For anyone looking for a non-traditional art class, there is Holistic Bermuda.

It offers painting, drawing, textile, tie-dye and pottery lessons for adults. For “little ones” aged six months to three years, there is “Messy & Me”, a creative experience held on Sundays using “natural, edible, non-toxic and washable” materials.

Art teacher Rachel Simons came up with the idea for the business a few years ago after hosting a few sip and paints as fundraisers for BHS.

“I got great feedback on doing them on a small scale and then started to consider, a little bit more wisely, how to put them on offer,” she said.

She started with personalised lessons – for corporate events, birthday parties and other private gatherings – but then branched out. For people who prefer to create at home there are sip-and- paint kits and, for the public, she hosts monthly themed classes “that combine art and socialising, allowing participants to unwind, unleash their creativity, and build lasting memories”.

“We have partnered with The Botanist, Azura and, most recently, The Dockyard Café to host ticketed sip-and-paint events, where participants are guided through the painting process with a live demonstration and can enjoy a beverage and snack as part of the ticket price. The idea was to make it more of an experience for people and it's been really popular.”

Ms Simons is hoping to grow her business through Ignite Bermuda’s entrepreneurial accelerator programme, which begins in January. With two children under the age of five, she is grateful to have “very supportive” family members who will help her to find the time.

“I did their Fuel Your Ambition series in 2022, which was their online version, and I’m really excited to be part of the core programme this time round. The nature of a small business is that you do have to wear all these hats. I've got these ideas but how do I market this? How do I use social media effectively? How do I manage the finances – all of those different aspects. I'm really excited to have the opportunity to be mentored through the process and have a little bit more guidance on how to grow the business.”

She loves that Holistic Bermuda has given her the opportunity to introduce children to the arts in a way that she cannot do in her full-time job.

“It’s different. You’re not bound to a curriculum. I always come away from them feeling really lifted,” she said.

Ms Simons is similarly motivated by the response she has had from adults who have joined her classes.

“I’m a big believer in the connection between creativity and wellbeing. I like seeing people being happy with their experience and feeling like they produced something that they perhaps were a little surprised by,” she said.

“Lots of people come having no prior painting experience; perhaps the last time they did it was in school or college.”

The Messy & Me classes began because she could not find anything similar that was offered here on the weekends.

“I was actually looking for art-based activities that I could do with my eldest daughter and what I was finding is that if you worked full-time, it was more challenging to find stuff that was available on the weekends.

“There were lots of great things going on – I know that Kaleidoscope has some really good stuff in the week – but there was not that much out there if you wanted to do an arts-based thing on the weekend.”

Messy & Me was born.

“I did a lot of experimenting on my own daughter at home. Testing ideas out and especially making sure that the ingredients that we used were edible and not toxic; that they were nice and safe because the first place it’s going to go for that six-month-old is into their mouth,” she said.

The classes are held over the summer months at BHS. A “huge tarpaulin on the floor” eliminates any worry about paint ending up where it should not be.

“It was very much an invitation to come and get really messy and not be worried about paint ending up on furniture, or having it be a little bit more stressful in the house. I found that people really enjoyed being able to do it on the weekend. Often we get the dads coming along, which, more typically, they might not get to do for some of those in-the-week activities.”

The classes are centred around several “quick activities”. Each involves “a lot of sensory exploration”.

“Before I was teaching here, I was doing gallery education in London. So I’m used to working with different age groups, different types of people and I really enjoy coming up with offerings that will allow different groups to access their creative side,” she said.

“The fun thing about the baby classes is that you also see that enjoyment in how much parents enjoy being involved. They haven't got to unleash their creative side for a while; it becomes more of a family experience where everybody can be creative and explore through a range of materials. It's definitely been a natural progression from the teaching but it's just something that I find really rewarding.”

• For more information on Holistic Bermuda: holisticbermuda@gmail.com; 734-1195; www.holisticbda.com and @holisticbermuda on Instagram