About us

At Artists at Heart, we operate with a horizontal leadership and decision-making structure, mirroring the principles of our programs. This approach ensures that decision-making authority is shared among all team members, fostering collaboration and democracy. By embracing this structure, we value the input and expertise of every team member, creating an inclusive and empowering environment. Our goal is to encourage open communication, diverse perspectives, and active participation in shaping our programs and organizational direction. This collaborative approach draws upon collective intelligence and creativity, promoting transparency and better outcomes. Through our horizontal leadership, we embody the values of self-directed learning, equality, respect, and shared responsibility.

FOUNDER/ FACILITATOR
I am an adult self directed learner with a passion for freedom and autonomy. From a young age, I rejected institutional schooling and sought my own path in music promotion, visual art, and small business. As a youth I participated in out of the box experiences, founding the first high school chapter of Amnesty international in Montana and helping to bring the National AIDS quilt exhibit to the community. I was also heavily influenced by being a member of a creative teen theater troupe where I was encouraged to explore my own individuality while practicing team building. I utilized those skills as an adult while bootstrapping an event photography business and working on the ground floor at a Indigenous language game start-up. In addition to those pursuits, you can find me using ceramic, mixed media and assemblage to make visual art, writing creatively in my free time.
With my unconventional learning background it made sense that my children and family did not fit into the mainstream system. We were able to enroll in Glacier Lake School, a Sudbury model school on the Salish and Kootenai Reservation in Western Montana. I was brought into Glacier lake a few days a week as a facilitator. It was there that I found a real sense of purpose and a calling to continue to work in self directed education. Building genuine relationships and offering unconditional encouragement to youth became one of my life goals.
In 2018, we moved to Oregon. Looking to expand my experience in alternative education, I traveled to California and completed the Agile Learning Facilitator training. The ALF training further solidified my commitment to creating alternative educational experiences for kids that respected their autonomy, interests and natural abilities. From 2020-23 I worked at the Hub: Micro academy as a co-facilitator of their online program.
A digital native and idea person, one of my favorite things is to connect people with new resources to explore their passions and to support communities and ART. So these passions combined lead me to begin my journey starting this program, specifically for artists and creatives. I have a deep trust in people of all ages to grow and learn to be their best selves without coercion or judgment.

Finn started their self directed-education journey at the age of 16, when they dropped out of high school. The pandemic had been such a staple in their schooling experience and realizing how much they could learn alone at home, with the internet, they quickly started searching for alternative education options. After lots of alone time and self-discovery during the pandemic, Brooklyn suggested The Open School; A virtual Self-Directed Education Program. At the Open School, Finn took a active role as chair of the student meeting developed a appreciation and understanding for Self Directed Education.

At The Open School, Finn unveiled their passion for sharing art and music with other students, going on to facilitate guitar learning activities, poetry activities and much more. Finn’s interests include Anthropology, Philosophy, Bike Mechanics, Emergency Medicine, Poetry, Writing, Community Building, Acting, Guitar and Singing! all of which he is pursuing on a ongoing basis.

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Matthew McCornack's journey into the world of audio-visual expertise was shaped by a family legacy. With his father and grandfather as photographers, he inherited an artistic eye that would later blend seamlessly with his passion for sound and digital self production.
Between 2000 and 2005, Matthews creative pursuits led to the creation of the "Temple of Sound," where he orchestrated captivating audio and visual experiences. This marked the beginning of his journey as a live audio and visual artist, handling everything from FOH mixing, lighting and venue transformations. His path continued with ventures like "Devotion," where he was the lead audio-visual tech, and "Boogie Down Studios," a co-owned live photographer photobooth that redefined event photography. From his role as a Lead AV Tech Supervisor to his current endeavors with Unit E Productions,
Matthew's journey reflects a commitment to pushing the boundaries of self taught audio-visual artistry, capturing moments in both sound, imagery and the power of story.
I feel any camera can create an emotionally compelling image, and what appeals most to me about the wisdom behind photography is mastering the elements of "time, and light!"

Nora Gibbons has been involved in the self-directed education movement since 2015 when she stepped off her own conventional schooling path and began learning about alternatives. After finding out about self-directed education, she quickly began volunteering at Glacier Lake School, a self-directed, democratic school in Montana where she facilitated a theater group. Since then, Nora has remained dedicated to the self-directed education movement and has worked in informal and formal self-directed education spaces in several different countries as a facilitator, administrator, researcher, and advocate.

Nora spent four years traveling while completing a degree in Global Studies and connected with unschooling and self-directed learning communities in each of the places she traveled to. In Ireland, she conducted ethnographic research on conflict resolution practices at a self-directed, democratic school culminating in a case study on student perceptions of restorative justice as well as the Sudbury Judicial Committee system.

In 2020, Nora returned to Montana to work at Glacier Lake School, where she eventually transitioned into serving as the sole staff member, and leading all operations while also facilitating various offerings requested by students.

At the moment, Nora works for a few different organizations, including an abolitionist organization where she facilitates poetry and creative expression workshops for young people who are incarcerated or justice system-involved. Nora also works with adult clients who she supports in finding joy and confidence in their creative, academic, and research writing processes. In addition to Artist at Heart, Nora continues to be involved in several other self-directed education projects through research, writing, and consulting.

Nora is passionate about supporting and empowering people of all ages to feel free, creative, and connected in community.

Nora also loves trying new recipes, reading fanfiction, and practicing acro-yoga/anything where she can be upside down!

FACILITATOR/ORGANIZER

My journey into self-directed learning began at age 10, when I left the United States with my family to travel the world. We had only intended on being gone for a year, but life got in the way. Over the next 11 years, through 40 countries and countless experiences, I developed a wide body of interests and a passion for learning. Some of these interests include philosophy, mythology, ancient history, game theory, creative writing, poetry, design, rock climbing and cultural anthropology.
Almost by necessity, creativity and improvisation have become second nature to me. Throughout our travels, I worked with various organizations and initiatives (often learning the necessary skills along the way), including animal sanctuaries, children’s libraries and local conservation initiatives. In addition to this, I’ve also had extensive experience with working online, ranging from website design to social-media management, freelance writing and email marketing. It was through these varied work experiences that my family and I were able to sustain our adventure.
Since 2013, when I co-founded Project World School in partnership with my mom, I have been facilitating social, experiential, and cultural learning for kids, tweens, and teens all around the world. I have hosted more than 15 month-long, in-person retreats for teens in more than 10 countries, and have helped facilitate camp activities at our last six Family Summits. I've also facilitated online classes and discussion groups on various topics for children ages 8 to 13, and spoken about self-directed learning at education conferences around the world.
Having been named after a famous artist and born to two painters, art and creativity have in many ways been the pretext to my very life, and though I never formally studied art it has always been a part of my day-to-day.