About Our Staff
Want to know more about our staff? At Paint Your Hearts Out, our friendly, creative team loves helping you bring your ideas to life! From choosing colors to trying something new, we’re here to offer encouragement and make your visit fun and welcoming. Get to know the people who help fill our studio with creativity, laughter, and a little extra color.
Meet Peyton - Peyton is one of our Studio Assistants and brings her love of art and ceramics to Paint Your Hearts Out! When she’s not getting creative at the studio, she’s busy with school, working toward becoming a dental assistant. Peyton is also a proud mom to her daughter, Elli, and dog mom to Bonnie. With previous experience in ceramics and a genuine love for art, she’s excited to help our customers create something they love!
Peyton
Studio Assistant
Assistant Manager
Angel
Meet Angel – My right hand and go-to for just about everything! Angel keeps things running smoothly with a calm spirit and a big heart. A true animal lover, she has a special soft spot for reptiles—and can probably tell you more than you ever thought you'd know about them!
Leigh Anne
Artist, Studio Owner & Founder of Paint Your Hearts Out
Meet Leigh Anne Filkins –
I’m a lifelong artist from Kannapolis, NC. I grew up exploring painting, ceramics, and drawing, starting at age 6. I opened Paint Your Hearts Out in 2017 because I wanted to share that joy with others.
Today, I love helping people of all ages try something creative, whether it’s painting a canvas, working with clay, or discovering a new art form. Come for a class, a celebration with friends, or a quiet afternoon of open painting. You don’t need any experience—just a willingness to have fun and see what you can make.
To me, art is for everyone, and some of the best creations begin with a little mess. Turning Life’s Messes into Masterpieces.
Studio Assistant
SarahGrace
Meet SarahGrace – A compassionate soul with a heart for helping others, SarahGrace spends her weekdays caring for dementia patients through her full-time career. On the weekends, she brings that same warmth and energy to our studio, where she loves painting the night away and sharing creativity with our community.
Courtney
Pottery Wheel Instructor
Meet Courtney, our pottery wheel instructor! 🎉 She first joined the studio about 4 years ago and hasn’t stopped spinning clay since. With each visit, her skills kept growing, and now she’s sharing that same passion—teaching others how to relax, get messy, and have a blast creating on the wheel. 🏺✨
Mairin
Pottery Wheel Instructor
Meet Mairin - Mairin is one of our pottery wheel instructors and brings creativity, laughter, and a whole lot of heart to the studio. A mom, artist, and animal lover. She loves the process of throwing pottery on the wheel and altering them to create unique pieces… glazing them afterward? That’s another story. 😄 Her relaxed, encouraging teaching style helps students feel comfortable getting their hands dirty and having fun while they create.
Sonya
Studio Assistant
Meet Sonya - Sonya wears a lot of hats. Mom, wife, full-time office manager… and one of our favorite ceramic painters! While I’ve known her for almost 9 years, she first joined the Paint Your Hearts Out family as an extra set of hands for large off-site events and busy holiday seasons. We loved working with her so much that now we get to have her in the studio every week. Her friendly personality, creativity, and willingness to jump in wherever needed make her such an important part of our team.