Our Directors

Hi, my name is Erin Heath!

I am a homeschooling mother of five sons, ages 28 to 12, and have been homeschooling for over 20 years.  My husband, Ben, and I own and operate a construction company specializing in building custom homes throughout our local and surrounding communities.  Our sons have all been involved in the family business.  However, our three youngest—currently teenagers—have developed a strong passion for music.

Over time, we recognized a gap in local opportunities for homeschooled students interested in music.  While we greatly value our local homeschool band program, which our sons have participated in for years, they were eager for additional avenues to grow and gain live performance experience as aspiring professional musicians.

We also found that social opportunities for homeschool teens centered around music were somewhat limited.  This led me to explore ways to create a space where students could connect and express themselves creatively through both music and art.

Through a fun brainstorming process with a couple of really good friends, the concept for Artistic Fusion was created—a program designed to blend music and visual art while providing opportunities for live performances throughout the year.

We are excited to build a vibrant community through this initiative, where students can form meaningful friendships, develop their artistic talents, and share their creativity through music and art!

Hi, my name is Sarah Ehlers!

I am a stay-at-home, adoptive, homeschool mama.   My kids are 11, 9, and 4 years old, and I'm also a dog and cat mom.  I wear a lot of different hats and love to dabble in anything and everything creative, so you won't find me sitting still for long!   I have a music/worship ministry degree from Lincoln Christian University (2005), where I specialized in voice. Although I played piano and flute for years, it was during my college years that music theory really came to life for me and my musical abilities really blossomed.  My choir and theater background became much more extensive during this time as well.

Over the last 20 years, I have led worship in both vocational and volunteer roles, taught piano and voice lessons from my home (to over 100 students!), conducted choirs of all ages, and directed over 10 musicals and other music programs, one of which was a major production called Four Tickets To Christmas.

Working with kids is my passion and where my strongest gifts lie.  I have been told many times over the years that I have the unique ability to help any child feel like the only one in the room.  It's kind of a running joke that I don't do anything small.  I love to make stories come to life through the atmosphere we set, the senses we engage, the feelings we evoke. Not only does this help all of us reach for excellence, it's just plain fun for all involved!

Several years ago, I recognized a significant need within our homeschool community for elementary-age opportunities in the area of musical theater. Our local homeschool assistance program has excellent theater and musical opportunities for high schoolers and middle schoolers. There is even a wonderful elementary school play!  However, from what I have observed, the required age is for older elementary students, spots can be very limited, and the waiting list is quite long, making it difficult for some kids to gain experience in this area. Through recognizing this, God began to plant and grow a dream in my heart!

This past fall, I helped set up another program in our community, and through the challenges of that experience, God began to open my eyes to what is possible with just the tiniest bit of faith. In a very short amount of time, Mustard Seed Children's Theatre was born.  And shortly thereafter, Artistic Fusion Performing Arts Co-Op came into existence as well.  I am so excited to see what both Mustard Seed and Artistic Fusion are going to bring to our community in the years to come!