The Shine House is a nonprofit community arts center located in the heart of downtown Somerset.  Our goal is to provide the community instruction in a variety of visual art forms: painting, drawing, sculpture, mixed media, and object art.

Tara Helser studied the art of Printmaking and graduated with a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts at Ohio University, Athens, Ohio.

She is influenced by many artists but favors Paul Klee and Henry Matisse. She relates heavily to their use of shape, line, and color.

A mother of six children, Tara has continued to expand and pursue her education in the Arts and in Teaching. Through her private studio she has empowered pupils both privately and in group sessions, to explore and develop their own creative talents.

Tara has a background in dance. She studied jazz and tap for ten years and was a member of The Lancaster Ballet Company in Lancaster, Ohio. It is this love of dance that encouraged her love of movement. She is now a certified teacher in yoga and pilates, having trained under the beautiful and talented Jenny Williams of Someret, Kentucky.

Excited and motivated to share her knowledge in the fields of visual arts and movement with her community, Tara is also very eager to learn from her community.   She sees The Shine House as the great facilitator for both!

Iris VanHook graduated magna cum laude with her bachelors in Psychology in 2023 from Eastern Kentucky University.

With a deep need to help others and facilitate growth in others, Shine has been the perfect home for heer professionally. Building confidence in artists and inspiring creative growth are her favorite things about her job.

She has practiced handbuilding ceramics for 10 years and often hosts workshops that allow creative freedom. Her goal is to help ceramic students trust taking the skills they’ve learned in Tara’s classes and using them to design something on there own with minimal assistance.

She is a wife and mother of two amazing children. Iris is also the eldest of six. This gives her the skills to multitask and lead naturally.

Iris has spent 10 years heavily involved in The Shine House (began working here in 2016 when it opened) and feels passionate about the mission it stands behind. 

Emma Bane is a senior at Southwestern High School and is taking classes at Somerset Community College. She plans on majoring in Psychology.

She had art inspiration everywhere growing up. Her mom (Tara Helser) encouraged her to constantly practice art when she was younger. She enjoys drawing and painting.

Emma loves working with others and helping people express themselves through various art forms. She is very excited to teach others new art processes.