Artists young and older climb the stairs to the apartment-turned-studio art school in Ravenna to learn the basics of drawing and to experiment with color.
A purple stairwell leads the way to the large classroom, with a small sitting room and storage area to the side.
The entrance sits just off Ravenna Avenue Northeast and hosts pre-schoolers to graduate students who are learning the skill of art with Thrive Art School's step-by-step approach.
Thrive teachers take much pride in their efforts to reach all students of any learning style.
"The philosophy is really important - that it's art, there really is no wrong way to do it, just different ways to do it," said Thrive teacher and office manager Amy Vail.
Thrive also seems to do the impossible: capture a child's full attention.
"My kids have a tendency to arrive early, which I think speaks really well to the class - that they're motivated and they want to get here," explained teacher Clay Blankenship, who muses at parents' stories of being rushed by their son or daughter to get to class on time.
A SERIES OF LINES AND SHAPES
Thrive Art School, 639 Ravenna Ave. N.E., also has a location in Madison Valley, but Ravenna is where owner Theresa Harris launched the school, back in 2000. Harris is supported by five teachers and one office manager, all trained in the same Monart technique.
"[Monart] simplifies the drawing process.... We train students to break things down into simple lines and shapes and then translate that onto paper," Harris explained.
Thrive in fact, recently changed its name from the Monart School of Drawing, reflecting an effort to expand curriculum. "We're wanting to grow our program with more painting. We're still going to use the same guided step-by-step method, and our philosophy is really important, that there's really no right or wrong way to draw," she said.
Class sizes of no more than 12 students enable teachers to work with each person and learning style. Young students begin by exploring shapes, color and texture, while older students implement learned drawing skills and explore different techniques, subjects and media. Students experiment with a different medium each week: chalk, pencil, oil paints, watercolor and more.
Thrive also offers winter and summer camps.
"One thing we're doing more of is integrating other academic subjects into our curriculum, so our summer camps are great for that. So if we're learning about Africa, we're learning some environmental studies and geography and social studies and multicultural studies within the art project," Harris said.
Classes often affect student life outside of art. "Teachers have told parents their [child's] handwriting has improved, that they are more confident illustrating their stories at school.... One parent told me that her son took his art portfolio around to show all their neighbors, and they bring it to show-and-tell. It's a part of their identity now," Harris said.
BUILDING STEP BY STEP
It's been a growing process for Harris, learning to run a business as well as the best methods to teach art to kids. She was completing her master's degree in teaching at the University of Washington and discovered she really wanted to teach art, but she had no official training. So she took a workshop on how to teach drawing to kids using the Monart method.
She used the method weekly with her students and discovered it instilled confidence in the children, some of whom were struggling with other subjects, she said. Their visible increase in self-esteem motivated her to use art as a tool to empower kids.
Harris became licensed in the Monart method and, soon after, found the space in Ravenna where she could start her school.
"I laugh sometimes at my naiveté at starting a business. I literally hit the streets with fliers...and asked people to stick them in their windows. And that worked to a point, but what really got the word out is just having families really have a good experience and then spreading the word," she said.
Also, she and the other Thrive instructors take the children's art seriously, sharing the work at art shows at various coffee shops and businesses around the city, sparking the interest of other parents.
"It's the results that people see that really sell it," Vail said. "People going, 'Holy cow! A 5-year old drew that?'"
More of the students' pieces will be on display on May 20, from 2 to 4 p.m., during an art walk at various participating businesses in Ravenna.
Harris plans to open a new location in Ballard. "I just want to bring as much art to people as I can," she enthused.
Abby Lund writes about places Off the Beaten Path. She can be reached at needitor@nwlink.com.
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