Meet the Instructors
Meet the instructors at Make For Joy! Each brings warm and inclusive instruction to the classroom in addition to sharing their diverse teaching experience, offering their personal creative style, and providing high quality art education to all our students!
Allison Palmer
Owner & Art Instructor
A local Walla Walla artist and an experienced art instructor, Allison Palmer received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Art with a concentration in Illustration from Walla Walla University in 2013. She has enjoyed wide experience teaching art in elementary school classrooms, private studio lessons, after-school and camp programs. Allison loves making art every day, introducing new art materials and styles to her students, and seeing their unique finished projects! She also loves to cook, bike, and travel with her husband Matthew. They have one sweet baby girl born in 2025, and at home they enjoy their 2 dogs and 2 cats.
Visit Allison’s personal art portfolio and shop at Wheat Art Co.
Matthew Palmer
Art Instructor, Operations Manager
Matthew is a Walla Walla native, returning in 2019 with Allison and establishing Make For Joy shortly after. In between chapters of WW life, Matthew has worked and taught in widespread corners of the world, including “locally” in the Seattle area and McCall, Idaho, and as far as Italy and Malawi. He directed the mountain biking program for kids and teens at Camp Ida Haven in McCall for nine summers, while immensely enjoying additional recreational activities such as rock climbing, videography, ceramics, and MORE.
Matthew is Operations Manager of MFJ, as well as a healthcare professional and woodworker; you can find his small-project woodcraft in the form of handmade earrings, home items, and custom shelving through Kor Woodcraft.