamanic Healer, incorporates ancient and modern healing modalities to help clients through life's transitions by adjusting the subtle energy of the body which facilitates physical and emotional self-healing. Devlin leads our full moon practice and other energetic work. The full moon is a time to practice forgiveness, release what no longer serves you and express your gratitude.

Laura Bagnall 

She/Her

Laura took her first Shibori class in 2023 and was immediately hooked.  She quickly moved beyond the simple folding and binding techniques covered in the class to focus on stitching techniques, reflecting her long-time love of sewing. She is inspired both by traditional Japanese patterns and designs taken from nature. A long time engineer, now retired, she is delighted with her new life of making art and teaching it to others.

Jill French

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Jill has been playing with clay for quite awhile and, like her Dad, refers to her work as ‘Primitive American Art’. She enjoys experimenting with textures and glazes. Jill considers working with others in the studio and seeing their results as a form of therapy.