Meryl Hamilton
Co-founder & Teacher
Meryl shares her passion of art with students of all ages. She believes anyone can be an artist. Art can be taught by learning techniques and only requires an open mind to learn! Bring your creative and intuitive side to her classes. Orignally from the East coast, Meryl was raised in New Jersey, graduated with an Interior Design degree from Philadelphia University, and a left a career in NYC for love and a lifestyle change in San Diego. She lives with her husband Ryan, kids Cliff & Pearl, and cat Charlie in Lemon Grove, San Diego. Owning and operating the studio with my sister-in-law Eryn is a dream come true. Favorite medium: oil & acrylic paint, charcoal, anything collage. Fun fact! She teaches yoga too!
Eryn McCarty
Co-founder & Teacher
Born and raised in Southern California Eryn has been playing with every type of art she could her hands on since she was a little tyke. In college Eryn took on classes in sculpture, painting and beyond and has continued her art education through classes in her adulthood.
Dan Allen
Teacher – Ceramics (Adults)
A potter for 25 years, Dan Allen is excited to bring his experience and joy of clay to students of all experience levels. Come and experience the wonders of ceramics.
Shauna McNamara
Teacher – Adults & Kids
Shauna is a multidisciplinary artist, designer, and educator who utilizes a variety of mediums and techniques to explore life, consciousness, and everyday experiences. When she’s not creating, she’s teaching, currently at a local retirement community as well as kids and adults here at the Outpost. Shauna believes art should be accessible to all and is continually creating opportunities to share the experience of creation with others. She recently exhibited a surrealist work in Los Angeles at the Hive Gallery
Meg Walker
Clay Manager & Teacher – Ceramics (Adults & Kids)
Meg is a ceramic, multi-medium-based painter, and site specific installation artist from Breckenridge, Colorado. Whether building a kiln in Texas, collecting clay from the rivers in Pennsylvania, or studying vibrant colors and techniques of painting and mosaics in Morocco, Meg strives to utilize inspiration from the world around her, re-cultivating our relationship with the environment and one another through art. Originally from a small town in Pennsylvania, Meg earned her BFA and BS in Recreational Therapy from Slippery Rock University in Pittsburgh, PA. She studied ceramics, painting, photography, printmaking, drawing, sculpture, and metal smithing. Using these skills, she loves to incorporate her background in art with working with people with disabilities in the outdoors. Her favorite mediums combine her deep love for clay with painting to create textured, expressionist works. Meg is jazzed to share her passions and the continuous learning and fun to be had with all!
Roberta Sutton
Studio Manager & Teacher – Adults & Kids
Roberta loves teaching students of all ages, with a special enthusiasm for helping students find opportunities in the middle of creative challenges so they can have fun and be proud of their work. She is a grant writer for nonprofit, Outside the Lens and paints portraits of Ocean Beach landmarks and families when she’s not playing with her OBE-attending son. After 16 years in NYC, she is joyous to call OB her forever-home. She earned art history and studio art BAs from Binghamton University and an MA in Organizational Change Management from The New School.
Dain Middleton
Community Outreach and Teacher – Kids
A born creator, Dain has been making art with kids since she was 11 and running summer camps for her sister and friends. After earning her BA from Lesley College in Boston, Dain returned to her home town of San Diego where she taught pre-school and elementary school, ran creative businesses, and volunteered with various arts organizations. Dain’s current artistic passions include pottery and cynotypes, where she draws inspiration and materials from nature, especially beautiful San Diego beaches. Dain’s favorite people to make art with are her two kids, ages 5 and 9, and the kids in her classes at the Artist Outpost!
Jules Alksne
Teacher – Kids and Adults
Jules is originally from Northern California, Santa Cruz. She moved down to San Diego to get her Bachelors of Science in Biology from UCSD and Art History minor. She has been drawing and painting since she was little and has an Associates in Visual Arts from Santa Barbara City College. Her favorite mediums are pastel, oil and charcoal. In her free time she enjoys taking figure drawing classes, painting flowers and landscapes in plein-air, jewelry making and surfing. She has worked as a surf instructor for children for the past 4 years, and loves teaching and inspiring kids to find their own unique passions!
Dave Emery
Teacher – Ceramics (Adults)
Bio coming soon…
Emily Aust
Emily is an interdisciplinary artist who is continually inspired by movement, the environment, and our relationships to the body. She finds connection with form, process, sculpture and the earth when she works with clay. She loves teaching and sharing the beauty of working with ceramics at the Artist Outpost!
Zach Todd
Teacher – Kids and Adults
Bio coming soon!