Although she was inspired by Alaska’s darkness, when Jennifer Jabbour returned home to the Roaring Fork Valley the former English teacher traded in Edgar Allan Poe for painting and kombucha.
Located in the heart of downtown Glenwood Springs at 823 Grand Ave. Suite 120, Jabbour’s recently opened Create! Art & Essence offers what she describes as effervescent art classes for all ages and abilities.
“We are trying to bring creativity into people’s lives and into their daily routines, whether it’s the kids or the adults,” Jabbour said of the colorful inspiration she hopes the new arts business will bring to the Glenwood Springs community.
For the kids
For children, Create! Art & Essence offers a variety of classes, including “Color Wheel Kids,” “Ti-DE-B’AM Tweens,” “Mommy Time, Preschool,” and “Kids Canvas Club.”
The Color Wheel Kids classes on Wednesdays allow home-schooled and early release students the opportunity to create paintings inspired by cultures from various regions spanning the globe.
Whether their school mascot goes by Titan, Demon, Bear or Ram, at Create! Art & Essence’s TI-DE-B’AM Tweens class on Thursdays, 10- to 14-year-olds socialize with kids from different schools in an art workshop setting.
“The kids really love soft pastels because they pop, but at the same time they are forgiving,” Jabbour said of just one of the many art mediums offered to the young artists.
Also on Thursdays, the Mommy Time, Preschool class provides hands-on arts and crafts projects for younger children, as well. On Friday, and designed for Garfield Re-2 families in particular, the Kids Canvas Club teaches classic painting techniques to students who are out of school that day due to the district four-day school week.
For the adults
The numerous kids’ classes, however, do not paint the full picture of what Create! Art & Essence offers. From “Date Night,” to “Paint & ’Bucha,” the new Grand Avenue art hub brings couples and friends together over canvases. There’s also Elevated Elixirs Kombucha on Friday and Saturdays, as well.
“It is really special when people can come together, learn, participate, and create something,” Jabbour said.
Or Bring the family
At its core, Create! Art & Essence prevails as a small family business, Jabbour said. Her mother, Linda Jabbour, serves as the studio’s art director.
“It also helps parents who feel like they don’t do art, but they still want their kids to experience art,” Linda Jabbour said.
The mother and daughter duo, in particular, share a passion for Sunday’s Fandom On Canvas class, which invites families to illustrate anything from a beloved superhero to their favorite Colorado landscape.
Create! Art & Essence also provides a creative space for private parties, whether birthday or corporate.
“The thing I always write on everything is effervescent art for all ages,” Jennifer Jabbour said of how she visualizes and describes Create! Art & Essence.
“Effervescent art is my word for everything, but it captures us,” she said.
Like Pablo Picasso’s famous quote, “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life,” Linda Jabbour said she hopes Create! Art & Essence in turn offers a creative world, rid of the ordinary but rather full of life.
mabennett@postindependent.com