The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Former Shack owner opens art, nature school
Wendy Mitchell wants kids off their devices and expressing themselves through art, music and nature.
“Kids are online so many hours of the day,” she said. “They are connected to the world through the internet, but they are disconnected from each other.”
Mitchell’s new business, Art & Nature School of Ridgefield, is, as she describes it, a “safe haven where families and teens can come and express themselves creatively, regardless of their skill level.”
Art & Nature School, which opened in November at 280 Ethan Allen Highway next door to Days Inn, offers classes, camps and parties for preschoolers to adults. Theater, drawing, painting, creative writing, dance, music and even knitting and cooking are among the offerings.
There are also mommy-and-me art classes — although Mitchell likes to refer to them as caregiver-and-me classes so as to not exclude the dads.
“I try to make it not so cookiecutter,” she said of the business. “It’s fun and educational.”
In the spring, she will offer nature courses where students are immersed in the outdoors and then return to the studio to use the experience as inspiration for art projects.
“My childhood was like a Country Time Lemonade commercial. We were always outdoors doing something. My mother used to say: ‘Don’t come in until it’s dark,’ ” said Mitchell, who grew up in Newtown. “Kids don’t do that anymore.”
Glow parties have been popular among the kids, Mitchell said. Glow parties include glow-in-the-dark balloons, chalk and face paint.
Mitchell is experienced at throwing parties as she is also a DJ under the name Wendi Poprock. She is a singer and bass player in a band, as well.
Art & Nature School of Ridgefield is a comeback of sorts for Mitchell. She has been an art and music teacher for years and she opened the Sandy Hook Arts Center for Kids, or Shack, in 2012. Shortly after opening came the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and Mitchell turned her business into a nonprofit center where children could take art and music classes for free.
She ran the center on a volunteer basis, but had to close after six months due to lack of funding.
Mitchell was diagnosed with a rare form of breast cancer soon after and beat the disease only after two and a half years of surgeries and aggressive chemo and radiation treatments.
“I’m getting my energy back and taking care of myself,” she said. “I had some momentum going and lost it when I got sick. I’m trying to get that momentum going again.”
Mitchell has maintained her sense of humor and blogs about her battle with breast cancer to raise awareness for the importance of self-breast exams for early detection. Mitchell discovered her cancer through a self examination.
She also raises funds for Ann’s Place, a Danbury-based nonprofit organization that offers support for breast cancer patients and their families. She plans to have a large fundraiser at her studio later this year for the organization. The event will include live bands, including her own ’80s cover band, The Knockoffs.
Mitchell has started a Go Fund Me page to form a nonprofit arm of Art & Nature School of Ridgefield, where she will assemble a teen acting troupe. The group will perform dramas dealing with issues such as drug and alcohol abuse, teen pregnancy and depression.
“It’s educating kids that there are other things in life they can be addicted to that are good, like music, writing and art,” she said. “It’s a positive way for kids to use art to help others.”
Mitchell hopes her school will blossom into something even greater.
“I’d love to find a location with more woods and trees and expand on the nature side of the school,” she said. “Maybe even start a preschool.”
Art & Nature School of Ridgefield may be reached at 475-215-5582.