Jenny Seeman values independent learning. In college, she was awarded the Watson Fellowship, a one-year grant for independent study outside the United States. She has led outdoor adventure trips in the Soviet Union. And she has been involved in entrepreneurial endeavors with McKinsey & Company.
So it’s not surprising that when this Weston mom wanted an after-school art program for her children, she didn’t want cookie-cutter classes with a one-size-fits-all approach. That’s not what she had in mind for nurturing their creativity.
That’s when she teamed up with friend and fellow mom Alicia Cleary and founded Arts2You, a company that brings personalized art instruction right into the home. More importantly, it allows each child to explore their own creativity through a variety of mediums, without having to attend different classes. It aims to both inspire and educate using an interdisciplinary approach based on fundamental art principles.
“The teachers we partner with have expertise in more than one area,” says Seeman. “So they can bring two to three different mediums into one teaching experience.” This way, she explains, a child can try three-dimensional art like clay sculpture, while also learning figure drawing and painting.
This kind of approach makes sense whether you like the idea of exposing your child to different art forms, or are simply trying to figure out your child’s areas of interest. It’s an approach that is more of an apprenticeship, where teachers meet the students where they are, art-wise, to help them maximize their creative expression.
“It’s like bringing the studio into your home,” says Seeman. And that’s the other side of this: there’s no running around to different classes, dragging siblings along for the ride. From a busy mom perspective, this approach is ideal, and much like bringing in a piano teacher or math tutor.
In addition to their commitment to and support of the arts, Seeman and her partner, Cleary, both have strong business backgrounds. Seeman worked with McKinsey & Company’s start-up operations in St. Petersburg and Moscow and became fluent in Russian. Cleary has worked with the Vose Art Gallery in Boston and the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, in addition to overseeing the full spectrum of the creative process for television and print advertising campaigns.
Arts2You contracts with teachers from local colleges and universities, all with the practical experience and education ideally suited to this endeavor. They currently offer their services in seven towns, including Weston, Concord and Wellesley. For more information, or to sign up for their services, check out their website at www.Arts2You.com.