KICKS The Art Place Art Classes

KICKS The Art Place Art Classes offers painting on canvas, glass painting, mosaic projects, wooden trays, and creative sign-making, including sign making with stencils. The program also includes sewing, quilting, and knitting classes, as well as painting furniture for do-it-yourself projects and furniture technique classes using acrylic and mineral paints from Dixie Belle and Paint Couture. Children’s Painting parties and painting classes for adults are also offered, along with DIY Art Kits, Children’s Painting Kits, T-shirts to paint, and To Go Kits for DIY projects.

• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Summer hours May–September with classes available Tuesday–Saturday, and fall and winter hours October–April with classes available on Saturdays
• Price: $35.00–$175.00 per class or workshop

KICKS The Art Place Art Classes uses art supplies such as brushes, paints, canvases, accessories, DIY Art Kits, Children’s Painting Kits, and T-shirts to paint, and provides all the art supplies needed for classes. The studio includes a Fine Art Gallery with artwork by local and area artists, including photography, watercolor, metal sculptures, abstracts, and acrylics, and is described as the Gateway to Creativity.

The studio became a reality in 2014 with a vision to provide a fun place that enhances the vitality of the Crosslake community and surrounding areas, where people could go to enjoy an experience in art. It serves the cities of Brainerd, Baxter, Grand Rapids, Emily, Pequot Lakes, Nisswa, Pine River, Hackensack, Breezy Point, Walker, and surrounding areas, and hosts art parties for birthdays, girls’ night-outs, bachelorette parties, family reunions, and other occasions. Gift certificates are available that can be used to choose a special treasure or take a class, and the studio is a retailer for Paint Couture acrylic paint and Dixie Belle chalk mineral paint, which are described as having no VOCs and no odor.

All classes are taught by locally known artists with years of experience in art and design, and the team has over 25 years of combined art and design experience for DIY project consultations. Owner Linda Randall has an Interior Design Degree, worked in commercial design in the Minneapolis area, is a watercolorist, and is a dealer for Paint Couture and Dixie Belle furniture paints. Art teacher Sara Porter is a local artist with a Studio Art Degree from Northwestern University in Roseville, Minnesota, with an emphasis in oil painting, and she teaches classes, private art lessons at KICKS, and elementary and high school art classes to homeschool co-op groups. Fiber crafting instructor Lynne Sexton has 45 years of experience in quilting, knitting, and crocheting, previously owned Between Friends Yarn Store in downtown Brainerd, worked at JoAnn Fabrics in Baxter and Florida, and offers sewing, quilting, and knitting classes for groups or individuals.

Seasoned, expert artists at KICKS The Art Place restore, refinish, and repurpose furniture into custom home furnishings and offer furniture repurposing and furniture technique classes using textures, glazing, and finishing. The program also plans to set up a Zoom class option so participants can work in the studio or at home with guided instruction.

One testimonial describes a 7-year-old painting a picture for his mother’s birthday and calls it a great experience for everyone involved. Other comments describe KICKS The Art Place as a happy place, a great place for gathering with friends, and a fun experience. Linda Randall states that they are one-on-one teaching the arts and are always changing and bringing in new ideas.

Last updated July 25, 2026.