june 1, 2016 - memberclicks · june 1, 2016 the accuracy of antiques roadshow often comes into...
TRANSCRIPT
June 1, 2016
Table of Contents
More Than 1,400 Artists Capture Beauty of B.C. in Day‐Long Painting Competition ................................................................................ 2
Art‐Loving French Mechanic Snags a Renoir Online for $700 .................................................................................................................... 2
‘Antiques Roadshow’ Mistakenly Values High School Art Project at $50,000 ........................................................................................... 3
National Arts Supply Store Opens in Downtown Bridgeport ..................................................................................................................... 4
5 Ways Art School Prepares You For Adulting Like No Other College Experience ..................................................................................... 5
Masterpieces Lost in Italy Museum Heist Recovered in Ukraine ............................................................................................................... 7
Just Outside Las Vegas, ‘Magic Mountains’ Brighten Up The Desert Expanse .......................................................................................... 8
Growing Humans, One Paint Brush at a Time ............................................................................................................................................ 9
Drawn to Art ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 10
Bob Sikes Elementary Teachers Step Up to Offer Art .............................................................................................................................. 12
Have a Painting by Late Artist C.J. Brobst? His Family is Willing to Pay You For It .................................................................................. 13
Upstate Professor Helps Solve Million‐Dollar Stolen Art Mystery ........................................................................................................... 14
Post‐it Note Art War Engulfs Ad Agencies on New York City Street ........................................................................................................ 15
This Modern Fiber Art Will Fulfill Your Boho Fantasies ........................................................................................................................... 16
Appleton artist, 12, showcases work alongside Matisse ......................................................................................................................... 18
Nurturing the Artist Within ...................................................................................................................................................................... 20
Budget Cuts Threaten Program Helping People With Developmental Disabilities Make Art and Money ............................................... 22
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More Than 1,400 Artists Capture Beauty of B.C. in Day‐Long Painting Competition Amateur and professional artists took part in Opus Outdoor Painting Challenge
More than 1,400 amateur and professional artists set up their
easels outside to capture the beauty of Southern B.C. for a
competition on Sunday.
Opus Arts Supplies hosted its annual "Outdoor Painting
Challenge" at its stores across the Lower Mainland and in
Kelowna.
"We encourage people to go out into the community, and just
paint," said Trevor Code, a store manager.
Each participant was given a free canvas by organizers.
They had from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. PT Sunday to complete a painting using inspiration from a designated "painting zone"
surrounding one of the art supplier's stores.
More than $21,000 in gift cards and art tools were up for grabs in children, youth and adult categories.
Code said judges look for images that capture "what it is to be in a community and be expressive."
How that manifests itself, can vary, he added.
"We've had prize winners who have picked up pieces of earth and put it in the paint," he said. "We've got prize winners
who do the most photo accurate representations of where they were sitting."
Many of those who participated produced stunning work in the time they were given. CBCnews: http://bit.ly/1TIHsxy
Art‐Loving French Mechanic Snags a Renoir Online for $700
LYON, FRANCE: An unemployed mechanic in Lyon, France may have hit the jackpot, all thanks to his love of art. Since
losing his job, Ahmed Ziani has kept himself afloat with buying and selling low‐priced artworks. But with his latest online
purchase, he might have found a long‐lost painting by the young Pierre‐Auguste Renoir, Le Progrès reports.
Ziani paid $700 for an artwork listed in the classifieds site Le Bon Coin, which he believed to be an unsigned work by the
18th‐century painter Vernet. But as the passion for art seems to run in the family, Ziani's 11‐year‐old son spotted a
hardly legible signature and a date on the canvas when the work arrived: A. Renoir, 1864
Consulting literature on Renoir, the studious Ziani identified the artwork as Soir d'Eté, a work created by Renoir when he
was only 23, and had yet to develop the impressionist style he is either admired or passionately hated for.
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As reported by the Local, records show that the painting was exhibited in
Paris in 1865, but has later disappeared and is listed as missing by France's
National Art Institute. To complicate things further, while the painting in
Ziani's possession is marked with a classification number on the back, files
from 1853 onward are missing from France's National Museums' Archive,
making it impossible to determine what the number might indicate.
While experts who are now examining the work confirmed that the
pigments, framework, and type of canvas correspond to those used by
Renoir at the time, a decisive authentication could take months. In case of
a positive attribution, Ziani could become a multi‐millionaire. According to
Artnet's Price Database, Renoir's Bal au moulin de la Galette sold for a record $78 million at Sotheby's back in 1990.
This isn't the first time a Renoir painting lands in the hands of an unsuspecting art lover. In 2012, a masterpiece by
Renoir was bought at a flea‐market in Virginia, for just a few dollars. It was for sale in a box of trinkets and still carried a
label from the Berheim‐Jeune arthouse in Paris, a famous purveyor of works by Renoir.
What other priceless masterpieces might be tucked away in people's homes? Only recently, another sensational find
was made in France, when a family clearing out their attic stumbled across a forgotten Caravaggio, which was
immediately declared a national treasure. artnet news: http://artnt.cm/1spwAhc
‘Antiques Roadshow’ Mistakenly Values High School Art Project at $50,000
Recently on an episode of Antiques Roadshow, an art appraisal
went very wrong. An Oregon man who presented a clay jug to
one of the program’s apparent expert appraisers received word
that it dated to the late 19th century, had emerged somewhere
in the “Middle Atlantic states headed southward,” and had a
value of up to $50,000. However, it turned out to be the
creation of fellow Oregonian Betsy Soule, sculpted in her high
school ceramics class in the 1970s.
Owner Alvin Barr had bought the pot, decorated with six beast‐like faces, at an estate sale in a barn in Eugene, Oregon,
for $300. He was naturally short of breath when Antiques Roadshow‘s bespectacled expert appraiser Stephen L. Fletcher
(specializing in clocks, decorative arts, folk art, and furniture) revealed its alleged market value.
“It was covered with dirt and straw,” Barr told Fletcher. “Looked like some chicken droppings were on it. It was very
dirty. I had to have it. It speaks to me … it was saying, ‘I’m very unusual … I’m very different.'”
The episode — titled “Grotesque Face Jug” first aired last year, but PBS recently issued a correction online after
receiving a call from Soule, who also sent a photograph of herself surrounded by similar pots she had made. Now a
horse trainer, Soule had first heard about her onscreen handiwork from a friend who saw the episode in January,
according to The Bulletin, and told her, “You’ve got to get on the internet and look up Antiques Roadshow; that weird
pot you made is on there.”
