After five minutes of listening to children cry over what color of paint they wanted, Shannon Johnson, hair tied up in a bun and dressed in a weathered smock, raised her fingers and counted down “3, 2, 1.”

The students instantly counted along with her.

She leaned over and whispered, “The trick is to try and control the crazy.”

Johnson is the owner of “Art Smart,” an art studio on the edge Charleston’s square on Jackson Avenue.

When the building she works in now was condemned and remodeled four years ago, Johnson saw it as an opportunity to build a space where she could work on and house her art.

But as the bills began to pile up, Johnson realized giving lessons was necessary if she wanted to maintain the shop.

First, private lessons were offered to seasoned artists.

Soon, Johnson said, parents concerned about the way the school district was managing the art program approached her and asked if she offered classes for kids.

Art Smart, she said, took on what she described as an evolution.

“The public sort of decided what our role in the community would be,” Johnson said.

In the classroom, Johnson taught the kids about the color wheel and how to mix colors.

When one of the children approached her insisting that his painting was complete, Johnson squinted and asked him if he thought he was finished.

When guiding her students, Johnson said she tries instilling them with a sense of independence so they learn how to determine whether or not their work is complete.

Most of the time the students do more than what she asks.

Johnson said her goal is to get these children to the point where they no longer have to wonder if their works are done.

“When I limit them in my imagination, they break through that, and I think there’s no way I should ever limit these people,” Johnson said.

Johnson said she and the children guide each other.

They teach her and she teaches them.

Though she originally planned on converting the building into a studio for herself, instead of teaching children, Johnson earned master’s degree in art education at Eastern, and settled down in Charleston.

Before, Johnson had no hometown because at a very young age her family moved from place to place. One of the students in the background shouted “like a gypsy!”

She nodded in agreement and said, “Yes, like a gypsy.”

Johnson said she stayed here because of the friendly atmosphere and because there is a certain kind of closeness among the people.

“When you walk into a shop, like the JAC, you meet the owners, you become a part of their lives,” Johnson said.

In the shop, Johnson stopped and talked to each of the student’s parents; she looked out for them when they were leaving, making sure they met with their parents safely.

When she decided to live in Charleston, Johnson scoped the area and noted that the city had an established art scene, and then said she wondered what her contributions would include, and feared no one would show interest in her studio.

Now, she said, classes fill up with kids, and she has found herself teaching kids about art and customs outside American culture.

“I’ve taught classes on decorating Mexican skull candy and try exposing the kids to a wide range of arts,” Johnson said.

Actively engaging with the children are her son and daughter, though Johnson explained that her daughter plans on becoming an optometrist.

“She won’t be an artist, but she has seen what’s it’s like to run a business. She has seen it evolve,” Johnson said.

Though Johnson actively runs the gallery while balancing her home life, she has found time to work on her own art, and some of her pieces paintings hang all along the orange and yellow walls of the shop.

Jaime Lopez can be reached at 581-2812 or jlopez2@eiu.edu.