by Christa D.Weber

A Somerville art teacher joined by one of her pupils spoke at the Feb. 11 contributors meeting of The Somerville News about her 25 years teaching art in the city.

“Most of the people who come to me have careers, but want to find a way to fit creativity into their lives,” said Katherine Martin Widmer, founder of the eponymous school of painting located at 40 Quincy St.

“The majority of my students don’t aspire to have their work hanging in a museum. They’re looking for a creative outlet and are surprised when they find out how creative they really are,” she said.

Similar alternative aspirations led Widmer to her current role as artist, teacher, and guru, yet she did not start painting until she was in her twenties. “No one noticed I was artistic, not even me,” she said.

“I was a different person when I was younger,” she said.

“I grew up in the forties and, back then, if you were pretty, that was enough. No one fostered my talents because I was pretty, I was supposed to get married, and that would be it,” she said.

But Widmer said her fierce independence and versatile creativity would not be contained. She took up painting and, at 24-years-old, opened a dress shop in Harvard Square.

Ambitious but not money-minded, she said she found herself striving to create beauty, both on the canvas and on the women who bought her clothing creations.

When her son was born, she gave up the shop, but continued to become a Gestalt therapist and an organization consultant, she said.

Eventually, Widmer said she found both success in painting and the complex thrill of publicity.

On one hand, she found herself enjoying the attention, she said. “But I came to realize that it had become all about me, and I didn’t like that.”

Widmer said, “I wanted to do something else with my talents, something that wasn’t just about me.”

In 1979, she took out a $5,000 loan, rented two storefronts on Summer Street, and opened the painting school. When the lease expired six years later, she took out a larger loan, and the school, which had become a large part of Widmer’s life, was moved into her home.

Four loans and 20 years later, it has become a haven for blossoming artists from ages five to 83, all of whom, Widmer said have a seed within them that says: I am a creative person.

“They come to me because the school is reasonably priced,” she said. But, more importantly, they come to grow as artists and people.

David E. Blumsack, owner of Rockmont Management and president of the Somerville Kiwanis, said he found himself, in 2002, drawn to the painting school because he needed a creative outlet.

          “I’d done some drawing, but I had never found a comfortable way to express my creativity. I wasn’t structured and knew I needed a push,” he said.

Though he said he felt intimidated at first because some of the class members had more experience, it wasn’t long before he understood that everyone was learning, no matter what their level.

“It wasn’t competitive and was all about having fun,” he said.

Blumsack said still considers himself a beginner. “If I have a style, I haven’t figured it out yet,” he said.

“I’m moving through different styles and I’m mainly influenced by whatever I’m feeling at a given moment. My own passions become what I want to paint,” he said.

For him, painting is the release that comes with knowing that he has a way to express himself in ways that don’t revolve around work or making money, he said.

His experience at the painting school has been cathartic and he believes Widmer is a large part of that, he said.

“She makes you feel like you’re an individual and that there can be no wrong in any way you choose to express yourself,” Blumsack said.

“No matter what subject you paint or what colors you use, it’s all positive to her. She exudes this sense of peace and love and freedom. She’s becomes a friend and an inspiration,” she said.

Widmer, who supports herself selling her paintings, said she creates works in all genres. “What I strongly feel about painting is that color has a tremendous impact on people. I use very strong colors, which are very healing to be around.”

But classes with Widmer are not simply about color or technique or even project planning. She teaches artistic freedom in her classes and voluntary simplicity by example. Each student is asked to volunteer time to the school, either by helping Widmer with one of her projects or by giving time toward the school’s maintenance.

“I just believe you can accomplish great things,” she said.

“Amazing things are possible and I want to show people that, through the painting school and in life. I want to help people see that good stuff is possible when you’re loyal to your instincts,” she said.

Widmer said she was raised to believe in the motto: Work hard, do good.

“She brings out what you’ve always had within yourself by asking you to dig deep and to bring it out,” said Blumsack.

“There this feeling when you go to her school that you’re not just learning how to put colors onto canvas; it’s a connection that runs deeper than the art,” he said.

Widmer said she knows that it does not always make sense for a woman who shies away from publicity and traditional advertising, would she continue to offer four 10-week sessions each year at a school that just pays for itself.

The answer lies in the quest for beauty that she embarked on as a young woman, she said.

“Why wouldn’t I love doing this?” she asked.

“There are so many wonderful people around me, expressing themselves with wonderful ideas. It’s amazing the excellence that is created here,” she said.

“I have never been motivated by making a lot of money. I hold on to simple ways of going about life, and that works for me,” she said.

Because of that, the painting school’s only source of advertising comes from the students themselves, who are given six posters and asked to distribute them someplace in their own familiar spaces, she said.

Widmer said this method works consistently. “Just the right people seem to see the flyers,” she said.

“It brings a very eclectic group of people to the school, meaning we have people of all ages and levels of talent,” she said.

That was how Blumsack said he found the painting school. “I just knew that this was the class I wanted to take.” 

“Now I realize that I want to give my paintings more attention in my life and not just treat it like a part-time hobby,” he said.

He feels his work is evolving and moving toward subject-oriented paintings that feature more focused expression, Blumsack said.

Twenty-five years into it, Widmer is as devoted to the school as she was when she started. Additionally, she is working on a book about peace and she continues to craft her own paintings, she said.

“My premise has always been that everyone is creative and that I can find a way to make them successful in their paintings,” she said.

The most incredible part, she said, is that it always works.