Brookside Artist Helps Others Find Their Muse

No one can ever accuse Brookside's June Shatken of taking herself too seriously, especially in her approach to art. She’s been painting “seriously for fun” for more than 25 years.

“I spend a lot of time painting, but I always try to keep it fun and approach each painting with a greatful and light-hearted approach,” Shatken said.

Almost a decade ago, Shatken said she began to read and participate in the approach to life and art that she learned through the book The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron and she began to reconnect with the artist within.

Shatken, who worked as an occupational therapist for most of her career, never majored in art, but took many classes over the years, studying color, drawing and painting in different mediums, and learned a lot of techniques along the way.

At a point in her life when she was yearning for a new direction, she said she walked to the post office in Brookside and noticed a ‘for rent’ sign on one of the small shops and decided at that moment that she wanted to help others access their creativity.

She then established The Art Studio through which she offers classes to children ages 7 and older and adults. She offers small classes with approximately four to six in each class.

“My students can use whatever medium they want. I teach the basic principles of painting and color theory which I believe can be applied to any medium,” said Shatken.

She said she believes that one can master most mediums by simply playing with them.

“I don’t think there is any magic or mystery to it. I think you learn by doing. So many people are intimidated and are afraid to just jump in. I think it’s best to just dive in – that’s really the best way to learn,” Shatken said.

Shatken said she was so inspired by The Artist’s Way that she facilitated a discussion group around the concepts in the book as a way of launching her new art school.

She said it’s difficult to choose her favorite medium. And while she loves water color and pastel, she said currently she is fascinated by texture and she will mix a number of mediums together to build up layers on a canvas.

Born in South Orange, NJ, she attended college in St. Louis, lived in New York City for a year, but has made Brookside her home for over 35 years.

She said she feels that her background in occupational therapy is extremely helpful in teaching art classes.

“I try to make my classes very relaxing and kind of open ended. For instance I don’t give the kids a specific project. They do that all day long. I think the art studio should be a place where they can do want they want and follow their own creative urges,” Shatken said.

She said she thinks creativity can easily be stifled. That’s why she would rather demonstrate a couple of tricks with water colors, for instance, and then let them follow where inspiration takes them.

“I’ll ask them what they want to do and let them have a go at it. With adults there is a little more structure. I might give a 20 minute lesson and then they go off and do their own thing,” she said.

Shatken sees the value in bringing artists together in a group.

“A group can be very supportive and most of us need a safe environment to explore our creativity. Participating as a group creates a lot energy,” she said.

She continues to be inspired by the The Artist’s Way which she said has served as an invaluable guide for over five years.

“It’s unfortunate that many people become discouraged and leave their creative path and end up doing something entirely different," she said. 

Cameron’s work invites everyone to find their inner muse.

And like Cameron, Shatken believes there is no time like the present to embrace one’s art, one must simply take the plunge.

As Cameron said, “Wherever you are is always the right place. There is never a need to fix anything, to hitch up the bootstraps of the soul and start at some higher place. Start right where you are.”