Glens Falls Chronicle Serving the Glens Falls/Lake George region; Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties since 1980
By Ben Westcott, Chronicle Staff Writer
The Creative Jam, located behind The Log Jam restaurant amid the Lake George outlet stores, offers an outlet for people to pursue pretty much any artistic creative endeavor one can think of — from painting to cookie decorating to creating Turkish lamps. There are improv, book folding and flower pressing classes, to name a few.
Owner Darcy Leigh, the sole employee, said she trained soft skills for New York State before opening Creative Jam in May 2024.
“I love teaching people and I also had the creative aspect on the side,” said Ms. Leigh. “And as it was getting time that I could retire, I started thinking about what I wanted to do instead….
“I knew that I wanted to do something else besides being in the grind of politics.”
She said she moved to Gansevoort from Colonie during the pandemic and found vacant commercial space at 6 State Route 149 where Fish307 had operated.
“I really just fell in love with the way it feels in here,” she said. “I love the cabin, I love the energy of it.”
She spent eight months renovating the space pouring over $20,000 into the building. But, she says, “It’s more about the heart that I put into this,” noting “a lot of hours” she spent renovating.
She said “a lot of people donated for this to work. A lot of furniture’s been donated, plants, etc.”
Conversations helped her determine her path with Creative Jam.
“The more I talked to people, the more I realized there was a need for two things: One, a place to work on stuff, because a lot of people are working on their kitchen table or clearing stuff off their living room couch so they can work. Not everyone can afford a studio or an extra bedroom.
“The more prevalent thing that people need is community — other people. There seems to be a missing sense of that. Everything’s online, and the places that we used to go to sort of share air with other people — we don’t do that anymore. We don’t go to the mall, we don’t go to church, we don’t do bingo. So where do people get together and feel like they’re welcomed?”
“You can have friends online, but it’s not the same as having friends in person,” she said. “This is a place where you can have friends in person.”
She welcomes all skill levels.
“If you’ve never picked up a paint brush and you’re not sure how to use a glue gun, you’re also welcome here,” she said.
“You don’t have to be a creative person to be here. You can be a person who’s interested in it or just wants to hang out with creative people.
“I think sometimes people get discouraged along the way, and they have that voice in their head that they’re not very good, or ‘Oh, I can’t draw a straight line.’ Well, you probably can’t. You’re not intended to. That’s why we have rulers.”
For the classes, Ms. Leigh said, “Most people just want to come in, enjoy their time, and say ‘See what I made!’ There is some learning that goes with it, obviously, but it’s more about having a good time and meeting friends.”
Beyond classes, people can just pursue their own artistic endeavors.
At first, she recalled, some people were thrown off by the Creative Jam name, thinking of the fruit preserve spread. But she decided to embrace it.
“Last year a lot of people came in asking me what kind of jam I had. At first I was kind of annoyed, but then I said, you know what, I’m going to lean into that. So I now have organic jam, and the lady who makes it also comes twice a year and teaches how to make jams and jellies.”
Ms. Leigh is working on starting a non-profit called The Creative Jam Foundation “so people who really can’t afford to come get creative can still come and get creative.”
Creative Jam goes into some unique directions. It has a rotary phone on the porch dubbed the ‘Never Too Late Line’ that people can use to “talk” to deceased loved ones.
Also on the porch is a Free Art Library from which this reporter grabbed a painting to brighten up his sparsely decorated apartment.
Ms. Leigh also directs people to her online blog Dear Creative Diary.
Hours at Creative Jam vary. Ms. Leigh urged people ti call or check Facebook or the website to find out when it’s open.
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