{"id":857707,"date":"2026-09-23T11:28:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T11:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/857707\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T11:28:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T11:28:12","slug":"ct-art-workshop-found-a-new-home-it-signs-up-students-daily","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/857707\/","title":{"rendered":"CT art workshop found a new home. It signs up students daily"},"content":{"rendered":"

Create Escape Studio<\/a>, an art workshop and venue in New Milford, recently relocated to a prominent spot on Route 7, and is welcoming new students every day.<\/p>\n

The studio operated out of the Bleachery<\/a>, also in New Milford, for five years. Before that, owner Robin Dann ran the studio on Great Plain Road in Danbury.<\/p>\n

The Bleachery, which houses a variety of businesses in its buildings on the Housatonic River, just didn\u2019t provide the exposure Dann wanted.<\/p>\n

Robin Dann, owner of Create Escape studio in New Milford, offers many ways for people to \u201cget creative\u201d using pottery, glass, paint and other mediums. The studio, formerly located in the Bleachery in New Milford, is now on Route 7 in front of
\nCandlewood Golf Course in a building shared by Coldwell Banker Real Estate. (Emily M. Olson\/)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were looking for a new place, and this has worked out very well for us,\u201d she said, during an interview in the studio. \u201cWe played a game of Tetris to fit everything in here, because we went from 1,700 to 1,200 square feet. We\u2019ve had to make some adjustments, but we\u2019re very happy here.\u201d<\/p>\n

The space, with rear windows that face the golf course and let in plenty of light, was formerly a yoga studio.<\/p>\n

Dann said that since she opened in June, public interest has been steady.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople come in and say, \u2018I\u2019ve been driving by and looking at the sign, and I wanted to see what was in here.\u2019 Previous customers followed us, including people from Danbury.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dann, a retired graphic designer, and her daughters Heather Dann and Lauren Miller work at the studio, along with Maureen Molinaro, senior staff artist. Together, the women teach creative arts to their customers.<\/p>\n

Molinaro, who has worked with Dann since the Bleachery<\/a> days, left a corporate job to take care of family. Like Dann, she decided she wanted something different, and joined Create Escape in 2018.<\/p>\n

She loves the studio\u2019s new home.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a gem. The golf course, the space, the lighting \u2026 it\u2019s just wonderful,\u201d she said. \u201cOur other spaces were great, if you could find us. We couldn\u2019t win, getting people to come down West Street (to the Bleachery) so we had to make a change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Molinaro leads glass painting classes, and recently was preparing to lead a bachelorette party of about 8 women.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do quite a few of those, people are always looking for something different to do,\u201d Molinaro said. \u201cGlass painting is primarily what I teach, so I\u2019m looking forward to being there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robin Dann, owner of Create Escape studio in New Milford, offers many ways for people to \u201cget creative\u201d using pottery, glass, paint and other mediums. The studio, formerly located in the Bleachery in New Milford, is now on Route 7 in front of
\nCandlewood Golf Course in a building shared by Coldwell Banker Real Estate. (Emily M. Olson\/)<\/p>\n

She said the studio gives people a creative outlet, helping them discover skills they may not know they have.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s important, I feel, is to make every project approachable,\u201d Molinaro said. \u201cWhen you come in and see our samples, it\u2019s something you can make yourself and not be intimidated.<\/p>\n

\u201cI talk to people and show them how to cut a piece of glass, how to slice it, and they see how easy and fun it is,\u201d she added. \u201cWe have a lot of regulars who have been coming for years, and I\u2019ve watched them get better and better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robin Dann, owner of Create Escape studio in New Milford, offers many ways for people to \u201cget creative\u201d using pottery, glass, paint and other mediums. The studio, formerly located in the Bleachery in New Milford, is now on Route 7 in front of
\nCandlewood Golf Course in a building shared by Coldwell Banker Real Estate. (Emily M. Olson\/)<\/p>\n

