Studio Notes on Substack
Welcome to a cozy little corner of Petite where we share notes from inside the studio on art education, observational art making, and material literacy. -A+J
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Originally shared as a Studio Notes post on Substack.
Petite Art Studio is a fine art studio in Katonah, New York. We work with children, teens, and adults. The writing here is an ongoing journal of our teaching philosophies. We’ll dive deeply into various art education topics as our curriculum and studio space continues to evolve as we move into our second year as a studio.
Much of our work centers on slowing down in a world that asks us to move quickly. Our work is rooted in emotion, nature, and open-ended, student-centered learning. In both the public school classroom and the studio, we see how powerful it is when students are given time to look closely, to revise, to sit with a problem, and to trust themselves.
This Substack is a studio sketchbook of sorts. A place to reflect out loud and to name what often goes unnoticed in art education. I’ll share project and curriculum notes, art theory, and more to hopefully engage fellow artists, art educators, and the art-curious in discourse.
Here’s what you can expect to find here:
Reflections on the relationship between teaching art and creating art
Thoughts on material literacy and technique
Writing about beauty, comfort, and the care that goes into artistic learning spaces
Observations about what children reveal through their work at Petite
Notes on practice, patience, and sustained attention
We’re not interested in over-intellectualizing art, but we don’t believe it’s accidental either. Beauty isn’t superficial. Skill isn’t restrictive. And children don’t need less structure…but better structure, offered with respect.
This space is for parents, educators, artists, and anyone curious about how we teach, how we make, and how much thought and care goes into our curriculum.
A quick bio:
Since the day we first met, we’ve stayed in open dialogue about teaching philosophy, pairing Amanda’s years of experience with Julianne’s fresh perspective and continually refining our practice together. Our SEL-informed approach teaches fine-art foundations in a calm, welcoming space, centering observation, experimentation, and thoughtful craft. Grounded in student choice and mindfulness, our teaching helps artists of all ages build skill, develop voice, process emotion, and create with confidence.
