Meet the Founder

It's funny really, I'll have been been running Meraki Art School for four years in September and it's just occured to me that I have never really introduced myself on here, so I thought it was about time.

So hi, I'm Chloe, I'm an artist, educator, muralist and founder of Meraki Art School in Exeter, Devon.

As a child and teenager, I didn’t always find the world easy to navigate. I struggled to fit in, and many social situations felt overwhelming. But what I did have was laser focus and an insatiable curiosity for the things I loved. I didn’t just want to draw - I wanted to know things, deeply and precisely.

At 10 years old I remember wandering through the local library, completely absorbed in trying to figure out how Renaissance artists gave skin that luminous, glowing quality. When I discovered they used green underpainting, I knew I had to try it. No YouTube tutorials back then so it took a lot of persistence and a lots of trial and error, but that didn't stop me, I needed to understand how it all worked. Art gave me a language of my own. I didn’t need to speak, perform, or fit into a group. In my art, I could just be, quietly, honestly, myself.

On my bedroom wall, I had an huge poster of Waterhouse’s The Lady of Shalott and Klimt’s Woman with Snake. I would stare at them endlessly, studying the softness of their skin, the mystery in their expressions, the way light moved across paint. These weren’t just images to me they were windows into other worlds.

Fast forward a few decades and it's that same fascination that drives me.

After 17 years working in primary schools, and making art on the side, I took the leap. In the summer of 2021, just after the lockdowns, I launched Meraki Art School and, with the help of a friend ,we ran our very first classes. With just a few folding tables, big ideas and buckets of enthusiasm, within eight weeks every class was full.

Thanks to the support of Guildhall Shopping Centre and our growing community, Meraki has blossomed into something bigger than I could have imagined. Some of the students from those very first sessions now volunteer to help with the younger ones. I’ve watched them grow from shy kids into confident, expressive young artists. Some have gone on to win scholarships in art, build incredible portfolios, and more importantly find their voice.

It's not just about the art, it's about seeing young people, some of whom have struggled in traditional classroom settings, shine. The quiet ones find their voice in paint and clay and the lessons are always colourful and joyful. We have a lot of laughs together and we encourage our young artists to take risks and try new ways of doing things with no pressure or expectation.

If you have been to one of our Create workshops with your younger child you will know we are big on enthusiasm, but it's the real kind - the I can't wait to start kind - the dancing around the room kind! Our studio is bursting with passion, imagination and a small team of artists who live and breathe art and care deeply about what we do.

I hold a Master of Arts in Education and I'm trained in mentoring and coaching but what I have really learnt is this: when a child feels proud of what they have created, when they believe in their own creative voice, something shifts and that confidence ripples out into every part of their life.

So if you're new here, welcome, and if you've been part of the journey already, thank you. I'm so glad you're here.

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