(ages 3+) Tuesday and Saturdays, every other week via ZOOM.
Drop-in Fee: $15/ per family | ESSEM INSIDERS: FREE
Gather your art/craft materials and join us for some creative fun. We encourage artists to get creative and use the materials available at home! Let’s explore contemporary styles of art and creative expression; experiment in different art styles, and cultivate creative confidence through open discussions and promoting mindfulness and healthy creative habit.
Register Now
Ack, I am so super excited to finally get to share this final music video of my original song, SUPERHERO (Under A Mask) created for the Punto Art Museum and the North Shore CDC to help raise awareness around vital public safety information, through art and music, more equitably to low income, immigrant, and minority neighborhoods. @urban.art.museum @northshorecdc
💫 HUGE THANK YOU to my two super talented friends, Masataka (Piano/Strings) and Jonathan Ulman (Percussion) for making this happen in quarantine and on such a short timeline. Your musical contributions really bring the song to a whole new level. Light and love to you both, @masa_keys @jmudrums 🌈♥️🌞
🤓 Recording and producing the song and video in quarantine with limited equipment and experience was a rewarding challenge that was made infinitely sweeter by the fact that I got to record with my sweet little pumpkin. My heart melts. 💕😭
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“Superhero (Under a Mask)”, a song written by Sophia Moon (Essem Art Studio) imbues virtue and goodness into the small act of wearing one’s mask during this Pandemic. Small kids, especially, find the act uncomfortable and annoying at best, so Sophia’s goal with this project was to inspire the noble and heroic inclination in us all. Credit line: Sophia Moon (singer-songwriter/ ukulele) Masataka Yamamoto (piano/strings) Jonathan Ulman (percussion) Ariana Sophia Crowson (background vocals, feature)
To download or share the song, click the download icon below.
Hey Studio Families! 👋🏼 Hope everyone is healthy, happy, and well. There’s a lot of bleak news out there so it gives me incredible satisfaction to announce something I hope will SPARK some JOY! We are super excited to partner with our friends @growinggigglesctown to provide FREE virtual experiences for you and your little ones! Happy Dance 👯♀️
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Every weekday (not a typo – read: every single weekday) at 10AM, tune into Growing Giggles Instagram page for “A Letter A Day” and at 10:15 AM head over here @essemartstudio for a LIVE 🎶SINGALONG🎵 and an ART INVITATION for the day! This is the kind of screen time we are certain you can be happy about. 😊
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*Fingers Crossed* 🤞🏼I have never done this before, at this frequency, with Ariana as my sidekick for a mommy daughter duo, BUT I do believe we could all use a daily dose of joy, so please overlook any blunders and do join us with your little ones. Wish us luck! Anything can happen!
Hello… Sophia Moon here! My heart it so full… I can’t believe it’s been a year since we opened the doors to Essem Art Studio. So much has transpired… so many pivots, turns, lessons, and explorations. To all the Charlestown families and small businesses that have supported us, spread the word about what we do, created and collaborated with us, thank you so much. You keep us inspired and motivated to elevate our game every single day. It’s been a super fun ride… stick with us because it’s gonna get even better.
At Essem, our mission is to spark joy and inspire creativity in our community. We believe that, at any age, creative play and exploration helps us solve problems, manage stress, communicate better, and simply be happier. To that end, we have expanded our programming to include Creative Workshops in the evenings for adults (Paint Your Pet, Macrame, Still Life Paintings, etc); and we are introducing Mini Maker Camps for more immersive experiences for our little artists/makers in the coming months.
Our usual explorations in color and texture through paint/mediums have expanded to include the use of upcycled materials (cardboard, plastic, bottles, cartons, etc) and goodies foraged from nature (leaves, pinecones, twigs, rocks, acorns, etc). We are also dabbling in Clay Play; Printmaking; Free-form Sculptures; and thoughtfully honed crafts and activities to expand the imagination and empower artists and makers of all ages to make creative decisions.
This summer, we also introduced Music + Art Labs featuring a joyful and interactive singalong session that permit kids to be mindful of the lyrics and melodies. It is super exciting to draw from my extensive experience in music, songwriting, vocal performance, and voice coaching to teach kids to explore their voices and to appreciate the nuances in vocal expression and dynamics.
