Art + Design Education Leaders
We're known for providing unique and flexible programs taught by professionals who have shaped art, craft, design, media and heritage studies in Canada. No other college offers students this breadth of creative programming.
Learn at campuses in Haliburton and Peterborough that provide a one-of-a kind, hands-on studio experience. Our certificate, diploma and post-graduate programs will help you build a solid portfolio to take you to the next step - whether that's continuing education, embarking on a career, or starting your own practice.
Featured Program
Build Your Foundation, Then Ignite Your Creativity
Earn a Visual and Creative Arts diploma in just three semesters with foundation courses and hands-on studio experience!
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Visual and Creative Arts
Train like an artist and build a powerful foundation in visual art. No matter your medium, this diploma helps you grow your skills and perspective with hands-on studio learning.
Visual and Creative Arts -
March Break Creative Adventure Starts Soon!
Courses for kids and teens in ceramics, printmaking, digital art and more. Learn new skills and make something amazing.
March Break Creative Adventure Starts Soon! -
Create, learn, and live where inspiration surrounds you.
We’re happy to share that for the first time ever, HSAD students can enjoy the convenience of on-campus housing. Learn more about your future accommodations in Haliburton.
Coming this Fall 2025. Learn more.
Art Certificates
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Haliburton Accommodations
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Meet our Faculty
Gord Jones
Gord Jones is a watercolour artist residing in the Algonquin Highlands. The surrounding landscape in Haliburton is a great source of inspiration for most of his paintings. He interprets the essence of his chosen subject rather than producing detailed likenesses of actual places. Watercolour allows Gord to transfer the light and shadow that he photographs in real life to the painting. With a fluidity of colours, Gord combines impressionistic strokes and semi-abstract techniques to elicit memories of place and time in his transparent watercolour landscapes. Gord is an elected member of the CSPWC and the SCA. For More Information: watercoloursbygordjones.com
Jessica Steinhauser
Jessica Steinhauser is a Master potter on the wheel and continues to share her talents to students at the Haliburton School of Art + Design. Jessica's passion for the Kachelofen (wood-burning ceramic stoves) has had her travelling to clients worldwide installing over forty custom designs for the past ten years. She has won a major award at the Masonry Heater Association of North America's annual design/build contest for 8 consecutive years. Recent honours include: solo exhibition at the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery (2014); Women of Distinction Lifetime Achievement Award (2016); winner of the 40th Anniversary Ontario Crafts Council Award (2016). Jessica is a graduate of the State school for Art and Design and the State School for Ceramics in Germany and resides in Guelph, Ontario. http://www.facebook.com/KachelofenArt
Stephanie Rayner
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Stephanie Rayner is an artist, printmaker, international lecturer, art educator, and captivating storyteller. Her artworks, shown widely and collected by major art museums, deal with themes and issues relating to spirituality and science. In May of 2009 Stephanie was in China at the invitation of the Luxun Academy of Fine Arts, China's foremost art school, to teach the professors and select post-doctoral students watercolour printmaking and a special course on universal meaning in the arts. She was also invited to give lectures on her artwork in several universities throughout mainland China. In November 2009, the Maine College of Art (Portland, Maine) did a special month long gallery show 'First Impressions' of Stephanie's and her students' watercolour monoprint works. Her latest artwork, the 30-foot-long Boat of Eternal Return, was highlighted on the cover of the winter edition of Exile ELQ Arts & Literary Magazine. ELQ also did an essay for the magazine and a YouTube video on Stephanie and the creation of the boat. The Boat of Eternal Return ran as a four-month-long solo show at PAMA, and the same year Stephanie was awarded The Ashley Fellowship by Trent University. She is the first visual artist to receive this award. Stephanie's ability to inspire creative responses within the individual takes her teaching well beyond technique and into the very heart of the art process. For More Information: stephanierayner.com | Youtube: ELQ Stephanie Rayner
Margaret Ferraro
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Margaret Ferraro work has been described as Tom Thomson on amphetamines. She takes that as a compliment. Margaret is an artist and teacher, specializing in pastel, life drawing and plein air painting workshops. The two disciplines of life drawing and pastel combine what she loves, drawing and the spontaneous use of colour. Working en plein air, she is at home in the woods and in nature. For thirty years she has been teaching workshops. For decades she had a studio in Ottawa but in 2017 moved north of Toronto to the Georgian Bay region. She published her first book in 2009, A Time to Dance. And in 2017, she was named Master pastellist-EM by the Pastel Artist of Canada. Her work has been shown in many National and International Art Exhibitions, including the Pastel Society of America (National Arts Club, NYC), The Pastel Artists of Canada (Toronto, Etobicoke, Vancouver and many other locations), and the Pastel Society of Eastern Canada, which exhibits out of Montreal. She has also exhibited in commercial galleries, including her own studio gallery. For More Information: margaretferraro.com
Todd Jeffrey Ellis
