Help Build Akron's Art Community

Hi! My name is Tasha Lynn, and I am looking to open an art and wellness studio/positivity maker in Stow, OH. I set up this page hoping to get a message to my fairy godmother via GoFundMe as I investigate other ways to make this dream come true!

Please spread the word too!

I have two options: find a studio to rent and turn it into a comfortable oasis, or continue to convert the garage and garden into the inspiring studio space of dreams. For both options, I have only one need. Money.

Editing to add - I'm leaning heavily toward creating a beautiful, relaxing, and creative area in my available garage space. Still, I'm ready to get started anywhere a rented space and funding is available. See the end for my visions for the garage!.

Here's why I want to bibbity-bobbity do this. :

First:

After overcoming deep depression, I have felt the way art can quiet the anxiety and lessen the pressure.

For years and for my own needs, I studied different art techniques and meditation practices, read pages of psychology and philosophy, and had a few breakdowns and a couple moments of clarity, until I learned how to heal pains I didn't need to feel anymore.

Art helped in so many ways. Not only healing pain, but also learning how to take challenges head-on and create success. A few simple art practices were instrumental in calming my mind and relaxing my heart, helping me to find peace and passion.

I want to create a beautiful, relaxing space where Akron locals can learn to cultivate their stillness and form community connections and happy futures.

Second:

I am a writer, poet, painter, photographer, and I'm interested in various forms of art, including songwriting, filmmaking, and occasionally knitting. I am a member of several local groups and attend occasional workshops. Almost all events struggle to find a suitable venue that is accessible and as comfortable as it could be. No offense, library.

I want to help alleviate that struggle by not only providing a clean and inviting space that is safe, inspiring, and has great snacks, but also hosting workshops and events to help various artists continue to grow and collaborate.

Most important:

I want to create a space where the spirit of collaboration and connection naturally flourishes. Who couldn't use a few more friends interested in self-improvement and creativity? Strong communities are connected and confident. I want to help create a strong community here in Ohio.

Would you like to help me create something beautiful?

Find out more about the debut collaboration here:

Ohio Music Video Project

https://littlegiftbiglove.com/ohio-music-video-project/

More Details about the heART Work Studio plan:

Transforming a Garage into a Creative Haven

My Vision

“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.”

Van Gogh

We’re turning an ordinary garage into something beautiful—a small retreat studio where art and healing meet. This garage, currently just a shell, holds the potential to become a space where artists and neighbors can create, reflect, and reconnect with themselves and each other. With your support, we can bring it to life!

What We’re Creating

• Creative Workspace: An intimate studio space for creatives of all sorts, writers, painters, musicians, filmmakers, and more, to hold meetings, workshops, and host private events.

• Stillness Studio: A tranquil corner for guided, open-eye art meditation, helping our community find peace and the presence to thrive. Focusing on the science and medical benefits of stillness, we will teach simple, no-skill-required art practices that will provide the space for healing and inspiration.

• Workshops & Events: Regular sessions on writing, art, and mindfulness, for beginners to the most advanced, with the occasional expert sharing their expertise or a local musician setting the perfect mood.

Dreaming Big in Phases

Phase One: $3,500 – A Simple Beginning in the Attached Garage

With a smaller budget, we’ll transform the attached garage we have now into a functional and welcoming launch space for workshops and small gatherings. This includes:

• Calming paint, deep cleaning, and aesthetic touches to calm the senses

• Area rugs, curtains, and soft lighting to create an inviting environment

• Chairs, floor cushions, and open shelving for comfort and function

• Heating and cooling appliances for flexible temperature control

• And of course, art supplies

This will become the first gathering place. We will begin offering workshops, creative meditations, and motivating, creative conversations while we build toward something even bigger.

✨ The Big Goal: $35,000 – A Fully Transformed Retreat Studio in the Detached Garage ✨

With dream-come-true funding, we will turn the detached garage into a fully finished, thoughtfully designed art and meditation studio. This will be a peaceful, accessible, and deeply intentional space for expressive arts, quiet reflection, and healing gatherings to motivate and inspire. Your full support will help us:

• Insulate and soundproof the space for year-round comfort and privacy

• Install a mini-split system for heating and cooling

• Upgrade electrical and lighting for safety, ambiance, and flexibility

• Add high-quality, comfortable flooring

• Build out flexible furnishings: art tables, seating, meditation mats, and storage

• Incorporate calming elements like soft lighting, acoustic treatments, and plants

• Construct a fully accessible half bathroom for guests and participants

• Create a landscaped path and outdoor sitting area with green parking

• And of course, stock the studio with quality art supplies and journaling materials

This will be more than just a room—it will be a safe space. A quiet container for art, therapy, community care, creative restoration, and inspired exploration. A place where people can breathe more deeply, connect more honestly, and create without pressure or judgment more completely.

Why This Matters

In a fast-moving, often overwhelming world, we all need places that remind us to slow down, to listen inward, and to make life something meaningful. Whether it's through painting, writing, meditation, or community connection, this studio will provide a gentle space for you to explore these practices and find relief with other individuals, small groups, and anyone who’s been holding too much in for too long.

Every Bit Helps

Whether you only share this campaign with friends and connections or contribute $5 or more, your support is much appreciated and will help build something rooted in beauty, stillness, and care.

Thank you for helping create something real, something needed, something beautiful.

- tasha lynn -