Hello and Welcome

The Art Nest is a creative community studio that offers a welcoming space for people of all ages to explore a wide range of art media and processes. From pottery, mosaics, collage, and painting to workshops highlighting stamp carving, needle felting, watercolor, visual journaling, and more, The Art Nest is designed as a place to experiment, play, and discover new ways of creating. The goal is not mastery, but exploration, opening the door for individuals to try different art processes and find the ones that resonate most deeply with them.

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In addition to workshops, The Art Nest offers after-school art clubs for children and teens, membership opportunities, and a creative community circle where individuals can bring in personal projects, work alongside others, and co-create in a supportive environment. At its heart, The Art Nest is about making art accessible and helping people build connections through shared creative experiences. Working with the hands, engaging in creative processes, and creating alongside others offers powerful benefits for well-being, self-expression, and community building.

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The Art Nest was inspired by founder Dacia Layton’s work as an occupational therapy educator and artist. Dacia has been a professor at Tidewater Community College for the past ten years, teaching in the Occupational Therapy Assistant program. For the last eight years, she has taught a course called Therapeutic Media, which introduces OTA students to the use of arts and crafts as occupation-based activities to support performance skills, daily living, and overall quality of life.

Through teaching this course and exploring the many ways art can be used therapeutically in occupational therapy practice, Dacia experienced the healing benefits of art personally. This journey led her to further explore the field of art therapy. She is currently in her third semester of graduate school pursuing a degree in art therapy and counseling, with an expected graduation date of May 2027.

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The Art Nest reflects the intersection of education, creativity, and community, offering a space where people can land, create, connect, and grow through art.