In the past few years, Saratoga Springs has seen its fair share of paint-it-yourself locales. There’s Saratoga Paint and Sip Studio on Henry St., Creative Sparks on Phila St., and The Palette Cafe on Broadway. C.R.E.A.T.E. Community Studios, which lives on Beekman St., stands out as doing something different.
Heather Hutchison, Julie Lewis, and Aili Lopez founded the studio in Saratoga and Schenectady in 2017. Two years later, they now have ten regular instructors — Horn being a steady adjunct — and moved in with Living Resources, which provides fine art instruction to students with disabilities.
Despite having its roots in art therapy — both Hutchison and Lopez met as art therapists — C.R.E.A.T.E. does not currently provide such services. Rather, the studio focuses on wellness activities and expressive art instruction, especially for underserved communities and people with mental health needs.
“We have a very different standpoint than a paint-and-sip studio,” said Lopez. “We’re more process-oriented; it’s not necessarily about what the person makes, but the process of making it visual.”
For example, someone can create a drawing inspired by a traumatic incident they experienced. The artist can then take the finished piece and tear it up, glue it back together, or combine it with something else. What’s important is that they make something new.
Lewis has used art for this very purpose in the past, and recalls how she could “visually change the outcome of my own story.”
And a lot of the wellness aspect becomes visible watching people connect with one another where there isn’t a stigma around how they’re presenting. But if conversations do arise, which they naturally do, then Hutchinson, Lewis, and Lopez are there to facilitate.
They also have the help of two Skidmore students who intern there, including Maggie Bernstein ‘20.
As of right now, her main job is working on Wednesday’s healing art hour. However, she urges Skidmore students to look at the C.R.E.A.T.E. website for their other offerings, which can include anything from comic-book making to writing classes.
“[C.R.E.A.T.E.] is a really wonderful group of people trying to bring art to the community,” she says. “Creative expression has always been important for me and I love being able to help bring that to people who may not usually find art in their daily lives.”
For students who may not be able to carve time out of their schedule, C.R.E.A.T.E. has created Taking Care Boxes, which are filled with art supplies and prompts to get people started. They can certainly be purchased for personal enjoyment, but Hutchinson, Lewis, and Lopez hope people pay it forward and purchase one to be donated to local students.
And that’s what seems to be the heartbeat of C.R.E.A.T.E.’s mission: to take this tool that all three founders have their own personal histories with, have found great success with, and pass it on.
“Sometimes we have prompts that relate to emotional health, often not,” says Lopez. “But it’s so obvious how therapeutic it is for [people] to just be around each other, to talk about whatever they want when it’s not a mandated-therapy thing. It is something they have chosen to come to.”
Changes have been made since the date of publication.