​Hi, my name is Kirsten Schiel. I am the artist and teacher who runs Dandelion House. I often use plural pro-nouns in my text when I describe what "We're" up to over here because it feels more natural, but its just me. At some point I would love to have a few more hands on board, but Dandelion is still in its humble beginnings. 

After 4 years, I recently left my position teaching for Granite School District as a Beverly Taylor Sorenson Art Specialist. Prior to that position, I had been teaching art to youth in several places such as: the non-profits Bad Dog Arts (Salt Lake City) and Kimball Arts Center (Park City), Bonneville Elementary, and for Hannah's Paper House which was a summer camp started by my sister and mother. 

I currently am working as a self-employed ceramic artist. My work can be found under the brand name Sils Ceramics. 

I felt motivated to start Dandelion House during my second year of teaching at the district level, as a response to my frustrations with teaching in the public education system. Our schedules and class sizes leave art teachers with only a little time and energy to serve a lot of students. While I fully believe in the integration concept of the BTS program, (developing all art lessons to relate the the State Core of Math/Reading/Science/Social Studies) I believe more strongly that Art is important for the sake of a human's need to create, explore, and express regardless of standardized test scores.

Summer art camps serve as a way for me to reconnect with my favorite parts of teaching: bearing witness to the little genius in every child. We prioritize fun, we welcome messes, we run barefoot in the grass, and we have the time and connection to truly foster creativity.