Discover the Artists

Maisie Hughes is the Creative Director and co-founder of the Urban Studio and leads the Community Design Lab. With nearly two decades of experience in landscape architecture, urban forestry, and community-based design, her work focuses on connecting people to the environment through accessible, hands-on learning. She guides the development of the Nature Art Collection and Design Lab programming across Montgomery County. As an amateur watercolorist, Maisie creates illustrations of people, plants, and animals that support environmental storytelling and education. Her artwork reflects a commitment to translating complex ideas into visual formats that are engaging, culturally grounded, and usable in everyday life.  

You can find more of Maisie's work by visiting one of our Nature Art for Human Connection workshops!

 Sennett Gibson is an illustrator from Frederick, Maryland. They are heavily inspired by nature and their work touches on past, present, and speculative natural history in most of their pieces. They work with digital illustrations and 3D assets they’ve made to build worlds both real and imagined through illustration, concept and sequential art. They enjoy understanding the creatures they design from inside and out, diving deep into the anatomy and behavior through creative and biological illustrations. Sennet designed and hand-drew the flora, fauna, and streetscape coloring pages found on the Nature Art Collection website. 

You cn find more of Sennett's work by visiting natureartcollection.org or checking out their website at snnttgbsn.com.

Kat Tomlin is an illustrator from Germantown, Maryland, pursuing a career in visual development. Her fantasy artwork often revolves around unique characters, clean linework, and story-driven imagery, inspired by the numerous animated series she’s watched over the years. While she is primarily a digital artist who specializes in character design and concept art, she has also found joy in working with other creative mediums, such as traditional art, photography, and metalwork. Kat edited and conceptualized the Design+Build promotional highlight videos you can find on our site.

You can see more of Kat's work on her website: kattomlindesigns.square.site or socials: @kattomlindesigns and @kattomlinphoto.

 Javon Wooten is a digital artist born and raised in the Philadelphia and New Jersey area. Javon is energetic and very enthusiastic, striving to bring smiles to his friends and family. He's studying to be a visual developer/character designer. He creates art that sparkles, shines, and explodes. His art is created digitally, featuring many creatures and powerful warriors that burst and radiate with explosive energy. His style draws on cartoons and games he enjoys to capture the same flow of power and passion found in the stories and designs. Javon created the cover art and doodles for our Creative Mischeif Pocket Guide and community mural coloring pages.
You can find more of Javon's work on his website at jaywebsitexyz.com or on socials @javon_eugene_art.

 Lauren Thomas is a (mostly) self-taught artist, having tken only one art class over forty year ago, but has spent ample time exploring, experimenting, nd growing in her art in the past three years. Her work often features animals she loves, alongside the calm, quietness of nature, beginning her artwork with pictures she has taken of animals, birds, or ven brightly-colored flowers. She works primarily with colored pencil to bring the beauty of the outside world to her paper. While she is not a professional artist, she enjoys sharing her art with others, often surprising friends and family with her drawings as gifts, even before they knew she was drawing. Lauren helps to implement our Creative Mischief programs, helping kids, and sometimes adults, to tap into their creativity and engage with nature in a fun and messy way. 

You can see more of Lauren's work by joining one of our Nature Art workshops, primarily Creative Mischeif programs. 

 Kait Fore is a designer and project manager at Loudbaby, a Detroit-based web development firm, where she brings a versatile skill set spanning web design, graphic design, and print to every project she touches. Known for her keen eye and collaborative approach, Kait ensures creative work is delivered with both intention and precision. Beyond client work, she channels her artistry into creating flash designs for tattoos. Outside the studio, she is a citizen forester and event photographer, an avid reader, and a frequent traveler, exploring natural landscapes and galleries across the States and drawing inspiration from the world around her. Kait designed the branding and built the website to bring the Nature Art Collection online.

You can see more of Kait's work by visiting our natureartcollection.org or her firm's portfolio at loudbaby.com.