instructors
Abrielle "Elle" Terzian
Abrielle Terzian, better known as Elle, is a recent Art Studio graduate from UC Davis, excited to begin a new adventure here at Museo. What began as a childhood love for Japanese manga like Sailor Moon and the magical worlds of Studio Ghibli quickly grew into a lifelong passion for art.
Born and raised in California’s Bay Area, Elle immersed herself in the arts from an early age, taking every art class available and even serving as president of her high school’s art club. She went on to earn her Associate’s degree in Graphic Design from De Anza College before transferring to UC Davis, where she achieved her Bachelor’s degree in Art Studio.
While living in Davis, Elle became an art instructor at Bubblegum Art Studio, where she combined her creative skills with her experience in childcare to create fun, engaging lessons for young artists. Skilled in a wide range of media, Elle has a special love for digital art and traditional drawing, and she’s passionate about inspiring her students to explore their imaginations and discover their creative voices.
Aleah Rand
Raised in the small town, Eatonville, WA, Aleah always had a passion for art and teaching. They were often found creating collaborative stories with fellow students, drawing pictures, or devouring comics. During high school, they took as many creative classes as they could within their small town's curriculum, from General Arts to Creative Writing, even spending a few years in Theater. At the same time, they took their love of teaching into swimming, working at their high school's after-school swim program as a teacher for younger students and a lifeguard.
Aleah graduated from high school with both a Blue Ribbon and Best in Show for a self-portrait from the Puyallup Fair in 2016, moving out to Seattle that same summer to attend the Art Institute of Seattle for Animation and later Cornish College of Arts for Graphic Design.
While in Seattle, Aleah started teaching swim again, further extending their experience in childcare and education. Aleah primarily works in traditional drawings and digital media, with a passion for games and storytelling. They can often be found drawing characters for their narrative tabletop games or reading a new comic. Aleah is thrilled to be joining their two passions together in a classroom environment with MUSEO, and is ecstatic to bring their creative problem-solving and adaptability to meet students' needs into the space. They look forward to creating an environment for students to appreciate the wider world around them and how art plays an important roll in shaping that world.
Amanda Lien
It’s probably a good thing Amanda’s mother never dissuaded her from watching cartoons or playing video games, since that’s exactly what she’s now making herself. Doodling random art during class in elementary and middle school slowly turned into sketching of her own characters and stories in high school.
After graduating from Skyline High School, she earned a degree in Multimedia and Web Design at the Art Institute of Seattle. Turns out that she’s not a fan of web design, and drawing is her true calling. Amanda is now working on finishing her Production Animation Degree at DigiPen in Redmond. “It’s a wondrous thing when watching the newest animated film or playing the next great video game can be classified as research”.
Amanda focuses heavily on character design and development, but the grinding of her instructors gave her a good rounded knowledge of painting, sculpture, 3D modeling, and animation as well. All of which she addresses in her Manga classes at Museo Art Academy.
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Darya Kreymer
Darya is an artist currently pursuing a digital art degree with a passion for storytelling which began with a love of childrens books in early childhood. What started as curiosity about colorful written worlds quickly grew into a dedication to creating her own characters and stories.
Over the years, Darya has participated in artist residencies, published her own comicbook, and presented countless pieces in gallery settings. These experiences have helped shape her voice as both a visual storyteller and a creative thinker.
Alongside her personal work, Darya has spent the past four years working with children, where she discovered a deep passion for teaching and mentorship. She believes that art is one of the most powerful ways for young people to express themselves, build confidence, and connect with others. Her goal as an instructor is to create a supportive and engaging environment where students feel encouraged to explore their creativity and develop their own unique style, much like she felt in her art classes during childhood.
Looking ahead, Darya hopes to continue combining her experience teaching kids and her love for storytelling by one day writing and illustrating a children’s book.
Gavin Cheng
As an artist with an itchy finger, Gavin possesses a wide variety of proficiency in the arts and spends most of his time learning new skills and techniques. He believes art is one of the best mediums for self-expression and communication. Picking up a pencil at the young age of 6, he began to understand and learn his creativity in an exciting way that has continued to this day. Gavin continues to practice art in a variety of media. He primarily focuses on digital art and has been exploring black-and-white illustrative works. Gavin is excited to be developing an art style he can call his own.
Now having rejoined the MUSEO team, he returns with a Master's degree in Education and currently teaches art and animation at a high school level in his hometown of Sacramento, California, at Laguna Creek High School. MUSEO was one of his first forays into the world of teaching, before he pursued it professionally, and now he can fully delve into his passion for art education. Gavin is excited to return with more experience and passion in his belt!
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Lou Park
Ever since Lou picked up their first ever comic book, they completely fell in love with the medium. Currently enrolled in a Comics program in School of Visual Arts, they are still as passionate about drawing since that very day. Despite comics and storytelling being their favorite, they're also interested in other mediums such as painting, stop-motion animation, and more traditional ways of drawing.
Lou has worked with students for almost all of their high school career, whether it be teaching Taekwondo or assisting classes at Korean School. Their favorite part of teaching is getting to know each individual student and their passions! They're enthused at the opportunity at Museo, since now they'll be helping fellow young artists grow.​
Mabel Britt
Mabel Britt is a passionate artist whose love for creativity began long before any formal training. As a self-taught artist, she spent years experimenting with different mediums, styles, and techniques, including clay, illustration, felting, digital art, and mixed media. Mabel’s style and inspiration reflects her background as a self-taught artist whose education came from disparate sources throughout high school and college.
Mabel earned a Bachelor of Arts in Game Design at DigiPen IT, where she deepened her understanding of visual storytelling, narrative design, and the power of art as both a form of emotional catharsis and a tool for storytelling. Working with kids has been a cornerstone of Mabel’s life since high school, where she first discovered a natural ability to communicate with children.
As a former Museo student, Mabel thrived in Museo camps where she was given the time and space to explore her creativity without judgment. Now, as an instructor, she is dedicated to creating a fun, welcoming space where every child feels free to experiment and make mistakes.
Matty Benson
Matty is an artist through and through. He started drawing as early as he possibly could and never stopped. Growing up close to Disneyland, and the Disney Animation Academy in California Adventure by extension, he was inspired to become a creator of characters and films as well. Matty is also a previous Museo student, having spent over seven years taking classes from age 11-18. The experience he gained at Museo helped him to truly appreciate the process of creating art in so many ways.
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There was no question about what degree Matty was going to pursue after high school. He decided on DigiPen: Institute of Technology in Redmond years before applying, and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree there in Animation. A huge motivation for Matty is the idea of one day inspiring a new generation of students to create, just like children’s movies and TV inspired him as a kid. Because of that, he’s so thankful for the opportunity to pass that down to the new students coming to Museo!