Danielle Leveston has made a business of helping others express their creative side.
Her Lansing-based entrepreneurial venture, Paintin & Poppin Traveling Paint Parties, holds private and public paint parties for clients in Chicago and the south suburbs including at her studio at Union Street Gallery in Chicago Heights.
Leveston, an art teacher at Bloom Township High School District 206 and Union Street Gallery board president, launched Paintin & Poppin six years ago. She works with clients to hold in-person parties, typically with 10 to 30 people, and has also held virtual parties.
Having artistic talent is not a requirement. The goal is for people to enjoy themselves.
“Art isn’t just about making everything look like a masterpiece,” she said. “It’s about the process, being creative and being around a community of other people.”
Leveston arrives on site with paint, paintbrushes, easels, aprons and canvases. Each canvas has an image already blocked in.
“I ensure everyone has what they need and lead them through the painting,” she said.” I walk them through the image. I actually paint myself and show them how to do it as they paint.”
She has three rules.
“One is to be comfortable,” she said. “Two is be creative, if they want to go outside the lines a little bit. And the last rule is always have fun.”
Party participants have painted sunsets, wine glasses and figures of people and the Grinch, among other subjects.
The parties typically last around two hours. Leveston has done social events including birthday and anniversary parties, fundraising events and parties for businesses and other clients looking to do team building, she said. She charges $40 per person for traveling parties and $35 per person for parties that take place in her studio at the gallery. She promotes her business via social media and word of mouth.
Among clients she has worked with are Rosalyn Owens, owner of Bronzeville Neighborhood Farm on the south side of Chicago. Leveston has held two events at the urban farm — one attended by seniors, veterans and teens last year and one this year primarily attended by youth working at the farm as part of a summer youth jobs program.
“They love it,” Owens said of the feedback she has gotten from party participants. “Danielle is so good, how she brings out the creative part and the artistic side of people. Last year one of the seniors, he did a phenomenal drawing on his vase. It was three-dimensional.
“We don’t get a chance to use our artistic talents enough unless you are involved in art,” she added. “Some people, when they put their minds to it, they are creative.”
Of her own painting, Owens joked someone might have thought a pre-K child drew it. But that didn’t matter, because she enjoyed seeing other people’s creative work and them having a good time.
Angelique Garza, parent educator at Lester Crawl Primary Center in Lansing, said she reached out to Leveston to hold a painting party at the school as part of a date night for parents of preschoolers there. Staff watched the children as their parents enjoyed painting.
“About 35 parents and some of the staff got to participate,” Garza said. “They were asking when we’re going to do it again. It was really nice. We had snacks and refreshments, pizza for the kids. We definitely want to book her again this year.”
A group picture from the event is hanging in the entrance to the school, she said.
“I feel like we forget sometimes about the arts,” she added. “It’s a nice reminder of how good it feels to create something.”
Leveston knows the joy of artistic creation. She is a graphite artist and painter.
“I’m trying to blend those two worlds,” she said. “My style of drawing within my painting is something I’m trying to explore.”
She currently has a piece on display at Union Street Gallery.
Leveston has a bachelor’s degree from Truman State University in Missouri and a master’s degree in Art Education from Pennsylvania State University, where she received a full tuition scholarship.
Her passion for creating and learning about art began in childhood. One of her earliest memories of creating art was in the second grade, when she wrote a story about a frog who was a detective trying to help a woman find a lost bracelet, Leveston shared. She drew illustrations for the story.
Leveston enjoyed creating art in her youth but noted art classes in middle and high school were limited and she wasn’t adequately prepared when she entered college. Her undergraduate years were tough, but her love for art kept her motivated and sparked her interest in pursuing art education.
She launched Paintin & Poppin Painting Parties at the encouragement of former co-workers and a friend.
“I decided to try it,” she said. “I had one at home and invited friends. I loved it.”
Shortly after launching the business, she faced an unexpected challenge.
“I started a few months before the pandemic,” she said. “I had to shift once April 2020 hit. I ended up doing virtual parties. I was promoting business online at that time. I created an Etsy shop and started selling kits. I’d book a party and send the materials to individuals who were going to be participating.”
What does Leveston consider a successful party?
“When everybody is smiling at the end,” she said. “I love it when people come to me and say they had a lot of fun, and you can tell it was genuine from their expression. I love bringing people together.”
Francine Knowles is a freelance columnist for the Daily Southtown.
Fknowles.writer@gmail.com