With adult coloring books and other creative outlets booming, maybe the writing was on the wall for a new art studio and gallery designed not for the professional artist but for everyday New Yorkers looking to spark their creative genius. NY1's Stephanie Simon has the story.
The last time I did anything like this, I got in a lot of trouble. Of course, I was 5-years-old coloring on a wall with my mom's lipstick. It still it feels like I'm breaking the rules all over again.
And that's the point here at the new Chelsea art studio "Unarthodox."
"We combine different forms of art making with movement, dance, creative writing, virtual reality,” said Unarthodox Co-Founder Al Montagna. “It’s a form of self-development and well-being."
This class is called "Stories in A Minor.” Participants, inspired by music and videos, do creative and free-form writing on the floor and walls, barefoot.
"To break all the rules, to merge the arts, break all the rules and get back to being a kid again," Unarthodox Instructor Eno Edet said is the purpose of the studio.
"I think art is really, really healing and a lot of people don’t understand themselves," said one student, Paul Zotov.
"Taking your shoes off and listening to the music and writing on the walls, I really got a chance to relax and sort of get outside of myself,” another student Nicole Chiuchiolo said.
After doing our own writing, we looked at everyone else’s and picked something that we like to read out loud.
I picked Leah Bechar's. She wrote, "This city is a Dream."
"A lot of us came here on a seed of a dream, and that’s really inspiring because from that thought and that idea, now we’re all here walking around,” Bachar said.
This studio is the latest in a growing trend of adults’ art pursuits including coloring books and paint and wine classes. Like the Arts and Crafts movement that developed after the Industrial Revolution, this is a response to the high-tech age we live in.
“It's about what we need as human beings to express ourselves,” Montagna said.
There is an incredible range of classes here for adults and kids, including blindfolded sculpting.
Prices start around $40.