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The accuracy of Antiques Roadshow often comes into question (it is, after all, intended to entertain); the show’s
producers make clear that the appraisals are “verbal approximations of value” and are presented in context, but rarely
— if ever — do such blatant errors occur. Past appraisals have received updates to better reflect art market forces, but
Fletcher’s was simply way off. In this context, his lovely spiel to Barr, which includes him dropping that he’s been in the
business for 20 years, is simply hilarious, consisting entirely of obvious and broad descriptions:
In my experience, to a certain degree, they tend to be predictable, and in fact, some of them are attributable, and some
of them are signed, and they even make grotesque face jugs today. When we turn this around, there’s a whole variety
of, well, characters, and this particular person looks like he had an eye injury. They’ve stitched his eye closed.
They all have very distinctive characters or personalities. This person speaks with a forked tongue, it would seem.
There’s a little damage here and there…When we look at the base clay, it’s red ware, and the potter has used an
impressive array of techniques to come up with this extraordinary texture.
This, in its own way, is really over the top. It’s bizarre and wonderful. You even see a little bit of, like, Pablo Picasso going
on here. It’s a little difficult to identify precisely when this was made, but I think it’s probably late 19th or early 20th
century.
On its website, PBS now lists the work with a retail value of $3,000–5,000. Fletcher has also released a statement,
admitting that “as far as its age is concerned, I was fooled, as were some of my colleagues.
“We have sold at auction several examples from the 19th century — all of which are from the eastern half of the United
States, and have a single grotesque face — some for five figures,” he said. “This example, with its six grotesque faces,
was modeled or sculpted with considerable imagination, virtuosity and technical competence. …The techniques of
making pottery, in many ways, haven’t changed for centuries.
“Still not bad for a high schooler in Oregon.” Hyperallergic: http://bit.ly/1Wvz36p
National Arts Supply Store Opens in Downtown Bridgeport
BRIDGEPORT, CT: A national arts supply store has opened up
its first Fairfield County location at the former supermarket
space in the Arcade mall downtown.
Artist & Craftsman Supply opened its doors on Main Street last
month. It is the chain’s second location in the state. The first,
located in New Haven, opened in 2014.
“We try to have something for everybody,” said Will Iannuzzi,
the store’s manager. “You can be a veteran artist or a
newcomer or just someone who likes to try out some arts and
crafts stuff.”
The space is the former home of Ripka’s Bridgeport Market, a grocery store that opened and closed in 2013. But walking
into the store, there’s no indication that the space used to have aisles of fruits and vegetables.
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Instead, the transformed supermarket space now has beads of all sizes and colors where the meat locker used to be
located and the ceiling is painted in shades of red, green, blue and yellow.
Besides the usual supplies, like markers and traditional paint, the store also has spray‐paint cans in a wide range of
colors, a wall of more than 100 prints of cotton paper that can be used for wrapping or decorating and a variety of paper
mache shapes.
It also sells clay, soap‐making and candle‐making supplies, paint brushes, wooden pieces and oil paints.
Iannuzzi noted children are likely to find whatever they need to build a school project, and there are small toys and
knick‐knacks sold in the store, as well.
It also caters to the adult craftsman, with an assortment of hammers, staple guns and screwdrivers.
The company was lured to Bridgeport because of its thriving art community and urban element. “We’re looking at a lot
of urban areas that are underserved and traditional big box retailers don’t want to go,” said Rob Dingman, senior
regional manager for the chain. “We don’t go out into the suburbs and strip malls. We tend to be an urban destination.
It’s also the places where artists go.”
The Read’s Artspace is located just behind the Arcade building.
“I think it makes a pretty neat symbiotic relationship,” said Michael Moore, president of the Downtown Special Services
District. “I do think it’ll have a ripple effect of helping to build that community and help to showcase the arts we have.”
Iannuzzi said the store has received a great deal of support so far. “We’re really hoping to be a catalyst down here and
get some foot traffic,” he said.
Dingman said stores typically become tailored to the market. While the Bridgeport store has a wide range of supplies, it
may begin selling more or less of a product depending on the demand. “We’re very nimble and flexible,” he said.
The Arcade mall has seen its share of businesses come and go since it was renovated and reopened several years ago.
Another new business, clothing store Mr. and Mrs. Goodwear, opened in the building several months ago.
And a large sign next door advertises the upcoming opening of a business called Meatball Heaven — a nonprofit
organization called Work to Learn Enterprises plans to open an establishment that will not only sell meatballs but will
provide cooking classes for children. CT Post: http://bit.ly/22wxLrK
5 Ways Art School Prepares You For Adulting Like No Other College Experience
For most students, college is now coming to an end, and the
next chapter is beginning. Adulthood is on the horizon, and
we couldn’t feel more conflicted about leaving everything we
know behind.
Students are graduating from medical schools, law schools or
liberal arts colleges. However, I like to feel like the lucky one
because I am graduating from an art school. My art school
experience wasn’t like the one from “Fame,” where people
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are singing and jumping on cars. It also wasn’t like the clichéd depiction of art school, where moody students are eating
croissants and drinking coffee.
I’m graduating from a stress‐filled, mood‐board‐designing, late‐night‐sketching life. I learned incredible lessons not
every student is fortunate enough to experience.
So, here are five ways art school taught me to be an adult:
1. Nothing in life is free.
Sure, you have FAFSA and scholarships to help you out, but who’s paying for your projects? Who is supplying your last‐
minute mood board fabric swatches and supplies to make it pop? Color printing for 53 images is not cheap.
No matter how sweet, beautiful or likable you are, you cannot get a discount on overpriced art supplies. This taught me
that this is what life is. When you need something for your job or just to survive, you have to figure out how to get it in
order to succeed.
2. Let go of your ego.
We are going to be critiqued every day of our lives, and we have to get used to it. When you go into a work environment
or freelance gig, you need to let your ego go.
Not everything you do will be praised and accepted. You have to learn to be understanding and open to critique. This
will allow you to be successful and see different perspectives, which will ultimately better you.
3. Networking is key.
When we had different projects that involved skills we didn’t excel in, we would find someone to help us out. We would
make friends outside our major in order to help us pass assignments. If I didn’t know how Photoshop worked for a
project, I would find someone. If someone needed help on styling for a photo shoot, I would volunteer.
Networking is essential to build a career in today’s world. You never know who you’re going to meet or what someone
can offer you. So, get out of your comfort, and say hello to your next open door.
4. Life is a competition.
It sounds pretty clichéd, but this is the truth. When we would have class assignments and have to come up with new
ideas for a mock PR piece, it would get pretty competitive. Even if it was just for a grade, we wanted to be the best and
get praise from our teacher.
If one student shared an idea, another student would snowball off it and make it better. Think of this for your next job.
Remember your best ideas should never be shared unless it is with your boss or the executives. It will allow you to avoid
the backstabbers and anxiety early on.
