When Tracey Tackett, owner of Sip & Dipity Paint Bar, found out that Gov. Mike DeWine issued a stay-at-home order, she said she expected to take a break to reorganize.
However, her Facebook followers and friends started wondering where she was.
Tackett said those messages prompted her to continue online painting sessions.
“People are sick of seeing bad news in their news-feed and I can maybe distract them or add a little bit of entertainment into their day and paint with them,” Tackett said.
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Prior to the stay-at-home order, Tackett was posting painting videos featuring cut-out shapes. The cut-out shapes are available on Sip & Dipity Paint Bar’s Etsy website, but Tackett said she is currently not shipping orders.
Instead, the current painting sessions are featuring canvas board painting.
Painters will need a canvas, acrylic paint, a 1 inch paint brush, 0.5 inch paint brush, a sharp detail brush and 45 minutes to one hour.
“It’s paint therapy,” Tackett said. “Not only is it socializing and using social media to actually be social with somebody, but it brings them into the studio with me through video.”
Tackett is expecting to do Facebook live paint sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays, but encourages painters to check on Sip & Dipity Paint Bar’s Facebook page for the latest information. Next week she said she is hoping to feature a children’s painting session.
“When they come into Sip & Dipity, I want them to unbury their imagination and realize there is no right or wrong - it just is,” Tackett said. “Everybody’s an artist.”
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Two other local business providing their customers an online experience through Facebook Live is Dance Fusion and Dance Tone.
Dance Fusion offers dance fitness classes at Everybody Fitness and Dance Tone offers dance toning classes at the VFW, but they had to stop when DeWine ordered gyms closed last week.
“We wanted to keep our classes going and keep our people going,” Dance Fusion Instructor Athena Schutte said.
Schutte and Heather Lyday, an instructor at Dance Fusion, offers classes at 5:30 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and at noon on Saturdays. To join, search for Social Distancing Dance Fitness with Heather and Athena on Facebook.
Instructor Tonia Tyree at Dance Tone offers classes at 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. To join, search for Dancetone Ladies on Facebook.
“We’re all there to have fun, burn some calories and put everything aside for an hour,” Tyree said.
DeWine’s stay-at-home order is in effect until 11:59 p.m. on April 6 - unless the order is canceled or modified.
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