Kristin Okhmatovski used to think she couldn’t be an artist.
“There was a point in my life where I thought I couldn’t be an artist because I wasn’t skilled at watercolour,” she says. “Then I slowly discovered there were so many other mediums you could use to create – where you could feel successful and accomplished.”
It was out of that experience that Cartizan Studio was born.
A combination of “craft” and “artisan,” Cartizan is the name of a new artspace at The Forks (Floor 1, Johnston Terminal) that encourages kids, homeschoolers and even adults – basically aspiring artists of all ages and skill levels – to explore a variety of artistic mediums in an inviting, fun and educational atmosphere.
“We have ten-week classes that are art literacy-based and revolve around projects using different mediums,” explains Okmatovski, Cartizan Studio’s owner and director. “It’s primarily for kids aged 4 to 17, but there will also be kids workshops and mom-and-me classes.”
Parents who homeschool their children will also find a welcome opportunity at Cartizan, where they can drop off their kids for daytime classes and take a bit of a break or just hang out at The Forks.
Okhmatovski, who was a school librarian for 12 years, is excited about helping kids unlock their creativity. Many, like her, will have simply assumed they’re not artistic because they can’t draw. But they may find an outlet in clay, glitter, manga or another medium.
“I think lots of people have strengths in certain areas of art,” she says. “They maybe haven’t experimented with certain mediums, and I’m just looking forward to helping them create and explore and learn different skills and techniques.”
Younger children, for example, might enjoy All That Glitters – an art project that incorporates glitter, gems, metallics and sequins, and all in a space that won’t require their parents to clean up glitter when it’s done. One of the more popular artistic styles, Manga is already recognizable to many older children and teenagers, and the classes will help them develop techniques in drawing, colouring and Lino-cut printmaking.
“We also have one called Ancient Art, where each class will be focused on an ancient art style,” explains Okhmatovski. “There’s another class called Exploring Mediums, where you just get to learn about all kinds of different artistic mediums and how to use them.”
Parents and kids searching for unique birthday party ideas will also find the perfect space at Cartizan. Guided by an instructor, the partiers will create fun, bright, exciting works of art. And once again, parents will get to skip the clean-up.
Regarding the instructors at Cartizan Studio, Okhmatovski relies on an “A Team” of specialists who use specific mediums and work with specific age groups.
“I have a watercolour specialist; I have a clay specialist,” she says. “I have an early years specialist and I have a manga artist. I also have a person who does work in textiles but is bilingual as well, so she’ll be offering a course in French.”
The bilingual offering is one she foresees as being picked up by parents who want to give their children a cultural experience in another language.
“I think there’s a lot of parents who want to invest in their kids’ bilingual future in Canada, but there’s not necessarily a lot of extracurriculars out there,” she explains. “Ours is a French-language art class delivered by a bilingual person.”
Adults, too, can find something at Cartizan Studio.
“We have a 10-week session Tuesday mornings that’s called Brush and Brush,” says Okhmatovski. “It’s a place where adults with flexible schedules can come and explore different mediums, learn different skills, create cool projects and hang out with other adults at a time that doesn’t cut into evening activities.”
Okhmatovski points out that Cartizan classes are set to start September 15, and that a grand opening event will be held sometime in October.
“What I’m really looking forward to is just helping kids and adults discover how they can create things and design and develop things successfully and learn different skills to see what their strengths are,” she says. “There’s probably a lot of people who are artisans who don’t necessarily know how to do an oil painting but are definitely creative in their own right.”
For parents and prospective participants, the Cartizan Studio website has more information about classes, times, age groups and prices. Cartizan is also present on both Facebook and Instagram.