We love collaborating with likeminded, heart-forward individuals and businesses to bring art and joy to our community. The Kids of Charlestown exhibit, a collaboration with Zume’s Coffee House and Savvy Sitter Boston, is a colorful community art exhibit hanging at Zume’s through the end of September. In September, we will be doing a second installation at Grasshopper Cafe in collaboration with the Charlestown Community Center’s Summer Day Camp program – Kandinsky Kids Art.
We feel so privileged to be a part of this community and to be trusted to cultivating your creative experiences! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!!
This summer, the Charlestown Community Center Day Camp directors, Catherine Farley and Erica Walsh, with support from administrative coordinator Bob McGann, are making this summer one to remember for the campers at their BCYF program. The mission of Boston Centers for Youth & Families (BCYF) is to enhance the quality of life of Boston’s residents by partnering with various organizations. This year we were super blessed to be among the many new relationships.
To culminate the summer fun, campers visited Essem Art Studio and created a collaborative work of art inspired by Wassily Kandinsky’s color study, Squares with Concentric Circle. Each Camper (age 6 to 12) created a single 6×6 square with concentric circles. Watching the kids explore color and thoughtfully create individual mini paintings inspired by one of my favorite artists; and ultimately putting together a collective work of art that will be exhibited at Grasshopper Café—all of it is just magical and fun.
The Kids of Charlestown exhibit is now hanging at Zume’s Coffee House! In total, we had 39 beautiful works of art created by young and budding artists, aged 1 through 10 years old. Everyone did such fantastic work and the collective display is both colorful and impressive. The exhibit will run from July through September.
The summer themed art projects were painted at Essem Art Studio under the guidance of Charlestown resident and abstract artist, Sophia Moon throughout the month of June. Moon has been hosting Art Labs in her studio since last September, providing kids (and their parents) the opportunity for creative play and exploration. A big thanks to all the Charlestown families who participated, making this project a success; to Savvy Sitter Boston for assisting with the Art Labs; and to Debra and John (Zume’s) for the vision and the exhibition space. We enjoyed working with all the young artists—aged one to ten—to create this beautiful exhibit. We hope you enjoy it, and that it inspires you to add a little art to your daily routine.
It was wonderful to meet new Charlestown families and kids; and collaborating with two amazing women Debra Ball (Zume’s) and Lauren Kuruc (Savvy Sitter Boston). The best part was the look of pride and joy in the little faces as they recognized their paintings on the wall. This community art project was a labor of love and our hearts are full.
We are super excited to partner with local hot spot, Zume’s Coffee House (Main Street; Charlestown) and Savvy Sitter Boston to bring a community art experience to the kids of Charlestown. Zume’s walls, usually adorned with the gorgeous canvases of rising local artists, will be dedicated to featuring the art work of Charlestown kids during the months of July, August, and September.
The summer themed art project—abstract florals—will be painted at Essem Art Studio during dedicated Art Lab sessions under the guidance of Charlestown resident and abstract artist, Sophia Moon throughout the month of June. Moon has been hosting Art Labs in her studio since last September, providing kids (and their parents) the opportunity for creative play and exploration. Savvy Sitter Boston—in the service of providing local, dependable, trustworthy and fun babysitters—will assist in facilitating the Art Labs.
The nominal fee to participate will be $5 per child. The fee will reserve a spot for each child in a dedicated Art Lab (typically $25/ per child). The canvases, paint, supplies, and hours of labor to bring the show together are being donated by the women behind the three local businesses – Debra Ball (Zume’s), Lauren Kuruc (Savvy Sitter Boston), and Sophia Moon (Essem Art Studio).
Registration is simple. Choose the date/time below and purchase a session for each child you wish you register.
June 8 | 9:30 am
June 22 | 9:30 am
June 22 | 10 am
*If the above times don’t work for you, you can schedule a private playdate to participate in this community art project with your fellow Charlestown family friends, please email us and we can schedule something. (Minimum 4 kids for a private art playdate)
