Amy Bartlett-Goodness ’ 00
BRINGS ART TO THE COMMUNITY
It ' s Fashion Week at Mill Studio Arts . Twenty-two students , ages 6 to 12 , are carefully gluing fabric clothing to tabletop mannequins under the watchful eye of Amy Bartlett-Goodness ’ 00 . The kids are at the Biddeford studio for Fashion Camp , where they design and make the mannequins clothing for an end-of-weekfashion show .
Amy , the founder of Mill Studio Arts , has taken community Arts education to a new level , offering after-school classes and week-long summer camps . “ It ’ s really about giving the kids who love art in school more art opportunities ,” she says . “ It ’ s the same as kids who love gym class and play sports after school .”
Amy was one of those art-loving kids during her years at TA . “ The Art Department was my place ,” she says . “ Dance and art were my passion and I think I took every visual art and dance offering TA had to offer . My teachers at the time , Jennifer Merry and Kathy Nolan , became my mentors and lifelong friends ."
After TA , Amy earned a Bachelor of Fine Art and Sculpture from the Maine College of Art . She added a teaching degree from the University of New England and a graduate degree from Leslie University .
She embarked on a 19-year teaching career that included nine years at Thornton Academy Middle School . Amy left the classroom to be a stay-at-home mom to her two youngest children , but loved teaching too much to stay away . “ I taught at my son ’ s preschool and started offering art lessons at home ,” she says . “ It snowballed and picked up with kids and families looking for more . Once I felt that I had a foundation , I just went for it .”
The ever-expanding list of after-school classes at Mill Studio Arts ranges from Drawing , Painting , and Cartoon Illustration , to Fashion Design , Art Exploration , and even Lego Robotics .
“ We ’ ve branched out to offer STEAM classes – Science , Technology , Engineering , the Arts and Mathematics – science-based Arts lessons ,” she says , noting that the
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