5. Always believe in yourself.
Sometimes, we are unable to see our full potential. Sometimes, our peers will have to push us to these limits in order for
us to reach the success we were meant to achieve. We need to go outside of our everyday boxes and think a little
differently.
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This allows us to be more open to change, to come up with fresh ideas and to weed out the bad ones. If you can’t see
yourself the way your peers see you, then you wont have a chance at success. Believing in yourself can be hard, but it is
worth it when you finally do achieve all of your goals.
Art school has been the roughest and most memorable four years of my life, and it was so much more than your typical
college experience. I was surrounded by amazingly talented people, and all of them wanted to fulfill their life dreams.
Some days were rough, while others were tedious. But whenever I had the chance to excel, I always gave it my all. This is
exactly what it’s going to be like in the “real world,” and I couldn’t be more prepared than I am now. Elite Daily:
http://elitedai.ly/1Vu5G3b
Masterpieces Lost in Italy Museum Heist Recovered in Ukraine
VERONA, ITALY: Paintings including masterpieces by Rubens
and Tintoretto that were stolen from a Verona museum last
year have been found in Ukraine, Italy's culture minister said
Wednesday.
"It is a great day," the minister, Dario Franceschini, said in a
statement. "The artworks will soon be back in the Castelvecchio
(museum) in Verona."
The recovery of the 17 paintings, which had a combined
estimated value of 15 million euros ($16 million) follows the
arrest in March of 12 suspected members or accomplices of a
Moldovan gang which the Italian authorities believe carried out the heist in November 2015.
Franceschini thanked the Ukrainian authorities for their help in tracing the art works which Italian media reported had
been stolen to order for a buyer based in Chechnya.
Ukrainian President Petro Porochenko said the recovery of the paintings was a sign to the world that "Ukraine is starting
to effectively combat smuggling, including smuggling of artworks, but also to combat corruption."
Verona's mayor also voiced his delight.
"We are breathing an enormous sigh of relief and we are very happy because it is an important piece of Verona that is to
be returned to the citizens of the city and the whole world," Flavio Tosi said.
At the time of the robbery, police said it appeared the works had been stolen 'to order' for a private collector, given the
difficulty anyone would have in selling on works by such well‐known artists.
Three masked men entered the 14th century building at the evening change of guard, slipping in after the museum had
been emptied but before its state‐of‐the‐art security system had been put into overnight mode.
A security guard and another member of staff were tied up before the pictures were taken.
The guard was one of the suspects arrested, along with his brother and the brother's Moldovan girlfriend, who is
suspected of having alerted the robbers to the potential to pull off the audacious heist.
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The thieves' haul included "Portrait of a Lady" by Flemish Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens and "Male Portrait" by
Venetian artist Tintoretto, as well as works by Pisanello, Jacopo Bellini, Giovanni Francesco Caroto and Hans de Jode.
Another acclaimed work, "The Conversion of Saul", by Italian Renaissance painter Guilio Licinio, was damaged during the
robbery but has since been successfully restored. artdaily.org: http://bit.ly/1P2BhCC
Just Outside Las Vegas, ‘Magic Mountains’ Brighten Up The Desert Expanse Ugo Rondinone’s “Seven Magic Mountains” is the new best way to get over your Vegas hangover.
After approximately 12 hours, Las Vegas starts to turn on you.
Sure, for the first night, the shimmering lights and their
accompanying hiss are thrilling, somewhat hypnotic. And the
never‐ending stream of food and drink flowing into your body
at an alarming pace is a pleasant, if not nauseating, novelty.
But before long, the grotesque extravagance — the
glimmering potential of free cash and the overwhelming
human desire for escape — all morph into a colossal, flashing
neon beast that engulfs everyone in its wake, spitting them
back out as drunken, stale‐cigarette‐smelling monsters.
There are few things one craves in such a situation. Coconut water. Perhaps a little peace and quiet. But I can think of no
remedy so enticing as artist Ugo Rondinone‘s new installation “Seven Magic Mountains.”
Located in the Nevada desert, about a half an hour from downtown Las Vegas, seven Day‐Glo rock towers sit in total
isolation, their colorful physiques resembling children’s toys on a colossal scale. Think the love child of Jeff Koons’ “Play‐
Doh“ and Michael Heizer’s “Levitated Mass.”
The placement of the installation, which has been in the making for five years, is no coincidence. Located in conversation
with Sin City, the sculptures exist at the nexus of nature and artifice, art and entertainment, leisure and reverie. “The
site is magical,” artist Rondinone told The Las Vegas Review Journal. “It’s historical. It’s charged.”
The towers, approximately 30 to 35 feet tall, are made from locally‐sourced limestone boulders stacked atop each other.
The shapes echo the natural formations known as hoodoos or earth pyramids, tall spires of rock commonly found in a
drainage basin or badlands. The shapes, however, arose somewhat by chance. Rondinone collected and painted his
chosen stones and then began experimenting with how to arrange them, “like you play around with Legos.”
The installation provides Vegas visitors the much‐appreciated opportunity to balance their dizzying party time with a
little meditative art viewing. In the seemingly infinite expanse of the Nevada desert, the towers appear as little more
than playthings. The noise and claustrophobia of Vegas is washed over with open space and pure silence. Save for the
occasional passing of cars on the I‐15 freeway, the desert is a personal sanctuary plopped in plain sight.
“‘Seven Magic Mountains’ is an artwork of thresholds and crossings, of seclusion and gathering, of balanced marvels and
excessive colors, and the contrary air between the desert and the city lights,” the artist explained in a statement. “What
centers this amalgam of contradictions is the spiritual aspiration; one that bruises, elevates and transcends.”
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The work will be on view for two years, so make sure to stop by on your next Vegas trip. And please, don’t climb on or
vandalize the art. The Huffington Post: http://huff.to/1TWmYoy
Growing Humans, One Paint Brush at a Time
KNOXVILLE, TN: Although Kinley Koontz has started a “Garden
Project,” she’s not growing plants. She’s bringing art supplies to
the poor and homeless, because the 15‐year‐old wants them to
experience the personal growth that happens through self‐
expression.
“We’re helping to grow people,” she says. “I see people as
flowers: All different but all beautiful, and you just have to give
them water and sunshine to grow. I’m just providing the water
and soil, and they are creating the beauty.”
Ashlee Price, a member of The Garden Project board, recalls being mesmerized by this description, and by Koontz’s
further metaphor that “you can’t tell how a person is by the seed” before they are given a chance to grow. “My jaw was
just on the floor when we’re talking about this kind of stuff, because she’s so young,” Price says.
The West High School sophomore started bringing canvas, paints, charcoals, friendship bracelets, and other art supplies
to people living under the bridge near the Knoxville Area Rescue Mission last fall. She had been going to KARM with a
church group since middle school to talk with the women there about God, but she saw them really blossom when she
started bringing crafts, games, and nail polish along.
