Ponte Vedra resident Sandy Stam finds joy in painting. Acrylics are her forte, but she craved for a new challenge. So when Stam heard about the “Birds of a Feather,” oil pastel class offered at the Ponte Vedra Beach Branch Library on Feb. 15, she hopped on board.
The class was brought to the library by the “Color Your World” grant award from the Barbara A. Kay Foundation and it was free and open to the public.
Class attendees were assigned to use oil pastels to create a blue heron along the water. The theme was inspired by the St. Johns Reads 2020 book, “Where the Crawdads Sing,” where character, Kya, has passion for birds and the native marsh’s wildlife, leading her to fall in love with art and painting.
“I really enjoyed the book,” Stam said, “so I figured, why not?”
Hoping to inspire her students to feel the same love for art as Kya did in the book, art teacher Kasha Fahy showed her own passion while introducing herself to the class joyfully and explaining the first steps of the assignment.
“It’s a real joy to be here,” Fahy said to the class. “I’m just excited you guys chose to spend some time with me today.”
Fahy was recommended by a professor at Flagler College, her alma mater, to fill in for an art teacher at the Main Library in St. Augustine. She stepped in voluntarily and that snowballed into a part-time job that branched out to other libraries in St. Johns County and eventually, the Ponte Vedra Beach Branch.
“It really just started as something to keep me in the art world because I missed it so much after graduating college,” Fahy said. “But now, it’s turned into something a lot bigger.”
According to Fahy, the Ponte Vedra Beach Branch didn’t offer any art classes up until a couple years ago, but it was always a high demand.
“It’s really blown up, from one to two classes (in all of St. Johns County), to up to 30 now with the grant,” Fahy said. “It’s exciting to see it evolve.”
Just as excited were the class attendees, an array of women from all professions and backgrounds that paid close attention to Fahy as she guided them through the tracing steps.
“I always want to make things easier like using labels and stencils to help the ladies,” Fahy said. “When you have talent, it’s important to give it back.”
By the end of the class, rows of vibrant blue herons filled the classroom.
“This was so much fun,” said class attendee and Ponte Vedra resident Virginia Maron. “It brings so much peace.”
And that’s exactly what Fahy hopes to bring with her classes.
“I don’t think art is supposed to make you worry,” she said. “I’ve had cancer survivors and others come and say things like, ‘I was struggling and this is so good for motor skills’ and ‘It’s good for inner peace.’
"You start to see that it’s not just fulfilling you, but it’s fulfilling other people. Now, I’m thinking about teaching private lessons.”
Photos by Daniela Toporek
