Rolling Canvas: How New England’s Only Mobile Arts Center Came to Be

Photography courtesy of Creative Wanderings.

For six months in 2023, Ashley Ernest, her husband Matt Werkmeister and two-year-old son Tate lived as digital nomads, traveling across the United States in a thirty-one-foot camper van. While on the road, Ernest, an artist and educator, taught an online arts class for adults, which in turn sparked a vision for a much larger project. “It just kind of came to me,” she says. “It was this serendipitous moment where I thought this would be a cool thing to do, and just decided to make it happen.” And that’s how Creative Wanderings, New England’s only mobile arts center, was born. Since settling in Barrington in November, Ernest and Werkmeister have turned the van into a fully equipped art studio, bringing creative art projects to birthday parties, schools and community events across New England. Children and grown-ups — yes, they hold adult art parties, too — can choose from a plethora of activities, from clay projects and stuffie sewing to crafting jewelry, wind chimes, paintings, paper flowers and more. For Ernest, it’s not just about the art; it’s also about the experience of creating it. She strives to provide a meaningful creative experience for her clients, leaving them with a quality piece of art they’ll cherish well after the van has been packed up and driven away. “With any job there is going to be stress,” Ernest says. “But it’s good stress. There’s a lot of passion that goes into it.” creativewanderingsart.com