“It was like an escape,” she says. “They weren’t dealing with their struggles when they picked up a paint brush.” This
inspired her to bring more supplies and share these opportunities on Sunday afternoons with the homeless in a parking
lot near the mission. “Plenty of people come there with food, and that’s awesome,” she says. “They’re taking care of the
physical needs. But no one is really taking care of their mental needs.”
Koontz says she was amazed by how enthusiastic homeless men were when she approached them with the chance to
wield a paint brush. “One man writes poetry and paints these gorgeous landscapes,” she says. Another enjoys
cartooning. “I’m continually surprised by the talent I see in these people. To see this kind of emotional outpouring – I
was really shocked by it.”
A few friends from school joined her and have taken up the regular work of providing artistic opportunities to the
homeless. Seeing the difference it made inspired Koontz to branch out. She is in the process of registering “The Garden
Project” as a 501(c)3 non‐profit and already has a board (including Price). Her goal over the next two years is to raise
money for a small art bus which she can outfit with supplies like clay, paints and yoga mats. Then she can drive art
opportunities directly to people of all ages. In particular, she hopes to establish a relationship this fall with an after‐
school program for elementary school students so she can give at‐risk children a chance to try art projects.
Koontz wants to shift her focus to include children because she recognizes that many of the factors that lead to
homelessness start early. “I want to promote self‐expression in the younger generation, starts those habits youth… and
increase mental fitness through various forms of art.”
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Price has been able to see how confidence and mental wellness issues start in elementary school and translate into high
school. Price is a former elementary school teacher who is now a guidance counselor through the Boys and Girls Club at
West High, where she guides students toward secondary education.
A friend of Koontz’s family, Price remembers as many as four years ago seeing Koontz’s list of ideas and goals on the
back of the girl’s bedroom door – including the concept of The Garden Project. Price says she is interested in starting a
non‐profit related to cancer herself, and has been inspired and learned from the younger girl.
Koontz and her family believe in the effort enough to pay for the art supplies out of pocket and with the help of a few
donations from friends. In the long run, Koontz says, she’d like to set up a show of participants’ art, perhaps through the
Dogwood Arts Festival. “I really want to make it something these people take pride in, because self‐confidence is really a
big part of it,” she says.
She learned that herself through art classes at Halls Middle School and now West High. “I do credit my art teachers Ms.
Ayers and Ms. Adams with helping me express myself and allow myself to flow out of any media they put in front of
me,” Koontz says. “I love artistic expression and wanted to share that experience with others.” The Knoxville Mercury:
http://bit.ly/1TIIN7z
Drawn to Art The need for art lessons in public schools lead to an alliance between the museum and local campuses.
RIVERSIDE, CA: On a recent morning at Riverside’s Hawthorne
Elementary School, the 34 students in Laura King’s fifth‐sixth
grade class were hunched over their desks, getting in touch with
their inner Van Goghs and Renoirs.
Under the guidance of Art‐to‐Go instructor Andrea Fry, students
were learning about perspective and its role in creating art.
“Perspective makes things look realistic in art,” Fry said, adding
that it provides depth and a sense of distance.
Using a poster by Impressionist artist Alfred Sisley, a master of
landscape painting and the use of perspective, the students drew
a simple “X” on their drawing paper and used it as a starting point to sketch a street scene in perspective.
Since at least the mid‐1990s, the Riverside Art Museum’s Art‐to‐Go program has introduced thousands of children to the
wonders of art, allowing them to express themselves by working with clay, oils, pastels, colored pencils or just plain
pencil and erasers.
The program was created at a time when financially strapped school districts were cutting art, music and dance from
their schedules, said Caryn Marsella, the museum’s art education director.
Districts also were under increasing pressure to boost test scores in mathematics, science and language arts.
“More and more, kids are being taught to the test,” Marsella said.
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Other Inland school districts with Art‐to‐Go include Moreno Valley, Jurupa, Alvord, Val Verde, Lake Elsinore, Rialto and
San Bernardino city.
UNDERSTANDING ART
The museum’s challenge is: “How do we bring our mission of understanding art and creating art to a larger group of
people, particularly children?” Marsella said.
Art‐to‐Go sends trained art instructors to classrooms with art materials, lesson plans and vocabulary charts.
To make the classes more appealing to school districts and teachers, a newly developed Art‐to‐Go curriculum meets
California Department of Education standards for science, history and the visual arts, Marsella said.
For example, a recent class for Hawthorne students focused on endangered coral reefs. The lesson included a discussion
of reefs and their role in the ecosystem providing a home to sea creatures, including sea birds, starfish and sea turtles. It
also covered the threat to reefs posed by human activity.
Students then created an image of a coral reef using oil pastels, paper towel scraps and Popsicle sticks.
The lessons are targeted for children from kindergarten through sixth grade. The cost of a session – three one‐hour
classes taught one week apart – is $225.
The sessions are paid for by PTA and PTO groups, teachers using Riverside Educational Enrichment Foundation grants
and teachers using their own money.
Hawthorne’s fifth‐ and sixth‐grade classes are part of a pilot project that saw the Riverside Unified School District
contract directly with Art‐to‐Go to teach art at 27 elementary schools.
ART REQUEST
Hawthorne Principal Ellen Parker said the pilot project grew from community meetings at which parents said they
wanted more art instruction for their children.
The Riverside school board supports art lessons and is creating its own arts plan, said Kim Coons‐Leonard, an
instructional services specialist.
The museum is working on a curriculum for middle school students that it wants to start in the 2016‐2017 school year.
Marsella said that, during her visits to classes, she sees firsthand the profound impact art instruction can have on
children.
Creating art allows students to express themselves freely and not be judged, she said.
Hawthorne sixth‐grader Alyssabelle Barajas, 11, put it another way: “I love being able to imagine different things and
then create it.” The Press Enterprise: http://bit.ly/1XdOSzq
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Bob Sikes Elementary Teachers Step Up to Offer Art
CRESTVIEW, FL: Just because their school lacks a staff art
teacher doesn’t mean Bob Sikes Elementary School Bullpups
must eschew the joys of finger painting, molding clay and
otherwise rendering their world through creative visual art.
“When we couldn’t offer art classes, our teachers stepped
up and started the Art Club,” Bob Sikes Principal Vicky
Hayden said.
Kindergarten and first‐grade teacher Amberly Qualls
organized the club and — with first‐grade teacher Trinity
Dowdy and “helpers” Cassandra Seagle and Jamie Allende —
offers two six‐ to eight‐week programs each school year.
Kindergarten, first‐ and second‐graders attend the club’s
first session. Third‐ through fifth‐graders fill the second.
And once the club caught on, “fill” became the operative word. “It fills up faster and faster every year,” Qualls said.
