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!
Apply Now-
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 -
Summer Course Registration Open!
Weeklong and single day workshops to build your skills.
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.
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Meet our Faculty
Margaret Ferraro
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
Rose Pearson
Instructor for:
Rose Pearson earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from York University, majoring in painting and drawing. She went on to receive her education degree and has over 30 years of experience teaching art in both the public school system in Alberta and Ontario, privately from her studio in Haliburton County and for the Haliburton School of Art + Design. Rose is the coordinator of the Visual and Creative Arts diploma at Fleming College. In addition to creating bodies of work for public gallery exhibitions, she is a member of the Haliburton Highlands Studio Tour. For More Information: rosepearson.com
Nancy Newman
Nancy Newman is an artist, teacher and juror. She is a Director of the Toronto Watercolour Society. Nancy has exhibited her work in many solo and juried shows including TWS Aquavision, International Watercolour Society Canada (IWS), Art Aurora, Society of York Region Artists (SOYRA) and Blue Mountain Foundation of the Arts (BMFA). She has received several first place, award of merit, honourable mention and people's choice awards. A guest instructor for many art societies, she has taught at the Aurora Cultural Centre and the Blue Mountain School of Landscape Painting. Nancy is a long-time instructor at Haliburton School of Art and Design. Recently, she has been sharing her expertise and support via Zoom courses and workshops. For More Information: @nancynewmanart | nancynewmanart.com
Kirei Samuel
Instructor for:
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.
Lesley McInally
Lesley McInally earned her Bachelor of Design Honours Degree in Ceramics and Printmaking at Duncan of Jordanstone, Dundee University in Scotland. Her artistic journey began managing Pitlochry Pottery in the highlands of Scotland followed by creating ceramic props for the film industry and decorative ceramics for galleries throughout the UK. In 2004, Lesley embarked on a new chapter by immigrating to Canada, where she established her studio practice in Cookstown, Ontario. Here, she delved deeper into her craft, honing her skills in unique stretched slab forms, paperclay techniques, hand building and captivating surface treatments. Leveraging her knowledge in printmaking, she infused her ideas onto clay creating highly tactile surfaces, using slips and underglazes. She has taught her techniques at various ceramic educational institutions and has recently began teaching online workshops. Lesley is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards and grants and continues to exhibit nationally and internationally. For More Information: @lesleymcinallyceramics | lesleymcinally.com
Susan Watson Ellis
Instructor for:
Susan Watson Ellis followed graduation from the University of Toronto with an apprenticeship to a German Goldsmith. In 1981, she opened Paradigm Designs, creating handcrafted jewellery that sold across Canada. Her work won recognition in 2000 as part of the Craft Ontario's "Looking Forward" exhibition, which was curated by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England and represented contemporary Canadian craft. She was also chosen to be part of their "Craft in the Making II" exhibition in 2003, their juried exhibition "Ontario Craft '07", and to be one of eight jewellers chosen to be part of their "8 X 10 Jewellery" exhibition series in 2012. Her work is part of the permanent contemporary Canadian silver collection at the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre in Guelph, Ontario and is available from her studio in Haliburton, at the Toronto One of a Kind Shows, the Craft Ontario Shop, and online. For More Information: @paradigmjewellery | paradigmjewellery.com
Paulus Tjiang
Paulus Tjiang graduated from Ontario College of Art in 1988 and continued his studies both at Pilchuk Glass School and as a resident at the Harbourfront Craft Studio until 1989. Utilizing primarily Venetian techniques with remarkable skill, he brings intense colour, precise detail, and an elegant disposition to his work. Paulus owns and operates Frantic Farms Clay and Glass gallery in Warkworth, ON. www.franticfarms.com.
Elise Muller
Elise Muller has been sculpting stone since 2001 and her large public sculptures can be found in Dorset, Fergus, and Kingsbrae Garden. Elise's granite sculpture 'Attunement' won the 2018/9 Canadian Sculpture Competition at Kingsbrae Garden in St. Andrews, NB. Elise has been teaching stone carving to both adults and children for 19 years, and enjoys nurturing her students' individual creativity. Elise lives and works at Stone Tree Studio in Muskoka with her partner, furniture maker Cirvan Hamilton. For More Information: @elisemuller_art | stonetreestudio.ca
Rosemary Vander Breggen
Instructor for:
Rosemary Vander Breggen is an Honours graduate of Studio Process Advancement at Fleming College and was the first Reclaim Resident Artist at HSAD in 2015. She spent seven years at Dundas Valley School of Art in Advanced Studio in Fine Art and also attended Sheridan College School of Design. Rosemary exhibits widely and is a published artist with work in international, corporate and private collections. She works primarily in the mediums of collage and paint, to which she has recently added sculpture and photography. For More Information: @rosemarysart
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