The spacious studio offers tables for two, four or more, where the students who have signed up in advance or just dropped in for a session can do their work individually or as a group.<\/p>\n

While the studio seeks a new pottery instructor using the wheel, students can work with clay by hand, making things like \u201cpinch pot pumpkins\u201d pots and sculpture.<\/p>\n

\u201cHand-building can be a lot of fun,\u201d said Dann.<\/p>\n

The studio provides large and small premade ceramics, from coffee mugs and trivets to vases, bowls and plates, animals and other shapes. Individuals and groups choose a piece and paint it, making gifts and keepsakes for family and friends.<\/p>\n

Once a piece is painted, it\u2019s fired in the studio kiln. Students can pick up their work about a week after they make it.<\/p>\n

Art projects using colored glass is a popular method that more and more people enjoy, said Dann. Students can make mosaics, using pre-cut shapes of wood and gluing pieces of glass to the surface, making everything from decorative mirrors and picture frames to unicorns and owls.<\/p>\n

Fused glass, used to make sculptures, sun catchers, plates and other pieces are another art method that is quite popular, Dann said. Pieces are fired in the kiln before going home with the artist.<\/p>\n

\u201cFused glass art is wonderful,\u201d said Dann. \u201cYou\u2019re working with flat pieces of glass, and you have a little more creative freedom. You are instructed on how to cut the glass and methods that work well for fusion art. We\u2019ve made butterflies, coasters, plates, sun-catchers \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

The studio also has stencils and silk-screening for lettering and other smaller details. At the entrance, collections of completed projects are always on display, intended to inspire people when they walk through the door.<\/p>\n

Create Escape also participates in many classes on- and off-site. Dann and her staff have led corporate team-building events, visited day care centers for art activities, and hosts birthday parties and showers of all kinds.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the children\u2019s parties, I think the parents like it because they can bring the cake or pizza or whatever they want to have, and we do the rest,\u201d said Dann. \u201cWe lead the activity; we do the cleanup. The kids love it.<\/p>\n

\"Robin<\/p>\n

Robin Dann, owner of Create Escape studio in New Milford, offers many ways for people to \u201cget creative\u201d using pottery, glass, paint and other mediums. The studio, formerly located in the Bleachery in New Milford, is now on Route 7 in front of
\nCandlewood Golf Course in a building shared by Coldwell Banker Real Estate. (Emily M. Olson\/)<\/p>\n

\"Robin<\/p>\n

Robin Dann, owner of Create Escape studio in New Milford, offers many ways for people to \u201cget creative\u201d using pottery, glass, paint and other mediums. The studio, formerly located in the Bleachery in New Milford, is now on Route 7 in front of
\nCandlewood Golf Course in a building shared by Coldwell Banker Real Estate. (Emily M. Olson\/)<\/p>\n

\"Robin<\/p>\n

Robin Dann, owner of Create Escape studio in New Milford, offers many ways for people to \u201cget creative\u201d using pottery, glass, paint and other mediums. The studio, formerly located in the Bleachery in New Milford, is now on Route 7 in front of
\nCandlewood Golf Course in a building shared by Coldwell Banker Real Estate. (Emily M. Olson\/)<\/p>\n

\"Robin<\/p>\n

Robin Dann, owner of Create Escape studio in New Milford, offers many ways for people to \u201cget creative\u201d using pottery, glass, paint and other mediums. The studio, formerly located in the Bleachery in New Milford, is now on Route 7 in front of
\nCandlewood Golf Course in a building shared by Coldwell Banker Real Estate. (Emily M. Olson\/)<\/p>\n

\"Robin<\/p>\n

Robin Dann, owner of Create Escape studio in New Milford, offers many ways for people to \u201cget creative\u201d using pottery, glass, paint and other mediums. The studio, formerly located in the Bleachery in New Milford, is now on Route 7 in front of
\nCandlewood Golf Course in a building shared by Coldwell Banker Real Estate. (Emily M. Olson\/)<\/p>\n

