Little Art House: Imagine, Explore, Create.

How we decided to on the name, Little Art House, what it means to us and the importance of “Imagine, Explore, Create”.

When we were little, Emma and I would spend hours playing pretend. We would pretend to be the Boxcar children (IYKYK) and pack satchels for our journey in the woods, we’d pretend to be Belle and dance and swing our way around the house to Beauty and the Beast songs, and, of course, we played pretend school.  We’d try to take turns as the teacher but being the oldest daughter, I tended to grab that role. Teaching was modeled to us by our mother and grandmother, both public school teachers for a total of almost 50 years between them so we always respected teachers and the process of education. Learning was embedded in our daily life (as our grandmother always says “we’re life long learners”).  When we weren’t at school actively learning from our own teachers, we were at home creating with our mom at the kitchen table or learning through open-ended play.  We knew there were “good” and “bad” grades but our parents focused on us giving our best effort and feeling successful as long as that best effort was given.  We were able and encouraged to test out different paths or interests and this freedom to explore without penalty turned out to be a driving force in our creation of Little Art House. 

After we both taught for a few years in MNPS as art teachers, we realized there was an intense emphasis on teaching to the test and therefore right vs. wrong was the focus. This felt inherently wrong to us, especially with the subject of art, so it propelled us forward to create a world in which experimenting, learning for enjoyment, and  trial & error is celebrated.  We knew we wanted the studio to feel like our kitchen table, a safe space to create in a homey environment, and decided even the name should reflect that.  While the name may imply a child-focused art studio, the intention is more about a simple, safe space with small groups, an ideal place to create for all ages - a Little Art House.

Once we both experienced teaching in recreational art classes, we realized there might be another way we could do what we love so we started daydreaming about our perfect  setup - small groups so we could engage with our students one at a time, access to a wider variety of materials and artmaking processes, specific age groups that would work best together, and teachers who found joy in creating projects that were equally educational and fun.  Assessments would go out the window and the goal would be to learn while playing and creating in such a natural way that the kids may not even realize they are learning. 

    Our original tag line is also the pillar of our pedagogy - Imagine, Explore, Create guides everything we plan. We dream up opportunities for our students to imagine, then to explore different ways to create their vision. While we guide students intentionally, we do not provide examples of finished art projects because we want them to take the instruction and run with it versus copying what appears to be “right”. We break down our projects in such a way that every student can feel successful and proud of their work even if they all look different. We also incorporate a book for every project for ages 3rd grade and under or images for inspiration for our older kids so they can visually see different ways to create for each project. By doing this, we get to celebrate illustrators, authors, and artists that they may not otherwise have learned about.

    We are passionate about how things are done in our studios and we carefully hire like-minded people who understand our vision. While we have learned many lessons over the years and make adjustments accordingly, the majority of these elements that inspired us to open Little Art House remain in place. Our hope is that everyone who comes through our studios for a class, camp, or event feels comfortable, joyful and leave with something they are proud of, whether it's a new skill, experience or work of art!