Our Instructors

Lauré Smith

Lauré received her BFA degree in Illustration at Parsons School of Design in New York City. She later returned to the beautiful Pacific Northwest to attend the Art Institute of Seattle earning an AA degree in Visual Communications. As a student in elementary school, she was chosen for an "Enrichment Art Program" where she was exposed to a more in-depth art education at a young age. She believes strongly in the necessity of art in elementary school and understands a lack of art education for kids is a missed opportunity. To fulfill this need, Lauré spent nine years as an "Art Start" teacher at Christa McAuliffe Elementary where her children attended. It was in that role where she discovered how much of a joy and privilege it is to be able to teach, share the art process and encourage her students. Seeing her students become excited about the lessons and thrilled with their own unique creation is a big part of her love for teaching art to children.

Although she enjoys drawing the human form, especially faces, her passion is drawing animals (Lauré has Australian Shepherds who she trains and competes in dog agility with). From t-shirt design and signage, to murals and logo design, she loves the creative process and is thrilled to be part of AFKS!

Olivia Breneman

Olivia was born and raised in Olympia and has a passion for inspiring others to create art. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Art History at Brigham Young University and developed a love for art through the ages. With experience in teaching art, Olivia hopes to show her students how powerful and fun art can be. She is also an artist skilled in digital illustration, gouache, watercolor, and clay sculpting. Olivia began her art business in 2022 and has been a vendor at several craft markets throughout the years. She loves connecting to the public through art and inspiring people to find comfort in creating. Her favorite subjects to paint are whimsical characters (both human and animal) and scenes that evoke a nostalgic, childlike warmth. 

She is very excited to be a part of AFKS and can’t wait to meet you!

You can find her art on her Instagram.

Mara Orenstein

Mara has a lifelong dedication to the arts and has been drawing and painting since before she can remember, taking watercolor  and painting classes as a child. Growing up in the Spokane area in Eastern Washington, Mara was active in dance, theatre and studio art throughout high school, and has very fond memories of her high school art teacher who gave her tools to expand her creativity and explore visual art more intentionally. Mara moved west of the Cascades in 2014 to attend Seattle University and achieved a BA in Environmental Studies in 2018 before returning to a childhood dream of being an artist and graduating University of Washington’s Natural Science Illustration program in 2020. With this background in natural science illustration, Mara expresses her love for the natural world through her art, which now includes figure drawing, oil painting and watercolor. Mara brings her passion for art to all of her classes and knows that anyone can access the joy of their inherent creativity with practice and encouragement. You can find Mara’s recent work at https://gardenwitch.art.