By Jaime Rochelle Herndon
Amid a row of shops on 2nd Avenue on the Upper East Side, Kids at Art might seem like any other store until your eyes land on the colorful, whimsically-painted tables in the window and the painted figurines that sit upon them. Behind those, on the wall, are rows of pictures of smiling children holding up hand-drawn and collaged artworks. Walking into the bright, high-ceilinged studio, the white walls and hardwood floors are juxtaposed with brightly painted chairs and cabinet doors, along with artwork drawn by children of various skill levels and ages hanging from almost every wall. Sunlight streams through the large windows and two tables are in the center of the room, covered in brown paper and bowls of crayons, charcoals, and pastels. The morning session of art camp is coming to an end, and students are showing off their projects, begging for just “five more minutes.” Laughter and little-kid chatter rings out, along with calls of: “Wendy! Wendy!” and “Wendy, look at what I made!”
The “Wendy” in demand is Wendy Miller, the founder of Kids at Art. Coming from a long line of family artists and an artist herself (she’s the one behind the painted furniture), Miller has worked in professional photography and fashion, along with running her own greeting card business. Eventually, she decided to try to merge two of her passions: making art and working with children, and launched Kids at Art 14 years ago. “I thought about what I loved doing the most, and I felt like this would feed my soul, doing something hands-on, instead of looking at a computer screen all day,” she says.
Originally located on Lexington Avenue, Kids at Art moved to its current location almost two years ago, and Miller can’t say enough about the great neighborhood. “We’re in such a good space and area—there’s Cozy’s [Editor’s note: click here for the latest on Cozy’s], Kids in Sports, Naturino,” she explains. “Twice a year, we all have a block party called ‘Kid Row.’ The next one will be in October. There’s shopping, face painting, karaoke, glitter tattoos, other activities.”
Once the morning session of camp empties out and the full-day kids are eating lunch with the assistant teacher, Miller leads me to a quiet space in the back, cautioning me to watch out for any leftover snacks that might have found their way to the floor, since it’s been a busy morning. We sit on chairs that are beautifully painted with flowers; mine in shades of red, orange, and yellow; hers in shades of lavender, blue, and seafoam.
On a table in the back of the room are piles of art projects from past classes and art sessions, along with those from the morning’s art session that are drying. There are drawings in the style of Matisse, paper plate puppets of ladybugs, pictures utilizing various watercolor techniques for different textures, and self-portraits. Piled on a shelf above the table are pastel decoupage flowers in a paper pot and plaster masks of animal faces.
“The kids drew that bus one year,” Miller tells me, pointing to a large crayon poster of a bus full of children that reads: “Kids at Art.” She laughs, clearly in love with it. “They drew me as the bus driver.”
Believing that every child has the ability within them to create, Kids at Art hosts group classes for children from ages two through adolescence, as well as private lessons, summer camps and birthday parties. Variety is key to Miller’s art classes—children don’t do the same project over and over again. Projects including everything from basic painting, drawing and sculpture to mixed-media, collage, acrylics, and more. In conjunction with the Fashion Class, there are fashion design and sewing classes that culminate in a fashion show. For older artists, there’s life drawing classes and portfolio help. But it’s never just about the art; Miller also sees social and personal benefits to the lessons.
“The kids work together to an extent, so it’s a good social experience for them, helping each other,” she says. “Also, many kids make a few lines on a piece of paper and say they’re finished, but they’re really not. I encourage them to keep going. Maybe it’s the city, it makes you rush things. With all the electronics, everything’s so fast, everybody’s always looking for the new thing. I urge them to take their time. I try and nurture this, to tell them to slow down and focus and work on something for an extended amount of time—and eventually, they do.”
This afternoon, a small group of children are decoupaging boxes with Mod Podge, colored tissue paper, pattered scrapbook paper, and magazines. They giggle as they cut out shapes and combine them to make masterpieces or silly combinations before gluing them onto their wooden boxes. Miller is right alongside them, making a box of her own while guiding them on shapes and patterns. Though the summer has barely begun, the kids seem to know each other well, and one little girl teases Wendy that she has been taking classes with her forever.
For Miller, that kind of long-term relationship with a child is one of the most rewarding aspects of her work because she gets “to see how far a child has come from the time they start to the time they end. They’re really sophisticated, it’s impressive. And it makes them feel good, to see what they’ve achieved.”
What’s in store for Kids at Art? If Miller had her way, there’d be “at least ten more Kids at Art stores!” At the same time, she is deeply committed, if not downright joyful, about taking it one art project—and one child—at a time.
For more information about Kids at Art classes and other offerings, visit kidsatartnyc.com.