\"Robin<\/p>\n

Robin Dann, owner of Create Escape studio in New Milford, offers many ways for people to \u201cget creative\u201d using pottery, glass, paint and other mediums. The studio, formerly located in the Bleachery in New Milford, is now on Route 7 in front of
\nCandlewood Golf Course in a building shared by Coldwell Banker Real Estate. (Emily M. Olson\/)<\/p>\n

\"Robin<\/p>\n

Robin Dann, owner of Create Escape studio in New Milford, offers many ways for people to \u201cget creative\u201d using pottery, glass, paint and other mediums. The studio, formerly located in the Bleachery in New Milford, is now on Route 7 in front of
\nCandlewood Golf Course in a building shared by Coldwell Banker Real Estate. (Emily M. Olson\/)<\/p>\n

\"Robin<\/p>\n

Robin Dann, owner of Create Escape studio in New Milford, offers many ways for people to \u201cget creative\u201d using pottery, glass, paint and other mediums. The studio, formerly located in the Bleachery in New Milford, is now on Route 7 in front of
\nCandlewood Golf Course in a building shared by Coldwell Banker Real Estate. (Emily M. Olson\/)<\/p>\n

\"Robin<\/p>\n

Robin Dann, owner of Create Escape studio in New Milford, offers many ways for people to \u201cget creative\u201d using pottery, glass, paint and other mediums. The studio, formerly located in the Bleachery in New Milford, is now on Route 7 in front of
\nCandlewood Golf Course in a building shared by Coldwell Banker Real Estate. (Emily M. Olson\/)<\/p>\n

\"Robin<\/p>\n

Robin Dann, owner of Create Escape studio in New Milford, offers many ways for people to \u201cget creative\u201d using pottery, glass, paint and other mediums. The studio, formerly located in the Bleachery in New Milford, is now on Route 7 in front of
\nCandlewood Golf Course in a building shared by Coldwell Banker Real Estate. (Emily M. Olson\/)<\/p>\n

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Robin Dann, owner of Create Escape studio in New Milford, offers many ways for people to \u201cget creative\u201d using pottery, glass, paint and other mediums. The studio, formerly located in the Bleachery in New Milford, is now on Route 7 in front of
\nCandlewood Golf Course in a building shared by Coldwell Banker Real Estate. (Emily M. Olson\/)<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAt a shower, nobody wants to sit and open presents with everybody watching anymore,\u201d she said. \u201cThis way you can spend time together and take something home.\u201d<\/p>\n

The studio\u2019s calendar is already filling up for the fall and winter seasons. Along with daily and weekly classes, Create Escape stays open until 9 p.m. on Fridays, for \u201cdate nights\u201d and drop-in students.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy staff members are really into it,\u201d she said of one theme, noting \u201cgetting vintage teacups and saucers and there will be costumes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs soon as those events are over, we\u2019re in full Halloween and Christmas mode,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019ll redecorate the studio, and the Halloween and Christmas classes start at the end of September.\u201d<\/p>\n

The classes offered include lots of pottery painting, mosaics and canvas designs, as well as painting.<\/p>\n

\u201cPaint your own is very popular,\u201d Dann said. \u201cPeople also love making mosaics; you can come in and make something and take it home that day or pick it up later. It\u2019s a chance for people to come in and work at their own pace, with instructors or on their own.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dann worked as a graphic artist for more than 20 years, and found her next career when she opened Create Escape. She still has some clients, but is fully devoted to her studio.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was ready to do something different. This is fun,\u201d she said. \u201cIt gives me the interaction that I crave, and it\u2019s enjoyable. There\u2019s a lot of variety in what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Create Escape is located at 375-A Danbury Rd.\/Route 7 in New Milford. Find them on Facebook<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>, call 203-456-6196 or email createescapestudio@gmail.com.<\/p>\n

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