An artist without a space to explore their creativity, is like a fish without water.
Lindsay Agnew understands this well, so she is opening Studio Agnew, which will feature art classes, workshops and other programming. She’s been diligently preparing for its soft opening in July at 107 E. Central Ave., Howey-in-the-Hills.
“All of us were born to create,” said Agnew, of Ocoee. “When you have curiosity that develops into creativity, and you use that creativity throughout your life, that’s how innovation happens.
“I started meeting parents and grandparents who said, ‘My child really loves art, but schools are taking art out of education and it’s really hard to find places they can go,’” she said. “From everything I’ve done throughout my life, being able to teach art at the studio feels like a full-circle moment. You can create anywhere really, but at the studio, other people have a space to come.”
With 15 years of experience as a professional designer — including three years as an Imagineer at Walt Disney — Agnew’s designs can be seen all over Central Florida, including Lake Sumter Landing Market Square’s boat tour marquee and signage, and Ormond Beach’s 75-foot water tower. She also designed the main terminal of the LYNX Central Station in Orlando.
Agnew, who holds a bachelor’s degree in graphic and interactive communication from Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, said participating in her studio will help shape whomever wants to learn about artist expression and creative communication.
“At Ringling, everything is about process,” she said. “When you start the process, you are developing and researching the idea. Once you get the concept and story down, then it’s that much easier to design it and communicate it to those who will see it out in the world.
“At Disney is where I learned how to tell stories and make things memorable for families,” she said. “Disney opened my eyes to what I could do with my degree. I could apply my graphic and skill set with making floor graphics, wall graphics, vehicle wraps, everything. By being open to learning it, that’s how I was able to develop my skills to the next level.”
The studio’s first summer camp, “From Abstract to Story: Summer Art Camp,” inspiring the youth participants to create abstract art, collages and books, will serve as its soft opening from July 20 to July 24.
Open to 12 participants per session, there will be a morning session from 9 a.m. to noon and an afternoon session from 1 to 3 p.m. The camp costs $275 per person.
The weeklong experience will culminate in the Story Sharing Celebration, during which campers will share and explain their artwork to their families.
“The campers learn how to become artists, illustrators and authors all in one week,” Agnew said. “The kids are going to make abstract art, cut it out into scenes and write their own stories. But it’s flipping the script where you don’t write your story first, you make the art first. Then they bind it at the end, so it becomes a real book that they will be able to take home.”
Agnew first tried the creative book-building activity while volunteering at Villages on the Green in Longwood, where for the past seven months, she has been teaching watercolor, drawing, acrylic and mixed media.
“They absolutely thrived in it,” she said. “It was amazing what they came up with. It was such a different artwork among everybody. Just by going into the 55-plus community, I’ve inspired seniors who are 80-plus to carve out a little piece of their apartment to create based on things that I’m teaching them.
“The book process teaches that just because you make a piece of art, it doesn’t have to stay that way. It can develop and be made into something else. That reflects what I’ve experienced in my career,” she said.
Agnew also has taught creative workshops at other locations in Central Florida.
Gay Geiger, secretary at Pine Castle Center for the Arts, scheduled a watercolor workshop led by Agnew earlier this month as a part of the new Orlando-based art center’s Workshop Week, a lineup of beginner-friendly art classes.
After Agnew’s two-hour Watercolor Basics workshop, Geiger felt like she learned something new.
“Lindsey is a great instructor,” Geiger said. “Watercolor is a medium that most of us felt intimidated by. We didn’t know how to use it or how to control it. Art can be expensive, so a workshop like this is perfect to try new things. We definitely want to work with Lindsey again in the future.”
In the fall, Studio Agnew will host weekly Young Artist Studio sessions from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. The small group classes will offer individualized guidance for children ages 10 to 18, and will cost $35 per person for 90-minute sessions.
“This is for students who really want to develop their art skills,” she said. “A lot of these kids are exactly how I was when I was really young when my mom took me to some arts and craft things — I was already advanced. My mom went and found an artist who was an oil instructor and she brought me there. So, I’m taking that knowledge and other parts of my background, and applying it to encourage students to think like artists.”
For more information about Studio Agnew, visit studioagnew.com.
Staff writer Brea Jones can be reached at 352-753-1119, ext. 5414, or brea.jones@thevillagesmedia.com.
