Larry Dawkins has been bringing his grandsons to Messy Artist for years. On Wednesday, it was grandson number three, 2-year-old Kieran, guiding him around the festive art studio.
Kieran started the 45-minute session in the bean pit. Think of a sandbox—only filled with beans and grains. The contents vary each week, from oatmeal to shredded paper to rice.
Within minutes he scooted over to the easels, where he painted for a few minutes before moving on to the glue station. He emptied almost an entire bottle of glue onto a piece of construction paper, much to the delight of teacher Donna Bernstein. No one batted an eyelash when he abandoned his masterpiece to play with neon green goo at the messy station, without ever actually placing a feather or piece of felt in the puddle of glue.
Kieran’s classmates were busy molding homemade yellow play-dough into all sorts of shapes, painting, and stretching the goo into long ropes. While the play-dough station is a constant, the goo station changes each week. Kids will play with shaving cream, finger paint and slimy spaghetti throughout the 10- week session.
Bernstein, founder and owner of the Messy Artist and a Short Hills resident, encourages creativity and play in her open-minded classes. The philosophy is that “kids learn best through play. It’s not all about art,” she says, “It’s about play, learning, exploring the senses.”
She started the program 10 years ago, with one class in a rented church room in Millburn. She has a Masters degree from Columbia University and 25 years of experience in special education. The studio has since moved to South Orange, and is now located at 60 Valley St. Classes are offered for children ages 18 months-11 years old.
Her style is unique in that “it’s a place where 2-year-olds can be the decision makers. There are very few other opportunities for them to be in control,” she says. While older students are encouraged to complete their projects, Bernstein emphasizes that in her studio, students “learn through the journey.”
The most difficult task seems to be convincing parents to let their children take the creative reins. Many parents instinctively stop their children from mixing colors or encourage them to color in the lines. To avoid this, Bernstein only puts out one color of play-dough each season. For spring, she chose yellow.
Bernstein asks the parents to sit back and relax, a strategy that many have come to enjoy.
“I mostly love the hands-off philosophy,” Dori Schoonmaker says. She has been bringing her sons to class since 7-year-old Kyler was a baby. Rayne will turn 2 this month. She says the energetic staff is great at letting the kids create on their own in a warm, attentive atmosphere.
Schoonmaker’s sons, who she says are incredibly sports-oriented, are among the many boys who take classes at Messy Artist. When Bernstein hears moms say that their boys just aren’t interested in art, she encourages them to step away from that stereotype. In this studio, the students aren’t just creating art—they are also strengthening their hand muscles through movements such as squeezing glue, pouring beans into buckets and gripping paintbrushes.
“They don’t even realize how much they are learning,” Schoonmaker attests. “It’s not just playing. It’s developmentally beneficial.” And for the younger children, it is great to have so many activities in one place, with the freedom to play with each as much—or as little—as they want.
Schoonmaker says one of the reasons she loves coming is because “it’s okay for them to play with something for two minutes here and then move on. And I don’t have to deal with the clean-up. At home, I couldn’t have this many activities.”
For Kieran’s grandpa, it’s not just about the learning experience. He keeps coming back because he “enjoys the one-on-one time.” And watching Kieran pull his grandpa around from one station to the next, it is clear that they are both having a ball.