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Todd Jeffrey Ellis received an arts diploma from Niagara College in 1970 and completed his degree at OCADU, attaining his Bachelor of Design. He has worked extensively in various areas of the arts: teaching, directing, and set, prop, and furniture designing. His love of metalwork took hold when he discovered chasing, repousse, and the moving of metal in 1995. Since that time he has studied at OCAD U, George Brown College, the Haliburton School of Art + Design and through extensive studies with such renowned masters as Lois Etherington Betteridge, Brian Clarke, Charles Lewton Brain, and Don Stuart. In 2000 Jeffrey was awarded 'Best Holloware Award' in the Metal Arts Guild's 'Under Glass' Exhibition. In 2003 he participated in a group exhibition at Metalurge in Toronto, which showcased his expertise in the decorative form. He has taught at Niagara College, York University, Toronto Teacher's College, and the Haliburton School of Art + Design, and served on the executive of the Metal Arts Guild of Canada for seven years. In 2008 he was published in 500 Metal Vessels. In 2010 he had an exhibition with Susan Watson Ellis at the Ontario Craft Council Gallery, and Jeffrey and Susan created the window display for the Guild Show during the 2010 Film Festival. For More Information: silversmith.ca
Shannon Kennedy
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Shannon Kennedy has been exploring the cutting edge of design using digital manufacturing technologies like 3D printing for years, integrating the skills of the craft artist and the technologies of manufacturing. 3D modelling, rapid prototyping, and 3D printing advanced techniques have created a new way for her to realize her designs as a jeweller. She graduated in 1996 from the Ontario College of Art and Design and furthered her jewellery making skills by attending George Brown College's Jewellery Art Program. She is an award-winning designer, a Saul Bell finalist, and published PMC artist. In recognition of her PMC work, she was invited to give a PMC demonstration at the SNAG Conference in Toronto, 2013. Shannon is a passionate instructor at several colleges and galleries, as well as at her studio. She and her partner are currently running their own jewellery business, Cynosure Jewelry. For More Information: @cynosurej | cynosure-jewelry.com
Mathieu Grodet
Mathieu Grodet is a glassblower, flame worker and illustrator born in Orleans, France. Current work brings the past of glass together with themes of the present, using traditional techniques with a modern twist. Ideas around contradiction, power, duality and the absurdity of life are explored as he marries and reconstructs form, function and design with a unique style to provoke discussion. Recent workshops, lectures and classes delivered have included cities in China, Japan, Turkey, France, Canada and the US. His work is in private collections across Europe and North America and can be seen at the Corning Museum of Glass, the Art Institute of Chicago, and various galleries in Canada. For More Information: @mathieu_grodet_glass | mathieugrodetglass.com
Lisa Barry
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Lisa Barry is a graduate of Sheridan College's Ceramics Program and has also achieved a BFA from the Alberta College of Art and Design. Lisa has a broad range of experience with various pottery techniques as well as kiln firing processes. An artist of note, she has exhibited nationally and continues to develop herself as an artist through workshops and learning opportunities. Lisa brings a passion and energy to her teaching that ensures a lively and creative atmosphere for her students. For More Information: @homesteadpottery | homesteadpottery.ca
Susan Fisher
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Susan Fisher earned her BFA in Visual Arts and an Art Education Diploma at Concordia University, majoring in Graphic Design and Sculpture. Her Master's in Cultural Anthropology through Trent University focused on Indigenous Art Expression. Susan taught in Northern Alberta as an elementary teacher in a Metis Colony and then as a French Immersion teacher in Peace River. Since the mid '80's she taught art in various media and is now completely devoted to teaching Encaustic techniques with beeswax with HSAD, privately, and in various commercial galleries. Susan has shown in many galleries in Quebec, Ontario, and Alberta and was chosen to exhibit at the prestigious annual group show in Sagamihara Japan. Her work is currently shown at Meta4 Gallery. For More Information: @fencaustic | fisherencaustic.com
Kirei Samuel
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Kirei Samuel's fascination with glass started purely by accident 25 years ago, when a friend gave her some scrap glass. For many years she travelled the Ontario art and craft show circuit and then, in 2009 she opened her studio/gallery which houses her one-of-a-kind pieces in jewellery, plates, bowls and artwork. In 2019 Kirei designed 550 pendants for the Women's Half Marathon in Wellington, ON. She also designed and built the bases for the pewter sculptures for the Dora Mavor Moore Awards for Toronto's annual theatre, dance and opera. She is happy to continue the Dora Award bases commission in 2023. Kirei has been a member of the PEC Studio Tour for the last 14 years.
Helen McCusker
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Helen McCusker is a graduate of the Sheridan College Illustration Program and has been a practicing artist for more than 40 years. A member of the Etobicoke Art Group, she has work in private collections, and exhibits in solo, juried and group exhibitions. For over 20 years, Helen has taught art classes throughout the GTA, specializing in drawing, figure drawing and painting, portraiture, and paper sculpture. Helen's teaching is based on a solid understanding of drawing and design principles and personal attention to each student. She is enthusiastic about helping students discover their potential and encouraging artistic exploration. For More Information: @helen mccusker | eaglewoodstudios.blogspot.ca