Throughout the past year, Jenny Starkey Reed and her daughter Kaylee have frequented The Starving Artist art studio.

 

The painting classes not only result in quality finished art pieces, but also the stirring of creativity, said Reed, who holds a degree in visual communications from the International Academy of Design.

 

Now, Reed is trading her spot in the classroom for a teaching position at the Clarksburg studio.

 

“I knew Jenny had an art background and we’ve been looking for some people to step in and teach some classes,” said Amanda Leaseburg, who, along with her husband Bill, owns and operates The Starving Artist. “She’s the perfect student and, in fact, she did one painting that we thought looked better than the one we did. We decided to see if she was interested in teaching a class.”

 

On Feb. 1, Reed will be instructing young aspiring artists on the creation of a painting she found on Pinterest (pictured below).

 

“I really liked it and it will be fun to personalize,” she said.

 

The two-hour class is for children ages 6-12. They will learn basic painting skills and take home their finished artwork. Cost is $25. Each child needs to bring a 16 x 20 canvas.

 

For seven years, Reed has been manager of Shoe Story at Eastpointe. Although the position isn’t an exact match to her degree, it enables her to utilize many of her favorite skills.

 

“I like talking to people and working with kids, plus this is a small local business so I do a little bit of everything and keep busy, which is good for me,” she said. “I also design the ads for the newspaper and things like that.”

 

To date, Reed’s artistic repertoire has included graphic design, self-created wall murals and illustrations she has dreamed up for a potential self-authored children’s book.

 

This is the next chapter in her artistic endeavors and she’s pretty excited about it.  Teaching art is an aspiration she has had on the back burner for some time. While the iron is hot, she is striking, she said.

 

Getting Reed on board also works well with the studio’s expansion and extended class offerings, Leaseburg said.

 

The studio is currently located at 354 W. Main Street (corner of Main and Fourth Streets) in downtown Clarksburg.  Classes include Wednesday night Paint Therapy which accommodates a minimum of six students and weekend private parties which accommodate a minimum of eight students. For the latter, the group can choose the featured painting. Designs feature everything from scenic and holiday themes to Audrey Hepburn-inspired fashion pieces. Also very popular are the Paint Your Pet classes.

 

The Starving Artist also offers Kids Paint classes, which include those for children ages 6-12 and Mommy and Me classes for children ages 3-6. For prices, painting samples and other information, visit http://www.leaseburgart.com/.

 

Reed is a 1999 graduate of Bridgeport High School. She is married to Steve Reed, a fellow BHS alum. They and their daughter Kaylee reside in Bridgeport.