Art Shapes Us at the Main Public Library of Hamilton County and Cincinnati

Emily Muench age 12, Acrylic on canvas

In conjunction with the Weston Art Gallery exhibition Straight from the Soul: the paintings and sculpture of Kevin Cole. Myself along with Pamela and Lennell Rhodes Myricks and artist/ educator Marcus Fletcher, conducted a series of Saturday classes from January 5th through the 26th at the Main Public Library of Hamilton County and Cincinnati called, Art Shapes Us. Pamela and Marcus worked with younger students doing collage work inspired by the sculptures of Kevin Cole while the students I taught ages 10 – 17 created paintings that where also inspired by Kevin Cole’s work and the work of our mentor Professor Tarrence Corbin. The end result was artwork that not only expressed the techniques of the artist who inspired the students, but the personal interest and vivid imagination that shaped every student’s character. Art Shapes Us, founded in 2006 is a program that brings together high school and middle school students from various educational intuitions and backgrounds for a 6 to 8 week art course. The 2010 Art Shapes Us program was sponsored the Cincinnati of Cincinnati Individual Artist Grant. This year Pamela and Lennell Rhodes Myricks sponsored the program along with former educator and patron of the arts Joel McCray and the Main Public Library of Hamilton County and Cincinnati. From February 16th to March 2 the work of these talented young artists will be on exhibit at the Children’s Learning Center at the Main Public Library of Hamilton County and Cincinnati. The opening reception is Saturday February 16th at 2pm – 4pm. Thank you Main Public Library for hosting this program and for all the educators and patrons who made the program possible, but most of all thank you to all the students who made this program a success. See the work in progress and the finished masterpieces below.