Our story

MACMOT Art Academy is owned and operated by two Edmonton parents, Rob MacNeil and Ashley Thimot. Art is a massive part of their day-to-day lives, as Ashley is a professional artist and Rob is her number one supporter and husband. With two elementary school-aged children of their own, they quickly became aware of how the visual arts need more attention in the school system. Their children, like many others in Alberta, attend a school without an art teacher and art classroom, leaving the creative education on the shoulders of their classroom teachers, who are already juggling so much.

Ashley grew up in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, and received an incredible art education through her public school. With a dedicated art teacher from kindergarten (or primary as the Nova Scotians say) up to grade six, then from grades 10-12 with the option of AP art in grade 12, she was taught art fundamentals at an early age and had multiple classroom hours a week to practise. This was so important in nurturing her love for art and can be attributed to her success as a professional artist today.

MACMOT has no doubt that there are many other children in the Edmonton and surrounding area that also foster a love for the arts and require their passion to be nurtured. We also know that not every adult is creative, and so, if these young artists do not have a creative adult in their lives, their skills will grow slower than if they did. That is why we decided to open up MACMOT Art Academy to help grow children’s art skills and allow them to have fundamental teachings that they can practise and further develop as they get older.

Rob is an art lover and believes in investing in the potential of today’s youth. He is also the left-brain half in this operation; with a degree in finance and an MBA from the University of Alberta, he is dedicated to making sure the school's operations run smoothly.

Ashley is the right-brain half of the operation. She graduated from NSCAD University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with a degree in design and worked as a graphic designer for 12 years. After the birth of their second child, Rob and Ashley both agreed it was time for her to pursue her career as a visual artist. Ashley is a published illustrator and an award-winning artist with a practice focusing on painting the everyday environment in oil. You can see her work on her website.