About After-School Artists

After-School Artists was started by visual arts teacher and artist Anna Wetzel Artz in 2023. Currently housed in Mercer Island Public Schools, our goal is to provide:

  • Easy, on-site access for arts experiences beyond the regular school day

  • Longer sessions for experimentation and flow (1+ hr)

  • A mix of young artists from different classes and grade levels (K-5 groupings)

  • Laughter, camaraderie, and low-stakes creative exploration (SEL games and art center choices)

Though we always offer guidance for completing a specific whole-group project, classes are designed to be more process-oriented than product-oriented. Young artists bring home finished artworks that may in fact be beautiful, but my emphasis is always more on developing our Studio Habits of Mind (link) than on any specific outcome.

In addition to the emphasis on process and exploration, we work on building a creative and safe community together. Kids will have time to connect and get to know each other through quick social-emotional activities, and our hope is that After-School Artists can provide a cozy space for everyone to have fun artistically!

Meet the Team

  • Anna Wetzel Artz

    OWNER + LEAD TEACHER

    anna@afterschoolartists.com

    Anna Wetzel Artz is a Seattle-based educator and mixed-media artist, working as a K–5 visual art specialist in public schools and maintaining an active studio practice. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, and based in the Pacific Northwest since 2006, she draws on her surroundings—coastlines, prairies, forest floors—to inform a textured, place-based art practice. 

    Anna earned her BFA in Painting from Kansas State University, her M.Ed. in Elementary Education from Rockhurst University, and holds K-12 visual arts endorsement from Seattle Pacific University. She has exhibited her work both nationally and internationally, while teaching in public schools and leading art enrichment programs. 

    As an art educator she creates space for young learners to trust their ideas and explore possibilities, championing creativity, experimentation, and a sense of wonder.

  • Julie Biggs

    GUEST TEACHER

    Julie Biggs is a Seattle-based art educator, artist, and mindfulness teacher. Though photography is her primary artistic medium, she works in and teaches a variety of artistic media keeping in the forefront the importance of having a curious and a beginner’s mind.  

    Now retired, Julie a visual art teacher in the public schools for 35 years. She spent the last 24 years teaching art at Islander Middle School on Mercer Island.  

    Julie earned her BS in fine arts and Biology with a focus in photography and scientific illustration at the University of Oregon. She holds a Master of Education in the Creative Arts from Lesley College. Julie is also a certified mindfulness meditation teacher.  

    As a creative facilitator, she encourages her students to explore their creative process and find their unique creative expression.  

    Julie is especially rewarded by sharing her enthusiasm for the PNW nature and finding beauty in unlikely places.  

  • GUEST TEACHER