For the spring 2016 session, Qualls and her team received 75 applications for 25 spaces. She hopes to recruit more
teacher volunteers next year “so hopefully we can have more kids participate,” she said. “We’d like to have as many in
there as we can.”
First, hopeful club members create a piece of standard letterhead‐sized art. “Then they write a little piece about why
they want to be in Art Club,” Qualls said.
Art Club participants experience different art media during each hour‐and‐15‐minute after‐school club meeting.
“I try to do not so much an art lesson, but we look at different art by other artists, then we let them go,” Qualls said.
“We either use a certain technique or a certain medium, then we let them go. It’s all individualized so it’s not cookie‐
cutter.”
Because Qualls and her team buy club art supplies themselves, they’re limited in some of the techniques and media they
can offer. “They love to do the clay and papier maché. Some things are less expensive,” Qualls said. “Papier maché we
can do cheap from old newspapers, but clay is expensive.”
With the school year ending, teachers are brainstorming fundraising ideas for the fall semester’s club. “I try to order in
bulk, because supplies are so expensive, but I try to order enough for two years,” Qualls said.
School administrators and district officials laud efforts such as Qualls’ and her team.
“The arts help our students be better academic students as well as better, well‐rounded young men and women,”
Okaloosa District Schools Superintendent Mary Beth Jackson said. Crestview News Bulletin: http://bit.ly/1TPhXQH
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June 1, 2016
Have a Painting by Late Artist C.J. Brobst? His Family is Willing to Pay You For It Becky Kamban of Dover and her family are on a treasure hunt for paintings and artworks of their late grandfather,
Carlyle Jacob John Brobst. His signature is CJ Brobst, and his descendants have discovered some works at yard sales and
flea markets.
DOVER, OH: Becky Kamban of Dover and her family are on a
hunt for paintings and other artwork by their late
grandfather, Carlyle Jacob John Brobst.
His signature is C.J. Brobst, and his descendants have
discovered some of his works at yard sales and flea markets.
Because Brobst and his family moved several times, they
suspect paintings may have been sold in the Canton,
Massillon, Brewster, Strasburg and Dover‐New Philadelphia
area.
Brobst's descendants say they are interested in buying his
artwork.
Brobst, who died in 1960, was a prolific artist as well as a house painter, whose work included painting the shields or
emblems in the sanctuary in St. John’s United Church of Christ at Dover in 1937. He was part of a crew who helped
refurbish the church’s tall ceiling during the Great Depression. One of his last works was a small, oval sketch he drew for
his wife, the former Zelma Keplinger, who everyone called “Z.”
Brobst was born in 1898, and at the age of 21 joined the circus where, for two years, he was a tattoo artist.
“He was a fully illustrated man,” said Bud Judkins of Dover, Brobst’s grandson, who was 17 when Brobst died. “He had
tattoos all over his chest, arms, and legs so he could show men who were interested in getting a tattoo. His chest was
brilliant. One tattoo featured an eagle attacking a snake. He did his own stencils.”
Judkins said the coal dust used for tattoos was effervescent and never wore off. In later years, Brobst wore long sleeve
shirts, probably because tattoos had fallen out of favor in the late 1950s.
“He’d be right in style today,” Judkins said.
The Brobsts were married in 1921, and as a first anniversary gift for his wife Brobst painted what the family calls the
“Brown Picture,” a country scene now owned by Judkins.
The couple had five children, including John, now 79, and his wife, Janine of Bradford Woods, Pa. John has an oil painting
discovered at Strasburg Antique Mall. The other children, all deceased, are Elaine Rippel, Jean Wheeler, Bill Brobst and
Ruth Carney.
Seven of the 12 grandchildren and their families gathered recently to share their artworks and compare notes. In
addition to siblings Kamban and Judkins, they are: Cae Lautzenheiser and Kathy Chenevey of Dover, Joy Green of
Strasburg, Tom Carney of Dennison and Rick Rippel of New Philadelphia.
Kamban’s son, Andrew, along with Judkins, are considered the family historians.
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June 1, 2016
Brobst, who Judkins described as a “real character,” used oil, watercolor, pencil, ink and charcoal for his works. A
watercolor painting of a bouquet, owned by Lautzenheiser, matches a green painted jar that Becky Kamban has. Judkins
said a pencil portrait of aviator Charles Lindbergh was probably copied from a newspaper photo, circa 1927.
The patriarch was a house painter by trade, and was proud of that work, Judkins said. But when the Depression hit, he
sold his paintings and artworks to feed his family, who moved from Canton to Strasburg in 1930. The village was closer
to Z’s family where work might be more available. Judkins said Brobst accepted coal as payment for the paintings in
order to heat the family’s narrow, two‐story home that still stands in Strasburg.
“All the major coal users were north in the Cleveland and Akron area,” Judkins said. “The trains ran through Strasburg
from West Virginia, and when they would slow down, men in the neighborhood (at night) would kick hunks of coal off of
the train. In the morning, it was the kids’ job to pick up the coal for their families.
“There were no complaints from the train crews or coal companies. Everybody was so desperate.”
Kathy Chenevey said her grandfather was offered a bicycle by a relative, but he insisted on paying for it with a painting
featuring a cabin in the woods, dated 1938.
From Strasburg the family moved to Dover, and, in 1940, they moved to Massillon, where he worked in a steel mill
during the war. In his declining years, he moved to Brewster to be near family.
Great‐grandson Andrew Kamban, 25, carries his own art collection on his mobile phone, where photos of the cousins’
artwork are accessible. He easily recalls who owns which paintings and is looking forward to finding more.
C.J. Brobst died Dec. 22, 1960, and was buried Christmas Eve in Dover Burial Park.
Anyone who believes they may have an artwork by Brobst may contact Andrew Kamban at 330‐407‐3043. Times
Reporter: http://bit.ly/281HYAs
Upstate Professor Helps Solve Million‐Dollar Stolen Art Mystery Oil paintings, prints missing since 2003
LAURENS COUNTY, SC: An Upstate professor has helped solve
a million‐dollar stolen art mystery that was featured on
“Antiques Roadshow in 2013 and remained unsolved for 13
years.
Converse professor Frazer Pajak was asked in April by
colleague John Allen Ivy, owner of Ivy Auctions in Laurens, to
help authenticate some paintings and prints that the auction
house had received on consignment from the estate of a
collector in Columbia who recently died.
Pajak immediately recognized horse paintings by Sir Alfred J. Munnings and folio prints by John James Audubon as
having been stolen a decade ago along with several other pieces of art.
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June 1, 2016
Ivy and Pajak confirmed that the paintings and prints were among 17 stolen from the Hobcaw Barony, an estate in
Georgetown County. The estate includes more than 35 historic building from the 18th and 19th centuries. The paintings
and prints were taken from two of the buildings.
