Social media offers a window into the creation of art, from massive wood carvings to the petite, clay tea pots.
And creative spaces in the Tampa Bay area want to bring all that and more to you in real life. 

Morean Art Center is dedicated to helping adults find their passions through artistic expression. Jackie Kaufman is a professional jeweler. Her side hustle is teaching about UV resin jewelry.

“Anybody can do it, and you can put many things in what we call these bezels,” said Kaufman.

Layer by layer, Kaufman is creating a beach theme in her heart-shaped bezel. There are grains of sand, glitter, a blue background, all encased in the clear liquid turned solid. She puts in a few drops of resin and adds a tiny stingray and little shells. She gets a lot of her accent charms looking for nail art. And here is the interesting part: after 10 seconds of exposure under a UV light, the resin solidifies.

Each layer creates more dimension in the piece. Kaufman says there is no end to what people want to wear, like pet bracelets.
“This is a cat,” explained Kaufman, holding a silver bracelet with a cat-shaped UV resin charm. “And you can actually put the kitty-cat’s ashes, teeth or hair inside the little bezels as a little remembrance. Not for everybody, but some people like to do it and it makes a pretty fun bracelet.”

We move from adorning the body to the abode with elementary school art teacher Linda Griffin. Her side hustle is also teaching art. It’s printmaking called linocuts. Any art you want traced onto a thin square of linoleum about the size of your hand. Griffin uses a simple cutting tool to carve away everything but the picture. Next she rolls out fabric paint with a brayer, rolls it evenly on her carving and then it’s showtime.

“Just apply it, and you are going to press down gently, not too hard. And you are going to peel it back and there’s your print,” she said, showing the new art. 

For the teachers, they’re imprinting their love of art onto their students.

“You are birthing something new. You are a creator,” Griffin said.

And something she tells children also heartens adults.

“Whatever you are making is a one of a kind,” Griffin said. “It’s never existed anywhere in the world and it’s yours.”

We asked the teacher if adults or children were easier to teach. She said they are about the same.