Fine art classes after school and summer camps for kids, children and teens in Portland, Oregon grades K-12. Fine art classes in drawing, painting, sculpture, clay, pottery, cartooning, comics, manga, graphic novels, mixed media and printmaking.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Board of Directors is made up of five supportive, voluntary members with a variety of strengths and interests which complement the goals and uphold the Mission of the organization.

Sascha is the founder of Fine Art Starts. She has a BFA in Visual Art and Master's Degree in Teaching. She has taught fine art to children and adults since 1997, and was one of three nominees for the 2021 Educator of the Year Award for the state of Oregon. Find Sascha's resume HERE.
Sascha established Fine Art Starts in 1997 to fulfill a gap in affordable, equitable, high quality fine arts education. Sascha believes children deserve to have access to a high-quality fine arts education provided through small group instruction taught by excellent artists and teachers.
Sascha's role is integral to Fine Art Starts. She oversees all aspects of the organization, creates curriculum and is the visionary for where and how the organization can continue to grow and serve.

Chris is a School Psychologist for the Washington School for the Deaf. He works with Deaf and hard of hearing students, provides bilingual services in American Sign Language (ASL), assesses and evaluates students and their needs both educationally and accessibility-wise within the learning environment.
He has volunteered for Fine Art Starts, particularly during Art Shows and Art Camps and has been an active Board Member for the past five years.
Chris' role with Fine Art Starts is to ensure equal access for students and families with disabilities for ongoing classes and summer camps, and particularly with the Student Art Shows.
In his free time he enjoys kayaking, hiking, travelling, and spending time with family.

Pranaw is a tech enthusiast who loves helping with technological needs. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Portland State University with a Degree in Computer Science.
Pranaw has experience in almost all aspects of computer technology, from his time as a Software Engineer Intern at Mentor Graphics, a retail specialist at Apple, and a builder/programmer for his High School Robotics team.
He enjoys spending time with his cat, tinkering with electronics and rebuilding his computers.
His role with Fine Art Starts is to be the pillar of consultation, set up, implementation and ongoing tech support necessary for our digital art program.

Nina grew up spending years in the Fine Art Starts studio, attending classes and summer programs. They have several years of experience assisting and teaching drawing, painting, sculpture and illustration for Fine Art Starts at various schools.
They are a Bachelor's candidate in their third year of college at Pacific Northwest College of Art.
Nina's current focus has been creating the budget to integrate all of the required equipment, technology, and materials necessary for Fine Art Starts' upcoming digital art and animation program. They also check art supply inventory and purchase materials for the programs.
When Nina is not teaching or studying animation and game design at PNCA, they enjoy making art, spending time with their two cats and gecko.

Monica has been a supportive Board Member and parent of a Fine Art Starts student. She has worked for a consultation company as a professional scheduler for over 10 years and extends those skills to Fine Art Starts by providing scheduling assistance and documentation for Board meetings.
She went back to school to study data mining and is intrigued by the process of searching and analyzing large amounts of data to identify patterns.
In her free time she enjoys camping, outdoor activities, concerts, and spending time with friends and family.

It is a policy and priority of Fine Art Starts that there is no discrimination or harassment on the grounds of race, color, sex, marital status, religion, national origin, age, disability or sexual orientation in any educational programs, activities or employment.