Arty parties

Studio stages soirees to draw people to art

Loosen up a crowd of adults with music, good food and a few cocktails, and they might just go crazy and do a little beadwork.

At least this is the theory behind the art parties at Stumptown Art Studio in downtown Whitefish.

"Some people are so intimidated by art that they won't sign up to do a class, but will come to a party and before you know it they're painting," said Melanie Drown, one of the Stumptown directors and an art instructor.

Stumptown Art Studio is a nonprofit art center that offers classes and workshops, studio space, an art gallery and many more art-related programs, for all ages.

The space on Central Avenue is filled with colorful art pieces created by Stumptown clients and art works and supplies for sale. Downstairs there is serious work space.

While enhancing the art education of children is an integral part of the Stumptown mission, the studio also encourages adults to keep their creative side from being buried in the responsibilities of everyday life.

"It's always harder to get adults in here," Drown said. "You start shutting doors as you get older, when you're so busy with careers and raising families."

Still, plenty of adults are drawn to Stumptown Art Studio by the workshops, such as the monthly glass-fusing class that Drown teaches, numerous types of painting sessions, clay seminars and more.

Adults also can pay a monthly fee giving them access to the clay room and the drawing studio any time during regular studio hours.

Then there are open studio times on Sundays from noon to 4 p.m., when those ages 15 and up are invited to use the clay studio, the drawing and painting studio or the ceramics and glass studio for uninstructed time in a relaxed environment.

"It's a great way to just be in camaraderie with other artists," board member Sally Askevold said of the open studio sessions. "Artists give each other feedback and have a wonderful exchange of ideas."

There also are art-film nights targeted at adults, where movies with artists at the center are featured.

"Some people just like looking at art instead of participating," Drown said. "Not all adults want to just come in and paint pottery. We were trying to find ways to embrace all different groups of people."

That's where the art parties come in.

"The parties are kind of unique," Askevold said. "There are so many kids' parties surrounding the holidays, and someone thought it might be fun to have thematic adult art parties."

The themes for the parties, usually fundraisers for the studio, have included a salsa night (when a dance instructor offered lessons) and a swinging evening with the Rat Pack, featuring martinis, casino games and music straight from the Sinatra era.

Stumptown threw a "Carnivale" party last winter, with a theme based on pre-Lenten festivities in Venice.

"Everyone wore masks, we had Italian food and wine, and we beaded wine charms, painted a wine glass, made masks downstairs," Askevold said.

The studio's margarita-filled Jimmy Buffett bash always has been a hit, Drown said.

"We encouraged people to dress up, wear leis and flip-flops and we had tropical-themed food, a big margarita bar," she said. "People painted their own flip-flops and margarita glasses. And then we had Buffett bingo."

Askevold enjoyed watching people lose their creative inhibitions at the last Buffett bash.

"It's great to see men involved - professionals, doctors, Realtors - having a ball putting beads and flowers on flip-flops," she said. "People who don't usually indulge in allowing themselves time to play in a creative way."

Usually about four art-project stations are set up for adults at each party.

"There are a handful that are still too intimidated to do the art, but 90 percent of them end up making something," Drown said. "And they have a blast doing it."

Askevold's husband, Gerald, has been a longtime supporter of Stumptown and is a regular on the art-party circuit.

"The parties are just fun and a chance to celebrate," he said. "They give you a sense of community; they're a celebration of the spirit."

Private parties also are thrown in the art facility. Drown said there have been numerous bridal shower parties, for example, where the group converges on the studio to paint ceramic pieces to give as shower gifts.

But it's not all fun and games at Stumptown.

"We do have serious artists who take private lessons or do classes, and they're very serious about their work because it is what they're doing for a living or partial living," Drown said. "We accommodate both interests."

Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4431 or by e-mail at hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com