Hobcaw Barony has been owned by the Belle W. Baruch Foundation since Baruch’s death in 1964. It is on the National
Registry of Historic Places.
One of the stolen works, “Bell on Souriant,” an oil painting by Munnings in 1932 of Baruch on her favorite horse, was
immediately recognizable as one of the paintings that disappeared in 2003. The painting is valued at more than $1
million, according to the foundation.
Ivy called the Federal Bureau of Investigation and reported the recovery of the 11 pieces of art, and agents confirmed
that the paintings and prints were among those that had been the focus of a decade‐long investigation.
The theft of the 10 paintings and seven prints was featured on “Antiques Roadshow” in 2013.
The theft was originally reported on July 31, 2003, by Samuel McIntosh, former Hobcaw Barony curator, on his last day
of work following his dismissal.
Criminal charges were later filed against McIntosh after art and other items that belonged to the foundation, including a
painting valued at $12,000 that he had reported missing, were found in a search of his home, according to a release
Monday from the foundation. However, 17 pieces of art were missing until last month.
Besides the Munnings paintings, seven Audubon prints from “Birds of America” valued at $45,000 to $85,000 each, were
in the collection consigned to Ivy Auctions.
The works were found in conditions ranging from very good to poor, Baruch Foundation executive director George
Chastain said. The works have been removed from the auction house for forensic and technical examination. A release
said the foundation thinks much of the artwork can be restored.
Chastain said when the foundation staff learned the stolen works had been found, "We were relieved and happy
because we never lost hope that our paintings would be seen again."
“These pieces help tell the story of Hobcaw Barony,” he said. “Their theft left a hole in our history.
“Thanks to the assistance and persistence of Matt Jacobson of the FBI’s Greenville office and Assistant United States
Attorney Rhett DeHart, they will be restored to their rightful place, both physically and narratively.” WYFF4:
http://bit.ly/1Vu9x0n
Post‐it Note Art War Engulfs Ad Agencies on New York City Street
NEW YORK, NY: A conversation conducted using sticky Post‐it notes on the windows of two offices in Lower Manhattan
has delighted passersby and drawn a number of neighboring advertising agencies to join what is now a highly contested
art battle.
It all began when employees at one firm, Havas Media, replied to an anonymous "HI" message that was left across from
its office building on Canal Street. There are now hundreds of colorful notes decorating windows in the area.
16 __________________________________________________________________________________________
June 1, 2016
"It's kind of just ballooned organically and become something that no
one's quite controlling and you don't know where it's going next," said
Greg James, chief strategy development officer for Havas Media, a unit of
French advertising and communications group Havas SA.
After the Havas team replied with its own "SUP," the fight began. Others
in the building took part, and agencies across the street fired back with
creative window art featuring characters from HBO's "Game of Thrones,"
the Snapchat logo, popular song lyrics and cartoons from the Angry Birds
mobile app.
More than a week after it started, the Post‐it art war now involves other local advertising agencies including Horizon
Media, Biolumina, Harrison and Star, Getty Images and Cake Group, which is part of the Havas network. And it has
spread to Havas offices as far afield as London, Toronto and Dublin.
Using the hashtags #postitwar and #canalnotes, many social media users, agency employees and even clients are taking
to Twitter and Instagram to share their favorite portraits.
James said Havas is discussing how the firm could make the impromptu contest more meaningful or tie it somehow to a
greater cause.
"We don't want to control it too much because I think what's nice is that it's so fluid and that everybody owns it
individually or in little teams," he said.
Across the street at Horizon Media, some employees have been using client brands to inspire their window portraits.
Molly Reich, a digital strategist for Horizon Media, said she is excited that the competition is taking off, despite a
temporary delay caused by building supervisors.
"Our landlord wouldn't allow us to participate," said Reich, whose window includes a Post‐it note depiction of the
cartoon characters featured on GoGo sqeeZ applesauce, a Horizon Media client.
"But then someone from offices and hospitality talked to them and they finally agreed," she said. Reuters:
http://reut.rs/1UfSGZN
This Modern Fiber Art Will Fulfill Your Boho Fantasies
Somewhere between macrame and traditional tapestries
is a form of textural artwork that is popping up on walls in
growing numbers. Even the makers creating the textile
pieces have a hard time agreeing on what to call them:
woven wall hangings, yarn art, weaves, tapestries. There
are as many labels for the handmade pieces as there are
styles.
While the techniques vary, the textile pieces share an
overall look: organic design, rich texture, movement,
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June 1, 2016
fringe, knots and a boho‐inspired aesthetic. The yarn and materials hang from everything from simple dowels to curvy
natural branches.
Flat woven pieces, daring color, nubby knots, heavily tasseled pieces, dip‐dyed. Simple. Complicated. Anything seems to
go with North Texas makers — and the buyers who are snatching them up through online orders, trunk shows and art
sales.
From a small addition to an art wall to the focal piece of a room, fiber art has made a grand return.
Meet two North Texas makers creating the pieces:
Fascination with fringe
Boho By Lauren, Lauren Williams (bohobylauren.com, Instagram @bohobylauren)
With a major wall to fill and a not‐so‐major budget for art, Lauren Williams got creative.
“The budget I had and the taste that I had were not in alignment,” the Frisco woman says. She wanted something with
texture and movement and was ready to take matters into her own hands, stringing yarn at varying lengths and later
adding in color on a fiber piece that launched her business, Boho by Lauren.
“What I’m doing is just one step further in the textile craze right now,” Williams says. “It’s a textile for your wall.”
From an even producer in California to a fiber artist in Frisco, Williams says design has always played an important part
of her career path.
She’s long gravitated toward an eclectic, bohemian look but has an appreciation for clean lines as well. All of that is
reflected in the tapestries she creates.
She starts her pieces by hanging hundreds of strands from a straight dowel and then adds color. “It’s an abstract piece of
art incorporated into the bohemian look,” Williams says, who estimates each tapestry takes about a week to complete.
Her tidy garage studio is full of pieces in a variety of stages. Although Williams has a system, she’s not afraid to deviate.
“It’s a process I’m making up every day,” she says. “Sometimes it gets a little rowdy in here.”
Williams has experimented by adding skylines, landscapes and simple shapes into the tapestries and sometimes
embellishes the pieces with beads.
Though her preferred color palette is shades of blues, blacks and grays, brighter colors find a way into the pieces, too. “I
love it when people tell me what they want,” Williams says. “It’s gets me out of my comfort zone.”
Before she ships out the custom pieces, which are 72 inches wide and start at $250, Williams tries them out in her own
home, to inspect and perfect them, as well as photograph them for her clients and her Instagram account,
@bohobylauren, which is were lots of her sales have come from. “The pieces are always rotating — I have nail holes all
over my walls.”
