Looking to celebrate a family occasion; commemorate a personal simcha; run a corporate, staff-appreciation or team-building event; hold fundraiser, shul activity or camp activity; or just partake in a great family or group activity? Look no further than PAINT WITH ME!, a step-by-step personalized instruction paint session that enables everyone to bring home their very own masterpiece.
PAINT WITH ME! events can take place at the location of your choice. You choose the venue and they travel to you. PAINT WITH ME! also holds open-to-the-public events on selected school vacation days and some weekends, at several restaurants in Teaneck. It has become a very popular activity for kids, teens, adults and families alike. No previous art experience is necessary. Classes are perfect for beginners as well as more advanced artists. Everyone goes home with a painting of which they can be proud.
PAINT WITH ME! creator, Nikki Sausen, is very enthusiastic about her passion for art and enjoys each event immensely. An art therapist by profession, she has been interested in art all of her life. PAINT WITH ME! began in April 2015 when a friend asked her to do an event for her shul.
“I had just read about step-by-step paint instruction in a magazine and saw something similar on social media,” she explained, and decided to give it a try.
She had no idea how successful it would be, but the event got rave reviews and her phone began to ring with booking requests.
“The next day I had five phone calls from lots of places,” she laughed. The rest is history.
Sausen soon professionalized by building a website for her business and since then has run many types of events, from bridal showers to team-building sessions, teaching kids and seniors, teens and parents, and everyone in between. She remembers one family event she did where a 4-year-old child and a 94-year-old great-grandfather were able to enjoy the same activity.
Step-by-step painting is unique because it can be done by anyone, Sausen said. She provides all the supplies (including a canvas, easel, paints, a smock and brushes) needed to paint a masterpiece, so people just have to show up. She noted that people with no prior art experience paint beautiful paintings thanks to easy-to-follow instructions. PAINT WITH ME! travels to most places in New Jersey, New York and beyond, including summer destinations in the Catskills, Poconos and Hamptons.
The experience is definitely a lot of fun for the attendees and for Nikki as well. “Seeing everyone laugh, have fun and enjoy each other,” she said, makes her “love it every single time,” and she’s “never not in the mood” to run PAINT WITH ME! classes.
One attribute she loves the most is that the painting classes can take people’s minds off of their tough times for an hour or two. Not only does PAINT WITH ME! distract them, but it gives them a fun and meaningful experience at the same time.
One funny story stands out to her. ”I painted at a family Chanukah party two years ago,” she said. “About a year after, I saw one of the painters at a wedding. He is an ENT who hadn’t painted since kindergarten. We recognized each other, not sure from where. Once we established that we had ‘painted together,’ he told me he had such a great time and really met his inner artist. He enjoyed it so much he added an art studio onto his house!”
PAINT WITH ME! can be booked for private events upon request as well as public sessions at places like EJ’s and the Doghouse. Some upcoming open-to-the-public events include Nine Days sessions at the Doghouse on Monday, 7/16, and Thursday, 7/19.
To register for the Nine Days events, or for more information about PAINT WITH ME!, visit the website at www.paintwithmeinc.com, or follow it on Facebook at PAINT WITH ME! or Instagram at @paintwithmeinc.
By Zach Marcus
Zach Marcus is a rising senior at Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School and a Jewish Link summer intern.
