My daughter turned five recently, and her birthday party was by far our favorite one yet. When first planning for it I knew I’d include Grace’s love for coloring, drawing and lots of different arts and crafts, so was hoping to find a spot where we could incorporate all these activities. I soon found a location I wasn’t familiar with in our area, Canvas Studio Art in Fair Haven, NJ. And it turned out to be the perfect spot!
When I called and spoke with Tara Bennett to book the party, Executive Director of Canvas Studio Art, she was incredibly sweet and helpful, and explained Canvas is an art studio for artists of all ages. They promote creative freedom with a focus on visual language and a life-long love of artistic expression. In addition to offering classes to students year-round, they also offer birthday parties with lots of different art options. Grace loves to paint, and requested a “rainbow unicorn” theme, so we determined painting them on canvas would be perfect for their age group.
We arrived a little early the day of the party, and Tara was busy setting everything up. I was so impressed by the space, so bright and welcoming. You can tell it was designed to bring out lots of creativity. Grace helped her pick out the canvases, and got a personal tour of all the different tools they’d be working with. SO cute! Before our guests arrived, I was able to learn a little more about the studio.
Canvas was founded in 2012 by four Rumson artists and moms, Meg Sellig, Maricarmen Buckley, Beth Sillen, and Eileen Burgess. Their mission was to provide a creative environment for young artists who are only getting art in school for 45 minutes a week–the studio fills a void in art education and continues the passion for art outside of school. In 2018, Tara Barnett became the Executive Director at Canvas Studio Art and continues the Canvas mission, the strategic vision for the art studio and teaches several classes from Art Start all the way up to Advanced Drawing & Painting and Portfolio Building. In 2019, they made their move to Fair Haven, NJ.
Once everyone in the party arrived, Tara started the project instructing the group to begin designing their unicorn. The girls drew with pencil, line by line, making it so easy to follow along. You can tell Tara has been doing this for a while, as she was so patient and encouraging with them. Once their pictures were drawn, Tara did a lesson on paints and combining colors. Painting the canvases with bright colors and sparkles was probably the highlight of the party, the girls really loved it! This group was primarily in the 4-5 age group, and followed her direction so well!
Once the canvases were complete, we ordered pizza down the street from Gianna’s in Red Bank (highly recommended), and then sang happy birthday with a unicorn cake (of course!). I didn’t even have to worry about party favors, as everyone took home their hand-painted canvas to hang up in their own rooms! It really was perfect, the girls had a GREAT time. I’m definitely going to be asking Santa Claus to put some gift cards in her stocking this year to go back over the winter.
Interested in learning more? Classes are offered year-round in convenient 6- week sessions for ages 4 and up! Adult classes are 10 week sessions for all skill levels. Summer time is dedicated to full summer camps for ages 4+, 6+, 9+ and 12+. In addition to birthday parties, Canvas Studio Art holds team building events, adult paint n’ sips, “mom’s night out”, and workshops from ceramic artists to floral designers and holiday inspired workshops for kids too! Call Tara to book your next event at 732.383.7927 or email [email protected]!
Sponsored by: Canvas Studio Art