April 4, 2012

In some places, an old art
studio might become a municipal building. In some places, an old municipal
building might become an art studio. In Chadds Ford Township, both happened.

Turner’s Mill, once the summer
art studio of illustrator Howard Pyle, became the township building in 2006.
Then the old township building on Station Way Road became an art studio,
ArtBeat, operated by Samantha Hage.

While most students are school
kids, Hage sees ArtBeat as much more.

“It’s a place for the community
to come together to make art. It is not limited to a specific age or gender. My
target audience would be school-aged children, but I do have very busy ladies’
nights and bridal shower parties,” said Hage.

Most of her time at the studio,
however, is spent teaching art, art technique and history to the kids, but
every Thursday night is Ladies’ Night.

Outside of the studio, Hage —
with masters’ degrees in education and art —also teaches after school art
enrichment programs, called “Art Café” in the schools of the Unionville-Chadds
Ford School District.

In the Station Way Road studio,
Hage offers eight different classes ranging from traditional art instruction to
classes on the masters to knitting. Other classes focus on wearable and
postmodern art techniques. The age range for the kids is 3- and 4-year-olds to
teenagers.

She also teaches homeschoolers.

“And on weekends we’re loaded
with birthday parties,” Hager said. “Every time there’s a half day in service
for teachers, I open this place…I take roughly 14-15 kids. I put it up on my
Web site and it fills up like that,” she said snapping her fingers.

While parents sometimes stay,
Hage likens her operation to a dance or music studio where parents drop off
their kids for three hours.

Costs vary depending on whether
someone is just dropping in or taking part in a class that’s part of a six-week
session.

Before moving to Chadds Ford,
Hage worked in museums writing educational programs for places such as the
Carnegie Museum and the Indianapolis Museum of Art. She also taught art on the
elementary, middle and high school levels.

She moved to the Chadds Ford
area because of the school district, she said, and began teaching part time in
the district. That’s when she met the principals and recognized the need for
her program.

“I was driving my kids to the Wayne
Arts Center. I was driving my kids all over for this enrichment and Chadds
Ford, in the art world, has a place on the map,” she said. “There was nothing
like this out here.”

She said it took a while to
find the right location, but thinks she did find the right place despite the
tendency for 10 Station Way Road to flood. It, in fact, did flood twice between
the time she rented the location from the Brandywine Conservancy and actually
opened for business in November.

Despite that, Hage feels
blessed. All her classes are full and when one session ends, the next fills
right away. The principals, parents and staffs at the schools have been
supportive. She’s also beginning to fill her summer camp sessions.

Those 10 weeklong sessions will
run morning and evening.

“It’s a good positive place for
kids to hang out whether they’re little kids or old kids,” she said. “Teenagers
can bring in a pizza and their soda and paint canvases or make jewelry.”

The studio also offers
sculpting and drawing. Hage also wants to get a kiln for pottery, but that
needs to be worked out with the conservancy because of ventilation concerns.

For more information on
ArtBeat, go to www.artbeatpa.com
or phone 610-350-8052

This beautiful girl’s name is Winnie. Winnie came to CCSPCA as a member of a
large group of cats that was not being properly cared for in their home. Soon after entering the shelter in
December, Winnie gave birth to a litter of kittens and was placed into a CCSPCA
foster home to raise her babies and receive additional socialization and
much-needed TLC. Winnie is now a very
social kitty who quickly jumps up to greet anyone walking by her cage. Because of her previous living
situation, we know that Winnie gets along with other animals as well as
children. She will certainly be a
very affectionate and outgoing companion for anyone willing to give Winnie a
forever home. Since Winnie has been here since December by no fault of her own,
she is available for a $25 adoption fee. If you are able to provide Winnie or
any of our other animals here at the shelter a home, visit the Chester County
SPCA at 1212 Phoenixville Pike in West Goshen or call 610-692-6113. Winnie’s registration number is
96806616. To meet some of our
other adoptable animals, visit the shelter or log onto www.ccspca.org. Not quite ready to adopt? Consider becoming a CCSPCA foster
parent! Additional information and
applications are available online or at the shelter.