Create Space strives to find the ‘artist within’

Published 1:30 am Friday, March 27, 2026

Step inside and leave the world behind.

A cliche, yes, but not at Create Space Langley.

Here where Bunsen burners once blazed, sparks of energy and inspiration zig, zag and zing through the air during Create Space art classes at the South Whidbey Community Center.

Create Space Langley is a place, program and state of mind.

“Every class, we learn something new,” said Ann Hooe, who admitted she’s a relapsed art student with an art degree not put to use in decades. In her third collage session, Hooe said the emphasis on experimentation makes the creative process liberating and limitless.

Sketch, paint, cut, paste, press, write, wire, sew, strum a uke — or venture out and try the more descriptive classes: free-style fiber collage; heart letters / mixed media; watercolor journaling; learn to play the Irish tin whistle; and bookmaking / coptic binding.

Classes generally meet once a week for two to four weeks; cost ranges between $5 to $65. The 8-year-old program continues to surge in popularity, leading to classes being added and the leasing of a second classroom. It also runs a weekly open studio and study hall. Last year, Create Space joined Whidbey Island Arts Council that extends its nonprofit status to emerging arts organizations.

Create Space remains an all volunteer-run program guided by its original mission “to bring people together for low-cost opportunities to unleash our creativity.”

Hooked on the feeling of art

Participants tend to get hooked. Just ask Heidi Anton of Coupeville, who says all the instructors are “fabulous.” She should know, having taken collage, weaving, serenity scrolls, jewelry making, sewing and a couple others she can’t quite remember.

“I love to play, and the atmosphere at Create Space is just so welcoming and restorative,” Anton said. “I just walk through the doors and instantly relax.”

Ellen Santoni has taught watercolor classes to beginner, intermediate and experienced painters for three years. Offering a nurturing, safe environment is important, she said, so students feel more at ease to explore and experiment.

“Art brings people together,” Santoni said. “To watch my students progress from fear to painting with playful abandon, is truly rewarding.”

Started in 2018, Create Space is the arts dream of two artsy friends, Peggy Taylor and Jackie Amatucci. They’d both worked in programs for teenagers that nurtured creative expression without the pressure of perfection. They wanted to replicate that experience with adults.

“We saw youth who had never taken an art class, who didn’t think they had an ounce of creativity, come alive,” recalled Taylor, who has a master’s degree in creative arts education. “Their participation in a judgment-free atmosphere with no goal of becoming a great artist, gave them confidence, expanded their curiosity and opened their minds to new people and new ideas.”

Taylor and Amatucci happened to be walking by the newly converted South Whidbey Community Center in 2018, peeked in windows and wondered if any classrooms were not yet being leased by artists or organizations. One space remained — the former science lab within the Spencer Building, an addition built behind the old brick two-story school.

“It took very little money to get started,” Taylor recalled. “We bought eight sturdy second-hand folding tables and 65 chairs from a party company in Everett for $600. We bought some paint and a few signs and we put a notice on Drew’s List that we were looking for used art supplies.”

Financial backers were also needed to pay facility rent. Taylor reached out and found three friends willing to join her in making a lump-sum annual rent commitment. The first few years, Create Space served as an open studio space where kids, parents and grandparents gathered; it also offered a free class for middle schoolers. In 2022, after being closed for the pandemic, Create Space’s new program, “Seniors Make Art,” qualified for $20,000 of government Covid relief funds.

“We were well aware of how many seniors were suffering from living alone, isolated during Covid,” Taylor said. “We wanted to offer classes at a very affordable rate, and we figured there were a lot of retired artists in our community who would help make this happen by teaching for a low rate.”

‘You Be You’

These days, Create Space, the classroom, overflows with art, art materials, art equipment, art in progress and finished art pieces.

From every corner, every wall, every countertop, every cabinet and every shelf, materials for making art are stored, stacked, stashed, lined up and labeled. Feathers, flowers, fabric, beads, burlap, buttons, ribbons, magazines, calendars, cardboard, shells, ink, stamps, paints, paint brushes. Open a drawer, more stuff. Like a pile of little wooden Scrabble letters. Perfect for collage, jewelry or who-knows-what.

Use it all, use a little of it, don’t think about it, don’t worry about it, don’t fret, just do. And remember, there’s no such thing as a mistake.

Such is the attitude and advice of Jackie Amatucci, a former nun and high school teacher from New Mexico. Her class “Magic of collage: Find your inner artist” fills up fast, often with repeat students who praise her warmth, teaching style and ability to foster camaraderie.

“Jackie is so liberating and fun,” said Steve Franks as he held up his latest collage piece comprised of tissue paper, ribbon, book pages, netting and gold-embellished painted flowers.

“She says all the time, ‘I want you to be you.’ Who doesn’t need to hear that in their life?”

Create Space Langley is looking for more volunteers and an art instructor with experience in live drawing using real models. For information on classes at www.createspacelangley.org