Wine and Canvas is a fun night-out activity which has recently grown in popularity across the country, and the Bloomington location is no exception.
The Wine and Canvas in town was started by Sarah Wathen and her husband in May 2011.
The couple hosted Wine and Canvas nights at local restaurants for a year until they set up roots in January 2012 with their studio location on North Gates Drive.
Wathen explained she first attended Wine and Canvas as a part of a friend’s birthday, after which she became an avid attendee.
“I found it to be the perfect girls’ night with my besties as well as a relaxing time to release some stress and tap into the artsy side of my creativity,” Wathen said. ”I also found myself attending by myself and meeting new friends while there.”
According to Wathen, a typical Wine and Canvas night is a painting party where participants can wind down from a stressful week and exercise their creative side.
“I feel most people have a job that forces them to use the left brain which mainly focuses on logic, reasoning and analytic thought,” she said. “Our events allow people to tap in to the right side of the brain where they can be artistic, creative and imaginative. I don’t think we use the right side enough anymore which is a partial contribution to the heavy weight of stress created for us.”
Wathen elaborated on the steps necessary to make such an activity available to her customers.
She said the artists leading each class are chosen from a pool of applicants who send in both a resume and portfolio of their paintings, preferably in acrylic since that is what their students will be working in.
Those who are chosen then send in different paintings each month. The approved designs are scheduled to be taught based on the artists’ availability.
While regularly scheduled Wine and Canvas nights have a preselected painting, Wathen said private parties are able to choose a specific painting to be taught during their class.
She also explained she and her husband select the wines available to participants with the help of a local wine distributor.
“There’s quite a bit of variety to our selection to cover most tastes in the world of wine,” Wathen said.
Although Wathen and her husband currently live in Florida managing their Jacksonville location, Wathen said she travels to Bloomington often. As for the time she is absent, Wathen said she can rely on her staff here in Bloomington.
“We have an excellent staff in Bloomington that goes over and above my expectations to make this process extremely manageable and mostly stress free,” she said.
With the help of her team and the Wine and Canvas Corporation, Wathen said they are able to provide an alternative to the typical night out at the bars.
Wathen also said she finds the classes to be a relaxing and rewarding experience for both the participants and their instructors.
“It’s also an amazing feeling to see somebody who may have been nervous, or who doubted themselves end up with a masterpiece they are proud of,” she said.
