Art Mavens of Maplewood

If you have children under the age of ten in Maplewood, there's a good chance you've looked to Geralyn Robinson and Simone Anthony Brown to keep them busy and get their creative juices flowing at one time or another.

But, sometimes overlooked is the fact that these two "art mavens of Maplewood" provide art instruction for adults as well and are fine artists in their own right.

Robinson and Anthony Brown run art studios in different areas of town that nurture creativity for children and adults alike. Geralyn's Art Studio, at 168 Maplewood Avenue, in the heart of the Maplewood Village, has been in existence for six years. Anthony Brown's Express Yourself Studios, at 1912 Springfield Avenue, has been in its space a little more than a year and a half.

Both studios are respites for art lovers of all ages. Both spaces also welcome students at all level of experience. "They can do anything they want, as long as it has to do with drawing or painting," said Robinson. A native of Ireland, she has been involved in art since childhood. Robinson went to college and got her art training there. "But there was no job for anyone with an art background," she added. "So I went back and became a computer geek, a programmer. I ended up teaching computer programs and systems. But I always did art in my free time."

Geralyn came to the United States twenty years ago and resides with her husband. It was about nine years ago, though, that she found herself getting involved in art in Maplewood. Geralyn's Art Studio was formerly known as Val's Art Studio. At the owner's suggestion, Geralyn helped out once per week with the kids. "I also thought that the exposure to the environment would help me loosen up with my own art work," she explained. "Once I figured out that it was what I wanted to do, I started moving away from computer training and into art training."  When Val retired six years ago, Geralyn bought the business.

Similar to Robinson, Anthony Brown also began her love of art as a youngster. Originally from Hillside, she now lives in Livingston with her husband and children. "I've always been interested in art," she said. "I've taken art classes all my life. I always liked to be creative and doing things with my hands."

Anthony Brown considers herself a mixed media artist who enjoys collaging, working with photographs and experimenting with different materials whether "it's something that's three dimensional, sculpture form, or assemblage or working on canvas."

As a career, she spent 15 years in publishing and advertising. But after staying at home for a while after having her third child, she decided to focus her energies in the area of her first love, art.  She set out to find an area to open up shop. Two communities that came to mind were Montclair and Maplewood. "Montclair already had a number of similar studios," Anthony Brown said, "so I researched Maplewood and fell in love with the area." She opened Express Yourself Studios and has been attracting customers ever since.

Both Express Yourself and Geralyn's are kid-friendly spaces with a love for cultivating local, artistic talent. At Geralyn's, kids age 4 and up enjoy everything from watercolor, pastels, wax color pencils, acrylic, oil, collage, encaustic, and life drawing. During her classes, kids fly solo. "When they come in, the parents don't stay," Geralyn said. "It's important to me that it's the child's work and not the parents. I want them to be able to express themselves through art without someone else's influence."

At Express Yourself, kids begin getting artsy at age two. Their Crafty Toddlers class, for kids age 2-4, paint, allows them to participate in collage and pottery. "We do just about everything in that class," said Anthony Brown. "It's a little bit of a mommy and me type class, but it's definitely hands on for the toddlers." Like Geralyn's, Express Yourself also has classes in various mediums for kids in several age groups. In addition to creating art, students are also exposed to popular artists and often work in those styles. "All of the projects relate back to a specific artist," said Anthony Brown. "If we were doing abstract art then the artist could be Picasso or if we were doing graffiti art, then we might relate it back to Jean Michel-Basquiat."

In addition to daily art classes, both studios have adult classes, offer workshops with guest artists, and host private art parties. Geralyn's will be holding adult art classes (done through the Maplewood-South Orange Adult School) that begin at the end of June. The cost for children's classes is $200 for ten weeks. There is an initial supply fee of $90 for new students. An Open Studio for adults is held twice per week at a cost of $25 each session (two hours). Kids can attend an individual session (1 ½ hours) at $20.

Express Yourself is accepting enrollment for their summer art program which runs June 28-August 27.  Open to kids age 5-12, parents can sign their child up for as many weeks as they wish. The usual fee for children's classes is $150 for 6 weeks; adults pay $275 for 6 weeks (3-hour sessions). Supplies are included.

Both women have specific ideas about the future of their studios. "I want people to come in and have fun," said Robinson. "It's more about the art than the business aspect for me."

"Maplewood and South Orange is my base but I try to reach out to people in the surrounding areas as well," said Anthony Brown. "I'm finding that there are other areas that don't necessarily have a place to go, so we're drawing in some of that traffic as well. So if they can get here, we welcome them."

For more information on class schedules contact Geralyn's Art Studio at 973-275-1966 or visit www.geralynsartstudio.com. To contact Express Yourself Studios, call 973-763-5256 or log on to www.expressyourselfstudios.com.