by Katelyn Bowen, VISTA
“When I look at the abstract painting, I see birds in a bright
blue sky. It makes me feel like I could fly away,” he said as he
closed his eyes with a smile, almost as though he could feel the
wind blowing against his face. These are the words of a youth
enrolled in our summer program.
He is one of 116 children who have made history by being the
first of many to come to our brand-new children’s center this
year. When the children walked through the doors, they were
not only greeted by the big spaces, bold colors, and big windows,
they were also greeted with colorful, professional works of art.
These art pieces of all different styles and media were generously
donated by local artists from across Arkansas to help expose
our children to different forms of expression. Because of these
generous artists, we now have a public collection of art that our
children and others will get to see every day.
The local art community is a leading example of the impact
that can come from giving to others.
Artists
Dawn Bearden
Lyuba Bogan
Arden Boyce
Terry Boyd
Catherine Burton
James L. Courtney
Aaron Gschwandeggar
Diane Harper
Marty Justice
Vicki Kovaleski
Kevin Kresse
Sr. Maria Liebeck
Matt McLeod
Nicole Morgan
Mary Lynn Nelson
Sheila Parsons
Jade Pfeifer
Adam Ritchey
Lynda Sorrells
Stephano Sutherlin
Barry Thomas
Elizabeth Weber
Laura Woford
Emily Moll Wood
two of the paintings were based on
photos donated by Amanda N. Woods