City schoolteacher opens downtown art studio
LANCASTER – Karla Young apparently can't get enough of teaching art.
She teaches it during the day in the Lancaster City Schools System and recently opened her own art studio called Young at Art at 110 W. Chestnut St. to teach at night. She teaches students of all skill levels from ages 7 to 17.
“My goal is to teach each person on an individual basis and kind of meet them where they're at,” Young said.
Young had previously given private art lessons when her children were younger but got away from them when they got older.
“But about three years ago I decided I had so many people asking if I knew anyone or if I might be interested (in teaching),” she said. “So I started out just teaching a few kids in my home, then word got out and it grew to about 30 kids in my home just this past September.”
Young said she started thinking and praying about whether she could juggle her job with the school system and expand her art teaching at night.
“So I decided to kind of take a leap of faith and I moved into the old Leaps of Faith dance studio on Chestnut,” she said. “I opened my doors there the first of October. Just through word of mouth and I have a website and people have shared my Facebook page, it has really taken off. I have 85 kids right now signed up and I've got a waiting list.”
Business has gone so well that Young hired another art teacher to work one night a week.
“We're really enjoying it,” she said. “We're getting small groups of kids that really have a love and interest for art and supportive parents. It's a great environment. Kids come together as strangers and they leave my class as friends because the art connects people.”
Young's new business certainly leads to some long days, however.
“But it's so rewarding and I enjoy what I do,” she said. “It's a blessing to be able to juggle both. I've always been a person that's needed to keep busy and I'm definitely keeping busy.”
Young said she loved art as a child. When she was in the seventh grade at Thomas Ewing Junior High School a teacher inspired her to become an art teacher herself. Then some teachers at Lancaster High School gave her the confidence to pursue her dream.
Young said art is important to children because it gives them a voice and a safe space to explore their own thoughts and ideas.
“It helps them express maybe what they're going through,” she said. “It's a great therapeutic tool. For some kids, it's the reason they come to school. It develops the right brain and it's a different approach to learning. It helps them with their problem-solving skills. It, hopefully, gives them an appreciation because art is everywhere.”
Along with art lessons, Young's studio features the Splatter Studio, where people can cover up in protective gear and splatter-paint a canvas. Young opened it on the first weekend of November and has had about 50 customers and sold dozens of gift certificates. Customers have come from Dublin, Columbus, Zanesville and Cincinnati.
The Splatter Studio is for both children and adults, corporate groups and more.
“They can have fun,” Young said. “They can splatter the canvas or they can splatter each other. It makes for a cool picture when they're done.”
Young at Art is open for art lessons around 5 to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The Splatter Studio is open from 5 to 9 p.m. on Friday and from 2 to 9 p.m. on Saturday.
For more information go to www.youngatart.studio or the business Facebook page. jbarron@gannett.com 740-304-9296
Twitter: @Jeffdbarron