Young Artist Studio A Dream Come True

Rebecca Zitomer never thought she’d be running an arts school, she had always been interested in business.

“I worked retail for CVS and Staples for the first 20 years out of college,” she said. “I call it my lost years. I was an executive when I left and had my first daughter.”

Zitomer said she opened two other businesses in the downtown area of Wrentham before starting the Young Artists Studio.

She said her interest in arts first started from her daughter. She felt the schools were losing more and more art programs, and decided to start taking classes at the Rhode Island School of Design to help supplement her daughter’s education. She had a big mural at her first two businesses in downtown, and her friends started to notice.

“They talked about the murals and asked if I would consider teaching their kids how to paint and draw,” she said. “I used to also volunteer at the Little Red School House in Sheldonville, where my daughter went at the time, and I really started to develop a network of moms and kids.”

She said she opened the studio in 2007 hasn’t looked back. She said it’s a lot less money than the executive positions she had in the past, but she said it’s worth it.

“I have a sense of worth, it’s a real pleasure teaching the kids,” she said. “When I leave I know I did a good days work.”

The studio teaches classes for kids from six to 16 and also does private lessons for adults. They’re usually after school programs and run in eight-week sessions.

For the kids classes, Zitomer said they showcase the students’ work at the Terrace Café for a month as a part of Terrace’s monthly art gallery.

“It really gives the kids the change to have their artwork shown,” she said. “Nancy makes milkshakes and cookies for them and all the parents teachers and grandparents come. We make a big deal out of it and it’s a real confidence booster for the kids.”

Zitomer she feels the biggest part of the job is learning to be patient with the kids. She said she learned that with her own child early on.

“The biggest asset is being a mom to be honest with you,” she said. “Being a mom teaches you the patience that you need in order to teach eight six-year-olds in a class.”

Zitomer said she feels it’s important for kids to soak up as many different styles and medias as possible. She said she shows them different artists and methods in this way, from Monet to Manet, Michaelangelo to Leonardo.

“I think it’s so important to expose them to everything,” she said. “Specialized classes for a younger age group is difficult, I think a lot of times they don’t know what they like yet. I also try to teach them art history in a fun way.”

Zitomer said she’s starting to do more adult classes as well. She said she does do private lessons already, but she’s starting new programs like Wine and Watercolors and Painting and Pino.

“Grigio or Noir,” she said.

Zitomer said the studio donates to the Fresh Air Fund and Taylor’s Team, a local charity for a young girl with type 1 diabetes.

“I also volunteer at the Little Red still,” she said.

 Young Artist Studio is located at 40 South St. and is open by appointment.