How a Published Artist Built Multi-Instructor Workshops Reaching 682 Students
The Backstory
Elizabeth St. Hilaire is a nationally recognized mixed-media collage artist whose work has been featured in the Huffington Post and on the Art Biz Coach podcast. She creates art from torn paper and teaches her distinctive techniques to students worldwide.
What Was Getting in the Way
- Running a solo creative business across multiple platforms — Ruzuku, Patreon, YouTube — while also traveling to teach in person
- Wanted to bring multiple guest instructors into a single workshop but most platforms only support single-instructor courses
- Needed a platform where students could see detailed close-up demonstrations of her collage technique
What They Were Hoping For
- Create multi-instructor masterclass workshops bringing together established and emerging artists
- Offer both live cohort workshops and self-guided study options for students at different commitment levels
- Build a sustainable online teaching practice alongside her studio art and in-person workshops
How Ruzuku Fit In
What Clicked
Elizabeth chose Ruzuku and upgraded to the Pro plan specifically to run multi-instructor courses. The platform's support for multiple instructors with individual coupon codes for affiliate tracking made it possible to coordinate complex workshops with 13 guest artists.
What They Built
She built a catalog of 19 courses spanning self-guided studies (like 'Birds & Blooms' and 'Fabulous Florals'), digital download books, and her flagship Mixed Media Masterclass with guest instructors including Mindy Lacefield, Erin Bishop, and Sandra Duran Wilson.
The Tools That Helped Most
What Changed
Elizabeth has built a complete online teaching practice on Ruzuku with 19 courses reaching 682 students. Her multi-instructor masterclass format — featuring 13 guest artists — demonstrates a model for creative educators who want to collaborate rather than teach alone.
| Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Teaching Format | In-person workshops only | 19 online courses + in-person |
| Instructor Model | Solo teacher | Multi-instructor with 13 guest artists |
| Student Reach | Limited by travel schedule | 682 students worldwide |
Timeline: Built from solo workshops to a multi-instructor creative education platform
"Those of us who are very established and very familiar with online teaching can coordinate a course that would bring attention and enrollment to a platform — with multiple instructors."
Lessons Worth Sharing
Multi-instructor workshops let you bring together complementary creative voices while sharing the teaching load
Offering both self-guided studies and cohort workshops serves students at different commitment and price levels
A solo creative artist can build a sustainable online teaching practice alongside studio work and in-person events