Photo Art Display

Yesterday the kids in the photography class held a small art display for the staff of St. Luke's. The art show was held in the St. Luke's Mansion Library and was set up like a gallery showing complete with cheese, crackers and sparkling cider! Nikkia, Devin, Xavier and Kenneth showed the finest of their photography work while staff members voted for the best photographer. Kenneth won but Nikkia, Devin and Xavier came in a close second. The staff was blown away by the professional, creative and beautiful photos! The four were so proud of their work. I cannot describe how inspiring this was. We have collected all of these photos and placed them in a coffee table book that will go on sale soon as well as individual photos. Mike Edmison, photographer and instructor has an incredible gift and Studio 222 appreciates the time he shared.

Ray Dixon's class is finishing up their projects. Another impressive group of artists have created some beautiful geometric designs in chalk, collage, color and pencil. The patterns and colors are beautiful and you will think these came from a famous art gallery! Ray's calm and caring spirit, along with his amazing artistic talent, is awesome. I was constantly amazed at how he could look a project, offer a suggestion, shade a little here or there, and wow the outcome - beautiful! Pila, Ashley, Justin, Michell, Miranda, Josie - you are artists!

Betsy Horn, teacher, mentor, fun spirit - you brought out some heart-felt, heart-wrenching, inspiring writing from a group of high-spirited girls! I laughed and I cried when I read the poetry and the stories. These also are compiled in a book and will touch your heart. Canisha, Chaquion, Esveide, Jaysha, Juanita, Michah, Sapphire, Sarah - Continue to tell your stories and thanks for sharing.

This has been a great year. Next week is the last week of year four! It has made me more determined to offer more after-school programs to serve more youth in our community. The creative and quality of art the kids produced as raised their self-esteem to new heights!

The stories of the day to day life of these kids would break your heart but the gifts they have received through the artists and volunteers of Studio 222 has transformed them in a way that you truly have to see for yourself. The best description is that they have hope for a brighter future. I pray that we all will remember to encourage a child each day. It makes all the difference.

Photography Class Picture Make Cover

The cover photo on May issue of the Outlook magazine of St. Luke's United Methodist Church is by Studio 222 student, Kenneth Stroman. Inside the issue are several other photos by students in the photography class led by Mike Edmison. The pictures these kids have taken are unbelievable!

Vision Boards

Thursday, Betsy Hoehn, who is now helping coordinate activities and fundraising with Studio 222 brought materials for the kids to create their own "Vision Boards". The vision boards are to reflect goals and dreams - short-term and long-term. Betsy talked about the importance of setting goals and working to achieve them. She shared her own personal vision board and talked about how goals change over time. Some of the goals set by the kids were: new cars, traveling, becoming broadcasters, lawyers, chefs, having homes, families, great kitchens, and more.

Inspiration

Every day the kids of Studio 222 amaze me! They have such creativity and talent. The classes are going exceptionally well. Betsy has her class creating poetry, drama and much more. The daily laughter heard in her class shows what a great time everyone is having. Ray's class is drawing, painting and making some pieces of art that are so creative and interesting. The photography class led by Mike has been incredibly inspiring! St. Luke's is even using one of the kids photos for the cover of its May magazine Outlook! There are other pictures featured in the magazine as well. We'll post some photos soon and trust me, they will knock your socks off! I can't believe the year is almost over. These kids are so special and watching them engage in expressing themselves through paint, poetry, drama and photography makes me truly believe that art heals and inspires the soul.

4th Nine Weeks Begins

Monday we began new classes for the last nine weeks of the school year. This nine weeks we have Ray Dixon, art teacher, is showing his class how to work with different shapes using ink, crayon, watercolor, etc. Mike Edmison, photographer, is teaching his class digital photography. Betsy Horn, teacher, is using collage, poetry, writing and more to help her class express themselves. We are continuing our character building program and this week is on responsibility. Each week we pick one student to be the "spy". They watch the other students through the week and then on Thursday they choose one person who has been showing responsibility throughout the week at Studio, at school and on the bus. The person they choose receive $5.00. Every Thursday we don't have art classes but do something different. Today, Christy Counts from the Humane Society is coming back to share about animals and how we should take care of pets and animals in general.

We finished our third 9-week session for the year with some amazing work!

Carol Goodwin, artist, shared her many talents with the students incorporating meditation and relaxation techniques. This class made altered books, collages, kaleidoscope drawings (made with coffee filters!) and paper torn creations.

Lavina McKinzey, artist, taught the mosaic's class. The finished projects included a beautiful table, picture frames, garden gazing balls, candle holders, a small chair and even a pair of shoes!!

Erin Roberts, instructor, had the most challenge. She taught our first encounter with robotics! Her wisdom and engineering skills helped the students build some awesome structures. There was a garage with moving door, a Ferris wheel, snowplows, airplanes and much more.

It never ceases to amaze me the talent of both artists and students!

Flying

Monday through Wednesday, we work with the artists but Thursday is a special day. From watching movies, going to musuems to hamburgers in the park, each Thursday we do something different. This past Thursday, Don Oliver came and taught the kids how to make paper airplanes. I could not believe that over 50% of our kids had never made a paper airplane or ever flew one!! We had a great time as the kids then had a contest where tested their skills flying the planes over a balcony in the building. There were prizes for farthest distance, most graceful and most loop-de-loops!