Will you chip in to support our nonprofit newsroom with a donation today?
Yes, I want to support My MLTnews!
Art supplies started taking over Founder Tanya Sharp’s basement one donation at a time. Sharp accepted the steady influx as community members dropped off paints, paper, recycled materials and other art supplies. What began in her basement eventually moved into a dedicated storage space she’s deemed the “art closet.” This became an art supply hub for Spark! Creativity.
“It’s starting to look really disheveled,” Sharp said with a laugh. “People just drop stuff off all the time.”
The growing collection of art supplies reflects the growth of an organization that began just two years ago. What originated as Sharp’s graduate business model at Seattle University, years prior, has since expanded into classrooms across the Edmonds School District.
“What surprised me is that the demand has grown, and it’s grown really fast,” Sharp said. “Word of mouth has expanded, and more schools are wanting arts education in their classroom with teaching artists.”
Spark! began by focusing on visual arts. Today, the organization is expanding into youth leadership programming and preparing to pilot music education, while trying to balance growth with long-term sustainability.
“It also surprised me that we’re growing into different genres,” Sharp said. “We just started with visual art, but I see the value of expanding beyond just that. Our core program still is [providing] teaching artists in the schools, and the demand has doubled from last year.”
As the arts program stretched from a single pilot classroom to serving 1,000 students across seven schools, Sharp said she realized she needed additional support to sustain its growth. She’s since hired a project manager to coordinate the multiple schools and trained new teaching artists.
That growth has created difficult decisions. Sharp said schools continue requesting arts instruction, but Spark! must carefully balance those requests against available funding.
“We’d like to support [everyone],” she said. “We’ve got to see what grant money is going to come in, and then we can go from there.”
Meadowdale Elementary has expressed interest in Spark! potentially offering art instruction from kindergarten through sixth grade, though it remains to be determined. Planning at the start of this coming school year will shape the final program.
Sharp now keeps a growing spreadsheet listing each school’s requests, desired art genres and grade levels.
“I don’t want to leave anyone out,” she said. “Do we prioritize the new schools over our existing schools? Do we prioritize this grade level over that grade level?”
Those are the questions she expects to face again as planning begins for the coming school year. Funding remains one of the organization’s most immediate challenges.
Spark currently relies on a combination of grants, foundations, individual giving and Spark!’s annual fundraiser. Earlier this year, Spark! was initially told it would not receive a Washington state grant, and rather than accepting the decision, Sharp contacted the agency to ask how the application could be improved.
“They came back to me,” she said. “They said actually ‘We got more money…we actually can fund you.’”
Spark! landed a $10,000 grant through Sharp’s grassroots persistence, following up until she received an answer. For Sharp, the rising demand from schools reflects something larger than an interest in just art classes. She believes the arts belong with core subjects like math, science, English and history.
“I think it’s as important of a subject,” she said. “It’s a subject that creates critical and conceptual thinkers.”
Sharp also notes that many people learn visually. “Some 70% of people in general are visual learners,” she said. “That’s a huge amount of people.”
She believes hands-on work has become even more important as students spend more time using technology.
“As kids are online more, using their hands also helps with understanding content and learning,” she said.
Spark!’s teaching artists weave projects directly into the classroom curriculum when teachers request it.
One teaching artist completed the Teaching Artist Training (TAT) offered through Seattle Arts & Culture, and he incorporates Washington state learning standards into art projects.
Sharp said she has encouraged teaching artists to participate in similar training and has begun offering internal professional development where instructors can share techniques, exchange ideas and learn from one another while preserving their own creative approaches and teaching styles.
The teaching artists also bring something beyond technical instruction.
“They’re professional artists,” Sharp said. “It also legitimizes the [artist] profession as something you can do.”
Sharp said teaching artists bring a unique value to the classroom. They enter as guest educators, creating a collaborative learning environment where creativity and learning are interwoven.
Next school year, some of the art supplies that fill Sharp’s art closet will carry stories of their own, transformed by students into creations that reflect their learning, ideas, perspectives and experiences.
