Since August 2018, DIY Art in VillageWalk has been a haven where people of all ages can exercise creative energy and turn it into all sorts of arts and crafts that will serve as fond memories for years and years to come. Get to know Elizabeth Gaze, the owner of DIY Art, and how she brought her art shop into fruition.
Nonahood News: Tell me a little bit about your shop, DIY Art, in VillageWalk.
Elizabeth Gaze: So here, I offer after-school art clubs, mostly for elementary school kids. For birthday parties, any age – like I’ve had 4-year-olds and I’ve had 65-year-olds having birthday parties here. I’m offering wood signs now, more of the sip-and-paint designs as well, so it’s pretty much if you tell me what you want to do, we’ll figure out how we’re gonna do it. I like to be creative.
NHN: What drove you to open up the shop?
EG: I took time off when my son was born, and when he went to preschool, I told my husband I wanted to go back to work. But he works a lot, and it was going to be really hard for me to have a regular job – we try not to put our child in daycare – so I actually started out mobile, where I worked from my house and I went to your house, or wherever you want to go, and I would teach the class. That was great, and it gave me the flexibility I needed to where it worked with my family real well. And when this space became available, I applied for it.
NHN: Do you personally teach any of the classes/services offered? You said earlier you only have two other teachers?
EG: Yes, and they teach one school – they teach over at Eagle Creek – and I do pretty much everything else.
NHN: Do you mostly do paintings or other types of arts and crafts?
EG: With kids, I do a lot of different things. I have one club where I teach drawing, and we teach more of the cartoon-style drawing because it’s important that the kids like what they do. If I teach them how to draw landscapes, they don’t really care, but if I teach them how to draw cartoon versions of the Harry Potter characters, they’re super excited. And the lessons are pretty much the same, so it’s good skills. But then, I have a class where we do painting, and we do an 8×10 every week. And I teach them a little bit about mixing and combining colors, but then, we do other stuff, too. For the holidays, we did lots of crafts, where we made gifts they could take home to their parents or grandparents. This week, we made our Valentine’s boxes – it’s fun and creative and they like it. Or if the school has a STEAM project. A couple of weeks ago, we did a conveyor belt, using a box and rubber bands …
NHN: That’s very creative.
EG: Yeah, well, it was a school assignment, so [to] the kids that were in art club, I said if we want to work on it here … everybody’s were a little different, but we had all the supplies and we really put the thought into it. It was fun.
NHN: So there are several art clubs based within this shop?
EG: Yes, I have an art club that meets at Eagle Creek that somebody else teaches. I teach the Laureate Park Elementary club, and here, we have a drawing club and a painting club. And then, I just throw in some extra activities with that.
NHN: What brought you to Lake Nona? And why VillageWalk?
EG: My husband works for the VA; he retired from the Navy, and this is where we landed. We’ve been here eight years; it’s good. I’m originally from Texas, so when we moved here, there was like a lot more green space, so it’s an adjustment. We love VillageWalk; we love our neighborhood. We’ve been in VillageWalk the whole time. I live one street over [from the shop]. It’s a 10-minute walk. We have a golf cart if I’m feeling super lazy. It’s really nice, too, because the bus lets off right by the basketball court, so when my art clubs meet, you get off the bus, you come here, I get the kids a snack, we have our lesson. And I do have a few people that drive over from Laureate as well.
NHN: What’s been the most rewarding aspect of opening up DIY Art?
EG: I like that I’m not only able to be a part of the community, but I also do a lot of giveback events. I actually donate back art supplies. I’ve given thousands of dollars in art supplies to [Laureate Park Elementary], which is just awesome. And just being a part of community events, like getting to know everybody, and I love when I’m at the grocery store and a kid comes up. I just like that; it makes me feel like I’m home.
NHN: Any future goals/plans with the shop?
EG: I just want it to keep growing. I want to be a presence, if that makes sense. I mean, there’s so much to do here outdoors, but indoors particularly, like my son … we joke that he rejects nature. He’s allergic to grass; he’s allergic to flowers. He gets bit by more than two mosquitoes, and we’ll end up at Nemours. So he does karate and that’s great, but there’s not a lot of indoor activities. This is something to do when it’s blazing hot in the summer. I keep it at 72.
NHN: Anything else you’d like to highlight about DIY Art?
EG: I love working with all of the kids, and I love being able to give back. I just got an email from a school that’s not even around here, and they want me to come to their Fine Arts night. Because kids … like at school, they have their standards they have to hit, but here, they can just …
NHN: Be free?
EG: [laughs] Yes!
DIY Art is located in VillageWalk at 8524 Insular Lane #103. For more about DIY Art, check out https://squareup.com/store/DIYArtLLC or connect with DIY Art on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/DIYARTLLC/) and Instagram (@DIYArtLLC).
Photos Courtesy of Elizabeth Gaze
