This summer, when art teacher Emily Howard was setting up at Linden Elementary, she was surprised at how many teachers would stop by and quiz her on how she created the unusual pieces of art she made to decorate her room.

“So I thought I would just show them rather than tell them,” she said.

On Tuesday evening, 10 of her Linden colleagues gatherered to create colorful chandeliers inspired by glass artist Dale Chihuly and colorful paintings made from melted crayons for the first “Adult Art Night” for Hamilton teachers.

Michelle Moscarino, a primary multiple disabilities teacher, was part of the group working with crayons.

“I tried this at home and made a mess,” she said as she glued a row of green crayons side-by-side along one edge of a large sheet of paper. “I like making the mess here better.”

After gluing them to the page, she then used a hair dryer to melt the crayons to give the painting a fluid quality.

And there weren’t any children around to eat or throw the crayons.

By the end of the session, she hoped to have a colorful painting of flowers to display in her room.

“I try to make all the colors in my classroom very calming,” she said, and admitted that she’s not really an artist although she came from a family of artists. “I’m not very good at it, but it’s just kind of fun.”

Five other teachers sat around a table cutting abstract shapes out of thin sheets of clear plastic, the first step for the chandelier project, but chatted about everything else as they worked, taking advantage of the opportunity for a bit of socializing while they made art.

“We never get to see each other much even though we’re in the same building all day,” said first-grade teacher Taylor Bates.

“Between working all day, then caring for a house and cooking for a family, we don’t really have time to do things like this,” said sixth-grade teacher Amanda Kuznicki.

“I think it’s important for teachers to learn themselves,” Bates said. “We keep telling our kids that they shouldn’t be afraid to be creative, so neither should we.”

Howard said this was the first of monthly Adult Art Nights that she is offering to staff members at Hamilton schools, which chip in to cover the cost of materials.

“I’m a new teacher, and being an art teacher I don’t work that closely with anyone, so it’s a good way to meet the staff,” she said.

Next month, she plans to show them some glass fusion techniques, and in December create some “cute Christmas things.”