Spark! works with teaching artists including Don Wesley, Mona Fairbanks, Julie Perrine, Lisa Palmatier, Brittany Cloyd, Danielle Hayden and Whitney Buckingham, with several new instructors joining the program this year.
Sharp has built a team of teaching artists through a variety of ways. Some have come through relationships formed while she served on the Edmonds Arts Commission. Others are deeply involved in the local arts community or were recommended by fellow teaching artists. Occasionally, she meets artists while visiting schools.
“Sometimes I just pass them in the hallway at a school,” she said. “I give them my card.”
Spark!’s newest initiative places middle and high school students in leadership roles. The Youth Arts Council is designed to champion creative leadership, giving students the opportunity to shape community arts projects from the ground up.
Participants receive stipends, work with mentors and help plan public arts experiences. The Council’s current members are organizing a large youth art exhibition in Everett, funded through the City of Everett Arts & Culture Fund.
My Neighborhood News Group asked the first two Youth Arts Council members to share what it has been like to take on leadership roles and help bring this project to life.
“My favorite part of participating in the Youth Arts Council is being able to make new friends and help make the Art Walk happen,” Audrey Griffith-Floyd said. “I couldn’t have done this alone, so being with all the people who helped make this happen is a lovely experience. They are so nice and listen to all that we have to say. I’m so grateful to be able to do this.”
“I love participating in creating something for the public and being part of the Youth Arts Council,” Nora McKinstry said. “I appreciate the way Audrey and I play such a big role in making this happen.”
Spark!’s Youth Arts Council is currently inviting young artists to participate in its first Youth Arts Council exhibition. This year’s theme, “Where We Live,” invites young artists to explore the people, places, neighborhoods, waterways, forests and communities that make Western Washington home.
*Students can learn more here.
Composing the future
Spark! is also preparing to launch a music education pilot. The program received a $3,000 boost from the sale of a donated Gibson guitar auctioned during Spark!’s annual fundraiser.
Sharp’s husband, Morgan MacRury, purchased the guitar. Sharp said it was a perfect fit because he’s a guitarist in the band Xandra.
Instead of creating a separate music curriculum, the pilot is designed to support existing school music teachers.
“The goal is to support the music teachers [already] in the classrooms and bring in musical coaches,” Sharp said.
Professional musicians would provide small-group coaching while classroom music teachers continue leading instruction.
The next step for Spark!’s music education pilot is finding its first classroom. College Place Elementary is being considered as the launch site, pending Edmonds School District approval. While Spark!’s visual arts programs have been able to move forward without District approval, the music pilot will require approval before it begins.
Looking ahead, Sharp says Spark! is entering another stage of development. The organization currently operates under a fiscal sponsor but plans to become an independent 501(c)(3) and begin Board recruitment in 2027.
“We know that it’s not just testing an idea anymore,” Sharp said. “It’s something that has grown and schools are asking for it, and we’re building the structure needed for long-term impact.”
She said the future board will intentionally reflect the communities Spark! serves.
My Neighborhood News Group asked Sharp what she would do if funding suddenly doubled. Sharp didn’t hesitate.
“I would want to support as many schools in this District as I could,” she said.
Sometimes a spark of creativity begins with something small: a pastel crayon or a piece of clay. These objects might carry little meaning on their own, but in the hands of a student, they can become tools for discovery.
The art supplies that fill Sharp’s art closet reflect a larger belief at the heart of Spark! Creativity – that creativity is not a luxury reserved only for a few, but it’s a way to help young people find their voices and better understand their place in the world.
Based in Edmonds, Nahline Gouin is a freelance writer, ceramicist and arts advocate with experience in art museums and performing arts centers. She continues to create with clay, homeschool her son and write as a creative practice.
Real first and last names — as well as city of residence — are required for all commenters.
This is so we can verify your identity before approving your comment.
By commenting here you agree to abide by our Code of Conduct. Please read our code at the bottom of this page before commenting.