Rockaway Art Room Provides Free Art Classes

By Katie McFadden

Ever thought about dabbling in art? Your opportunity to learn about and try different art mediums is here. The Rockaway Art Room is now offering free art classes through paid artists.

On Thursday, March 26 at 6:30 p.m., head to the Jupiter Club (69-62 Almeda Ave.) to learn about watercolor painting with Bekka Palmer and create a watercolor piece with two paintings woven together. On Tuesday, March 31 at 11 a.m., head to The B.R.I.D.G.E.’s temporary location at the Arverne Community Center (57-10 Beach Channel Dr.) where Shaymon Thomas-Simmons will lead a painting class for beginners, teaching the basics of acrylic painting, allowing guests to create their own colorful canvas. And save the date for Wednesday, April 15 at 6 p.m. where Camila A. Morales will be at the Jupiter Club leading a found object mandala class, with objects found around Rockaway, such as shells, sand and more.

These are just a few of the initial offerings by the Rockaway Art Room, an idea spearheaded by Arverne resident Jamie Soltis. Jamie and her husband, Eamon, moved to the community from Brooklyn four years ago after spending several years coming down to the beach to surf.  As an actress and a part-time employee at a nonprofit organization that provides emergency financial assistance to performers, as well as a full-time mom to her two-year-old son, Henry, Soltis, Eamon and their friends found themselves having a conversation about other aspects of life—hobbies.

“I was talking about hobbies with my husband and friends and how important they are for quality of life and mental health and community building. There are a lot of hobbies I want to do that I’ve been putting on the backburner, like ballroom dancing, playing piano and learning how to do art, so I posted on some local Facebook group to see if anyone taught those things, but I couldn’t really find much,” Soltis explained.

So, she decided to start something herself. Taking a page out of her father Jim’s book, who started his own nonprofit in Pennsylvania to provide financial assistance to injured loggers, and with her own nonprofit experience, Soltis decided to build something of her own. She took to Facebook again to see if there would be any interest from the community in taking free art classes, and she received an overwhelmingly positive response. So, she launched the Rockaway Art Room.

Why art? “I think it’s fun to make stuff with your hands. I recently took a pottery class, and it was so soothing, and I felt accomplished after building something with my own hands. I think we’re all so stuck to our computer and phones these days, so anything that gets us out of the house and away from screens is really good for you and you can have a sense of accomplishment when you’re done,” she said.

She wanted to make that feeling and opportunity as accessible as possible. Rockaway Art Room provides art classes for free for all ages, while paying the artists teaching the classes. “I want the teachers to get paid a fair wage because I’m a big advocate for artists getting paid for their work,” she said.

How does that work? To launch the initial classes, Soltis put out a call for donations and was able to raise $800 through the community, enough to pay each artist $200 for their time for two hours, and cover some of the materials. For other materials, some neighbors donated supplies, and the rest is supplied by Material for the Arts. Working with nonprofit, Fractured Atlas, as a sponsor, Soltis hopes to apply for available grants to continue to fund the program, while also accepting donations from neighbors, participants and local businesses.

Some businesses and organizations have already stepped up by offering a space for classes like the newly opened Jupiter Club and The B.R.I.D.G.E. The Rose Den on Beach 116th has also offered up space for future classes. And after discussing her idea in local parent groups and through organizations like Rockaway Creates, Soltis has been able to recruit eager artists who are willing to share their artistic talents with the community. “We had about 20 people volunteer to teach classes, which is really heartwarming,” Soltis said.

With all that support, Soltis hopes to eventually offer three classes a week in three different mediums. “Anyone is able to come, and teachers will get paid. We want to make sure this is accessible to everybody,” Soltis said.

And so far, the concept is a hit. After taking a poll about mediums people might be interested in, she landed on painting in general, watercolor and found object art, which are all in the lesson plan for Rockaway Art Room’s first three offerings. And plenty of people are already signing up. “We have about 20 or so people coming to the first watercolor class,” she said.

Soltis, who plans to participate in the classes, is excited to get Rockaway Art Room off the ground. “It feels really good. My work at the nonprofit and acting both give me fulfillment, but I don’t know If I’ve ever built anything from scratch before, so I get to use part of my brain to see something to fruition, which is really exciting,” she said. Soltis says her husband has been a big supporter of the idea, and she’s excited to build something for those in the community, like her son, with hopes of making the Rockaway Art Room something bigger one day.

“I want to do everything for Henry and having a place to create art, he’s the main inspiration behind that,” she said. “Ultimately, it would be wonderful for the Art Room to have its own space that can still offer free classes, but would double as a gallery, and maybe it could have a stage or outdoor space for music. But the next step is to get enough funding for this to go on for a year, and if it’s successful and is something the community is into, maybe trying to get its own space is something to be explored.”

To sign up for classes, make donations or to get in touch with Soltis, check out www.jamiesoltis.com/rockawayartroom