One of kind
Knot So Cookie, Rebekah Wright (etsy.com/shop/KnotSoCookie, Instagram @knotsocookie)
18 __________________________________________________________________________________________
June 1, 2016
Rebekah Wright had no idea what she was getting into when she decided to give fiber art a try a year ago. She had
admired a few woven creations online and started searching for instructions. She found them on YouTube.
“I didn’t even know what it was called at the time,” she says.
Armed with a few knotting and weaving techniques, a small loom, yarn and a fearless attitude, Wright was soon on her
way.
“You’ve got to be a creative spirit,” she says, “because there’s no pattern to follow and no wrong or right.”
When Wright, 36, would get tripped up on something, she reached out for help from other weavers she had found
through Instagram.
“I tapped into this whole subculture of women empowerment,” she says. They’re sharing all kinds of tips and
techniques, and because everyone creates something so unique and has their own spin, “they’re not competitive,”
Wright says.
The Rockwall woman’s pieces range in size from 5‐by‐15 inches to up to 2 feet wide. Some are finished in an angular
shape, while others have heavy fringe and knotting in a straight line across the bottom.
Wright is never sure exactly what she’ll end up with once she starts a piece. She adds color, braiding and shapes
organically as the woven wall hangings develop.
“Even if I set out to make something exactly the same as another one I’ve done, there’s always going to be some slight
variation, because there’s no pattern,” says Wright. “You just make it up as you go.”
Playing with color is one of her favorite parts of designing. “I like putting colors together that you wouldn’t think go
together,” says Wright. “And I can’t help but add brights to my weaves.”
What started as a hobby that she worked on as her daughters played has become a business. Wright’s Knot So Cookie
designs, which range from $20 to about $100, have been sold at Flea Style and through her Etsy shop.
And she’s started sharing what she’s learned at weaving workshops. A Woven Love Workshop is set for 12 to 3 p.m. June
4 at 1605 North Beckley Ave., Suite 100, Dallas. Participants will go home with a weave in the colors of their own
choosing from the event’s yarn bar. Tickets are $80 and available at wovenlove.eventbrite.com. The Dallas Morning
News: http://bit.ly/1WvD1Mk
Appleton Artist, 12, Showcases Work Alongside Matisse
GRAND CHUTE, WI: A 12‐year‐old Appleton artist is getting the rare chance to
learn from a world renowned artist.
Rosa Keck met French artist Pierre Henri Matisse when the 88‐year‐old
exhibited his work earlier this year at the Feather & Bone Gallery inside The
Draw.
When Matisse saw her work, he saw something special.
That's how Keck got the opportunity to show seven pieces at Studio 247 Fine
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June 1, 2016
Jewelry alongside Matisse, the grandson of the iconic artist Henri Matisse.
Keck displayed seven pieces, nearly all of them portraits. She had just started one of the pieces the week before: a
charcoal portrait of artist Frida Kahlo.
Kahlo stands to the left of the tall, rectangular frame, one shoulder outside its view. It looks like she's trying to leave the
canvas entirely.
"This is breaking a complicated convention of art … If you teach conventional art, you'll never see anything different.
This is still extraordinary," Matisse said.
The portraits Keck selected for her first show depict women. Most of them aren't smiling and some of them have their
eyes closed.
She gravitates toward portraits because she likes the range of emotions she can use and the varying ways they can be
interpreted.
"With faces, in particular, emotion can be portrayed in different ways, so it can mean something different to every
person," Keck said.
From the time she was a toddler, Keck loved painting.
Her mother, Milada Rice, remembers picking up art supplies when her daughter started experimenting with different
mediums. She never questioned her daughter's interest in art.
"I could see that she really enjoyed it and that it was a real sense of self‐expression for her," Rice said.
Matisse sees a lot of potential in Keck. He said he believes it's important to give children recognition that they have
earned, but not to go too far.
"We're talking about children here, and we should help them, but you should not spoil them," he said.
Matisse will continue to mentor Keck. Rice said one of their projects will be portraits of each other: Matisse will do a
portrait of Keck and she will do a portrait of him.
To learn from such a renowned artist at such a young age is an opportunity that isn't lost on Keck, but right now she's
focused on soaking in his lessons and applying them to her work. She doesn't want to get ahead of herself.
"I know it will be a big deal that I got to meet him," she said.
The event also benefited CASA of Brown County, with 10 percent of all proceeds going to the organization. Matisse and
his wife, Jeanne, are lifelong advocates for children. Jeanne Matisse said the couple tries to do whatever they can to
help children cultivate literacy and critical thinking skills.
Art, in its various forms, is a pathway to help children grow, Jeanne Matisse said.
"If we want our children to succeed they need to have all kinds of art experiences," she said. "If you give a child who's 2
years old crayons and paper … he may be creating lines, but he knows what he wants to do. Even if it's just putting lines
together — he's not really drawing a line. His mind is separating spaces and creating shapes and that's critical thinking."
Post–Crescent: http://post.cr/1O3BmLm
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June 1, 2016
Nurturing the Artist Within
JORDAN, MN: Art teacher Jessica Barnd finds her career so
personally satisfying because her discipline can nurture
students' inner artist.
"I love that I teach a discipline that easily involves every
aspect of life ‐ emotional, political, historical, economical and
public and private," said Barnd, who was just named the
2016 Teacher of the Year at Jordan High School.
Becoming an art teacher was something Barnd dreamed
about since she was in kindergarten. Her own artistic
opportunities as a student were limited as her high school cut
art classes due to budget restrictions. Instead, she took band lessons and was proud she was able to smoke all the senior
boys on the snare drum when she was a freshman.
“I wanted (and still want) to give students the opportunities and creative experiences I never had, but believe every
student should have,' Barnd said.
NURTURING YOUNG ARTISTS
Barnd has been successful at providing students with various artistic experiences.
"Jessica is all about creating opportunities for students ‐ she introduces them to different art experiences in Minneapolis
and St. Paul and encourages them to experiment with various art media," said Barb McNulty, principal at Jordan High
School. "Her dedication to the program shows she cares deeply about students."
"I am looking for more ways to bring the outside world into the classroom in the form of dynamic public art because we
can't always go to the museum like the MIA (Minneapolis Institute of the Arts), so how do we make that personal
connection?" Barnd commented.
Since community art is important to Barnd, she has taught students how to create art for the public with face painting at
Heimatfest, painting a cool fiberglass cow that stands outside the Jordan Supper Club restaurant and she will be busy
painting a Peace Pole for Peace Haven Farms in Jordan.
A few art students and the public are welcome to attend the peace pole painting event with dancing and the spiritual
presence of local pastors.
"I will have a couple of students paint the pole and the one common thing will be the phrase of peace will be written in
multiple languages and be wrapped around the pole," she said.
