Zoey Tao

Manager/ Art Instructor

Founded by Zoey in 2011 at her Kirkland residence, AL Studio has grown to encompass three locations. Zoey has dedicated years to serving as a judge for the art programs of the Bellevue School District and Lake Washington School District. Frequently, she conducts art workshops at local community events and fairs. A fervent supporter of “Go Veg, be Green, for World Peace,” Zoey endeavors to enrich our community with positivity and love through the transformative power of art. Zoey holds a degree in fine arts from the prestigious Jingdezhen Ceramic University in China

Katelyn Metz

Art Instructor

Katelyn Metz received a Bachelors in Fine Arts from Salisbury University with a concentration
in painting and graphic design. After graduating, she moved to Washington and studied  UX design. Her favorite medium is oil paint, pastel, and gouache. She also loves photography and film. Katelyn hopes to create a supportive environment where young artists feel encouraged to explore their creativity and self-expression.

Emily Schuman

Art Instructor

Emily grew up in a creative family and from a very young age enjoyed playing around with watercolor, acrylic paint, pencil sketching and working with oil pastels. She took art classes throughout childhood and continued honing her skills as an adult. Emily received her Masters in Teaching in 2018 and was a public school teacher working with middle school students for 6 years. Wanting to focus on growing her creative skills further, she decided to switch gears and study Graphic Design at the Seattle Central Creative Academy. She hopes to bring her fine art and illustration skills to her work as a designer. Emily believes in the benefit of self expression through creativity and is excited to help students in their own pursuits.

Mahzad Roohi

Art Instructor

Mahzad Roohi has a bachelor degrees in physics, and has experimented with her arts for over 15 years. She’s had several exhibitions and galleries ,in addition to teaching fine art. Also she has license in interior design and staging. she has worked with a variety media, her favorite is acrylics and oil color. She believes the beauty of art comes from the differences. Mahzad hopes to help children ,reach their highest potential.

Tia Heywood

Art Instructor

Tia Heywood majored in Visual Arts and Ethnic Studies at Brown University, and in her undergraduate studies she took multiple classes at Rhode Island School of Design. Tia gets much of her artistic inspiration from the natural world. Her favorite medium is acrylic on wood, collage, pen and ink, silk painting, and linocut printing. Tia is pursuing a Master’s in Library and Information Science at UW Seattle with the goal of becoming a children’s librarian and children’s book author/illustrator. She loves encouraging students’ artistic expression.

Melanie Ramirez

Art Instructor

Melanie Ramirez has a Bachelor’s in Fine Art in animation and film. Additionally, she studied digital 2D art and 3D sculpting at The Digipen Institute of Technology. Her favorite traditional mediums to work in are watercolor and graphite. Melanie strongly believes that everyone is capable of creating art and wants to share the joy of creativity with everyone.

Vince Kodikal

Co-founder/ Adults Art Program Instructor

Vince is a business strategist working in healthcare field . He graduated from the esteemed Sir J.J. School of Art in Mumbai, India. His first illustrated book – The Panchatantra, was published in 6 countries around Europe and he donated the proceeds to a kid’s charity. He was also an art guest speaker in university,  museum and marketing UX for Boeing in the past of twenty years in Seattle.  He hosts weekend workshops at AL Studio for Adults, specializes in illustration, acrylics and water colors.