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BORDENTOWN: A creative space for all

By Jennifer Kohlhepp, Managing Editor
   It’s a hub for people who gravitate to the arts.
   Leaping Dog Art Studios opened in April upstairs from Open Arts Stage at 146 Route 130 in Bordentown. Jennifer Szeto, of Bordentown City, founded the studio with a vision to provide a shared home where families and neighbors of all ages can come together and engage in a vibrant creative community. She offers art classes for anyone 10 months old and up. She also provides private art lessons, “Arty Parties” for kids ages 2 and up, “Wine and Painting Parties” for adults and summer art camps for children ages 7 and up.
   Ms. Szeto decided to open the art studio after having taught art for eight years and having two children. She sensed there were other mothers like her who wanted to create things with their kids but didn’t necessarily know how to get started. She held some “Mommy and Me” art classes in her home before deciding that the area needed a place where families could get creative together and where parents could have the room to be artistic themselves.
   ”I wanted to open up a studio for all ages,” she said. “Being an adult who is creative, I don’t have a creative space in the house. I’ve been offering adult classes. A lot of adults want the opportunity to have fun and be creative. I’ve really created a creative space for all from children 10-12 months old all the way up to adults.”
   For the smallest students, she sets up three different hands-on and age-appropriate activities such as finger painting, sculpting and gluing noodles.
   ”It’s really important to let kids play,” she said. ‘It’s how they learn about the world. At that young age, the product is not as important as the experience.”
   When she works with older children, she gauges their interests and skill levels.
   ”I ask them what they want to learn and work from their interests to keep them motivated and then broaden their view with other things,” she said.
   For adults, she offers “Wine and Painting Parties” during which she provides paintings for patrons to try and copy. She also tries to provide the art experiences people are looking for in the community.
   ”I gauge their interests through Facebook to fulfill needs and desires,” she said. “I did a portrait class this summer and a Chinese brush and ink class for adults.”
   Ms. Szeto, who studied illustration at Syracuse University, has been drawing since she was a child.
   ”My favorite present was a pad of white paper,” she said. “I thought I would be an animator when I grew up but when I took animation classes I realized I don’t have that mindset. I graduated not knowing I would teach. After I graduated college I went to China and taught English.”
   She came home realizing she loved teaching and started teaching art, which she said helps people become more observant about the world.
   ”Art teaches many useful skills in terms of being patient, learning to persist with something, and how rewarding it is to work on something and see the process,” she said. “Looking at artwork, you can learn about history and learn about cultures.”
   Starting in September, Leaping Dog Art Studios will be offering two classes for kids, one for those interested in drawing, painting and sculpting and a portfolio development class for those looking to get into art school.
   However, the 1,200-sqaure-foot space offers a comfortable atmosphere for art lessons and art workshops for parents with preschoolers, students in middle and high school, and adults, and can be used for art-themed events for all ages.
   ”We offer a friendly art studio space for all and classes to fit anyone’s level of experience and seriousness,” she said.
   For more information and a full schedule of available classes, visit acreativespaceforall.com, email [email protected] or call 215-850-5349.