Centre for Arts and Artists

Learning Through Making

Sophie’s role spans everything from program planning and teaching to outreach, artist support, and keeping the Centre deeply connected to Newton. But she takes it to the next level.

“My job is to be a bridge,” she explains. “Between the everyday person and the artist. To help people feel like art isn’t this mysterious thing they can’t touch.”

Under Sophie’s leadership, the Centre offers a wide range of affordable, and often free, opportunities to create. Clay classes, painting workshops, papermaking, jewelry-making, kids and teen art clubs, and monthly calendars filled with ways to participate. Her approach is simple: What would I have wanted? Chances are, someone else wants it too.

Art for All Abilities

Accessibility is central to Sophie’s vision. Through partnerships with Willowbrook Adult Day, Progress Industries, Sheep Gate, the senior center, and local schools, the Centre provides art experiences for people of all ages and abilities, often at no cost. She works with children, teens, adults with developmental disabilities, seniors, and artists alike, fostering an environment where creativity is never judged and participation matters more than perfection. Sophie and the Centre for Art and Artists believe there’s no wrong way to make art.

Demystifying Art, One Person at a Time

At the core of Sophie’s work is a simple mission: make art accessible, approachable, and human.

“I want to demystify art,” she says. “And foster community and creativity here in Newton and throughout Jasper County.”

That means saying yes – to classes, to festivals, to outreach, to ideas that might feel ambitious. It means showing up at farmers markets, hosting free sculpture days, welcoming kids who don’t know where to start, and adults who never thought they were creative. She takes every opportunity for creative connection and makes the most of every moment.

“I wouldn’t be able to do what I do now anywhere else,” Sophie explains. “Newton gives people room to try.”

A Place with a Pulse

The Centre for Arts & Artists has been part of Newton’s story for decades. But under Sophie’s leadership, it feels newly alive, expanding outward, inviting more people in. It’s a place where kids bring their parents, parents become participants, and creativity ripples through our community.

“Art brings peace,” Sophie says. “It opens people up.”

And in Newton, thanks to Sophie and the Centre for Arts & Artists, the door to creating is always open.