DRIVE TO LEARN
This art teacher grew up in a nurturing, artistic family who openly explored all realms of creativity. As a young girl, Barnd
remembers drawing a cat with a belly button and a pen at the bottom of the stairs on a basement wall. She recalls how
she was not scolded by her parents and that sketch remained intact for years.
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June 1, 2016
"I would say the arts made me not shy since I was a music geek in high school and I discovered art in college, and it is my
drive that keeps me learning," said Barnd.
Her dear friend and fellow educator Sister Frandrup from the College of Saint Benedict is likely the reason she made it
through college, Barnd said.
"I worked for her as a studio assistant all four years, mixing clay bodies and glazes from scratch, loading and unloading
kilns and conducting glaze tests and research to create a stable sunflower ash glaze," she said.
She worked at the same time with teaching assistants and assisted students in the different studio areas.
"It was the most authentic student teaching experience I ever had," Barnd said. "I learned the simplest and most
complex life lesson in her presence ‐ that working with one’s hands is actually the most meditative, grounding, and
rewarding experience there is."
HYBRID ARTIST PROGRAM
Next fall Barnd will take a leave of absence for one year to begin a master's program at the New Hampshire Institute of
Art.
"It is a hybrid low residence program, so it gives me the opportunity to do course work online and part of the course
work in person," Barnd said.
When she returns to teach in the fall of 2018, she will finish the final two semesters of her master's program online.
In addition, Barnd applied for a paid artist in residency in New Zealand, and if she is accepted looks forward to spending
two weeks abroad nurturing her inner artist.
After her one year sabbatical, Barnd looks forward to bringing her world travels and experience back to Jordan.
PERSONAL ART
Barnd is not so busy teaching that she cannot create her own artistic masterpieces. Barnd's personal art can be seen in a
number of places: at Clancy's restaurant, the bright yellow barn that serves as Minnesota's Largest Candy Store, Valley
Fair in Shakopee, and even a mural in downtown Minneapolis.
"I am always seeking the next opportunity to make ‐ I create art for myself and to sell at various locations," she said. "My
favorite mural to date is a giant, eye glasses‐wearing squirrel on the side of the Squirrel Haus Arts building in the
Longfellow neighborhood of Minneapolis.”
This Teacher of the Year has a piece of advice for parents who may be concerned about their children pursuing a career
in the arts: Please stop being afraid of the “starving artist” mentality.
“We are not starving, we as artists and designers are the first to tell you we are well‐fed," she said.
Lastly, Barnd shared her favorite life quote: "A body at rest tends to stay at rest; a body in motion remains in motion.”
“Regardless if I am a teacher, a student or an artist, one thing I can't do is sit still. When my students leave my classroom
it is my hope that they continue to create, to move and to grow,” Barnd said. Jordan Independent:
http://bit.ly/25xNWqG
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June 1, 2016
Budget Cuts Threaten Program Helping People With Developmental Disabilities Make Art
and Money
ST. LOUIS, MO: When it comes to supporting people with
developmental disabilities through art‐making, the activities
are much more than just a pastime.
For some in St. Louis, being creative helps them buy food, or
get a job. Those are goals – and outcomes – of a St. Louis‐area
organization called Artists First. But budget cuts are
jeopardizing the nonprofit, forcing some hard decisions.
The St. Louis Office for Developmental Disability Resources
plans to cut 20 percent of the nonprofit organization’s
$160,000 annual budget.
Artists First Executive Director Sheila Suderwalla said the organization will have to cut costs. But it remains committed to
its 200 clients, who draw, paint and sculpt at the organization's Maplewood studios.
“On paper, in black and white, it looks pretty bad,” Suderwalla said. “But in our heart of hearts we have a lot of a faith.”
The 10‐year‐old organization provides creative space, art teachers, social workers and materials to clients with a number
of disabilities including autism, Down's Syndrome and traumatic brain injury.
On a recent day, the artists’ work‐in‐progress included a reclaimed window panting and a decorated mannequin.
Among those who depend on Artists First is Mary Dandridge, 56, who showed a visitor several of her own paintings on
display, including a cross.
But mostly, Dandridge likes to make rainbows.
“Rainbows make me feel good,” she said.
Dandridge is proud of her work. But Artists First builds more than self‐esteem for people with developmental disabilities.
It also provides income for clients, who sell their artwork for up to $125 at their art shows and a variety of other
interested buyers. Charles Baunach has sold several walking sticks he made out of golf clubs and baseball bats, using the
money to supplement his disability payments. Last week, Baunach got a $24 check for a small painting of trees.
“That’ll help me out the rest of the month for food, cheapest food I can get hot dogs, baloney, bread and stuff like that,”
he said.
From terrible news to bad news
Baunach can’t imagine what he’d do without the money from his art. But Suderwalla can’t help but imagine the worst.
On May 6, when the Office for Developmental Disability Resources first told her it needs to cut Artists First’s funding, it
said it would have to do so by nearly $80,000 – half the nonprofit’s total budget. Suderwalla immediately feared that the
organization might have to close.
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June 1, 2016
“It was absolutely a thought,” Suderwalla said. “It was more than a thought.”
Deep cuts would affect several programs, including supportive employment, which teaches clients about things like
communication and time management. Suderwalla said there are only so many ways she and her staff of five can make
up for that kind of money – rent, utilities, payroll or art supplies.
Last week, Suderwalla made her case before the city agency, and officials reduced the proposed cuts to $31,000. The
board of the funding organization will take a final vote in early June. Ken Franklin, who chairs the board, said Artists First
is a promising program that needs to be supported.
“One thing I think is right with St. Louis in this community of developmental disability is that it’s a family community and
we work things out,” Franklin said.
Already, to make up the difference, Artist First employees have agreed to donate some of their time. Small checks and
offers of art supplies are also coming. No matter what, Suderwalla said she’s committed to her clients.
“They have had so many obstacles to overcome, yet they keep doing it every day,” Suderwalla said. “Mary gets up at
5:30 in the morning and takes two buses to get here.”
Brandon Harris, 34, gets a ride there with his mom. He’s on the autism spectrum and doesn’t talk but Mercydee Harris
said her son’s drawings of city skylines speak volumes about his hopes and dreams of travel. She said the closing of
Artists First would be a tremendous loss.
“Because this is Bran’s life — here, where he knows he belongs,” Harris said.
Mary Dandridge also feels at home at Artists First, and enjoys the attention she gets here. She likes it when the staff
members tell her she’s doing a good job.
“It makes you feel really, really, really good,” Dandridge said.
Suderwalla has until July 1 to figure out how to keep things running with less money.
“We are determined to make it,” she said. St. Louis Public Radio: http://bit.ly/25zA9mO