Inspired Minds Testimonials

The people at Inspired Minds have led me to where I am today. I began taking lessons with Heather in 2003. This year, in 2019, I will graduate with a Bachelors of Fine Arts from MICA and next year, with a Masters in Teaching Arts. 

My gratitude for Heather and everyone at Inspired Minds is still with me and I take it with me in the work I do. With this influence, I have always had an appreciation for working with people through art making. Currently, I teach senior citizens a weekly art class. This type of work makes me feel at home. 

Heather welcomed me from the very first trial class and continuously has open arms for me. For the past seventeen years, Inspired Minds has had a home for me, whether it was attending weekly classes, assisting in younger classes, visiting to say hi, or dropping in on a class just to make art again where

I first learned what it was like. I still look at photos on facebook in awe of the talent these children are led to find and at the true, genuine personality of everyone who is a part of Inspired Minds. Sometimes when I am in my studio, late at night trying to finish my thesis work, I can still hear Heather’s words from when I was seven, “There are no mistakes, only happy accidents.”

Inspired Minds has set the tone for my career as a designer. It propelled me to build and incredible portfolio to go to an amazing university with a leading edge design school and incredible alumni network. 

I was able to apply my artistic abilities that I learned at Inspired Minds and apply them to my core studio classes in school and I later graduated at the top of my class! 

I to this day show work from my time at Inspired Minds on my website, and having a fine art background has made me stand out among my peers. 

I graduated from Syracuse University’s School of Design in 2016 — I now work as an in-house designer at sweetgreen in Los Angeles, California.

See my fine art and design work here: https://www.melanieweiner.com

My daughter Autumn had a long love of art, but when we moved to Ocean County a few years ago, we never found a place that quite felt like “home”. Miss Heather and her team at Inspired Minds have nurtured my daughter’s fine art skills, as well as increased her confidence and passion for art. We could not be happier with a place to call home, it’s a place she can’t wait to go and never wants to leave! Thank you Inspired Minds for bringing so much creative joy to our lives!

Sara Scheller BSN, RN, CPN, CCRN, Integrative Health Coach

Here is just one of the many paintings I have done at Inspired Minds. It’s a place where anyone any age can go and learn and express themselves. The teachers there are all great with any age. I have been coming here for the past 10 years and loved every minute of it!  I highly recommend Inspired Minds!!!

My name is Ashley and I started going to inspired minds when I was 7 years old. I went every week until i left for college 11 years later! Inspired minds was such an amazing outlet for me. I wasn’t into sports or clubs at school so art was my way to just relax and and let go of the stress from that week. I knew art was something I wanted to have consistently in my life but I also really enjoyed cooking and baking. I decided to go to school to be a wedding cake designer and use my art skills to make people’s food come to life. Today, I have my own bakery business and I get to do something I love everyday. 

My daughter Kayla Clark started at Inspired Minds Fine Art School when she was 10 years old. She loved art an had an eye for detail. I knew she was talented and felt I needed to get her into a school that challenged her and would take her art mind to the next level. I watched her year after year becoming an amazing artist. Heather and Rose gave Kayla the tools she needed to improve her skills and sharpen her art. They always made Kayla feel like the only student. After 8 years of school when it was time for Kayla to submit portfolios to college Heather was right there the whole way to guide her. She was 1 of 60 students selected into the elite architecture program at Syracuse University. I truly believe Inspired Minds gave Kayla the tools she needed to get her art to a level that she could use in a career. The school not only trained her mind but gave her the confidence she needed to present her art, something that is needed in architecture. Inspired Minds was very inspirational in Kayla’s life and career and I cannot thank them enough for everything they have done for her.