The Heartland Artist Gallery welcomes art in all forms and mediums, and from all artists including creative art from our youth at the area public schools, grades K-6th grade. From March 11th – March 28th the Gallery will show approximately 110 pieces from the four area elementary schools and intermediate school. Plymouth Community Public Schools (PCSC) offer the STEAM program which includes Science, Technology, Engineering, ART and Mathematics in their curriculum.

  The arts are still alive and growing with these students and the work they are developing. The show will include flat art – art that can be hung – in the following mediums: paint, crayon, colored pencil, pastels, marker, pen-ink, chalk and pencil. There were an estimated 3,500 pieces of art that were created year-to-date that the art teachers reviewed and selected from for this show. One of the art teachers, Judy Harness shared “The art in this show is a wonderful cross section of the talent in our schools. Parents and students get excited to see the art hung in a gallery setting.” When asked if there are any surprises, this year Judy enthusiastically stated, “The art varies so much from year to year, we never know what will surface as the art teachers review all the art projects created in this school year”. “We are always pleased at what has been created”.

There are three art teachers heading up the art programs for PCSC; Judy Harness, works with the students at Washington Discovery Academy and Jefferson Elementary schools, Taylor Tice teaches at Webster Elementary and Menominee Elementary and Elyse Chudzynski instructs at Riverside Intermediate. Judy is celebrating her 25th year teaching in PCSC- five years with the ‘High Ability’ Pull-Out Program and twenty years in teaching Art.

 

There will be a community-wide Open House for the Youth Art Show on Friday, March 14th from 4:00-7:00 pm at the Heartland Artist Gallery in downtown Plymouth located at 103 West LaPorte Street. Judy also shared “This Open House has become a family night where parents, grandparents, relatives and friends all visit the Youth Art Show to support the youth of our community and are very impressed with the artistic talent displayed”.

Heartland Artist Gallery has been very proud to show the student’s work, this being the sixth year for their show. The show has always been in March because of a national wide observation of ‘Youth Art Month’ (YAM) an event through

  National Art Education Association (NAEA). YAM is an annual observance to emphasize the value of art and art education for all children and to encourage public support for quality school art programs. Established in 1961, YAM provides a forum for acknowledging skills that are not possible in other subjects. The Council for Art Education (CFAE), a sponsor of Youth Art Month, adopted the national theme, “Start With Art, Learn for Life.” Art Education develops self-esteem, appreciation of the work of others, self-expression cooperation with others, and critical thinking skills. All of these skills are vital to the success of our future leaders–our children. More information is available through the NAEA website at www.arteducators.org/news/yam#sthash.

Susie Schmidt from Heartland Artists Gallery states “We enjoy having the Youth Art Show here, we like to see future artists in all their creative stages, they could become Heartland’s future artists, showing their work here again. To see this talent, dimension and creativity is amazing. We have a passion, we have a heart for art”!

Regular gallery hours at Heartland Artists Gallery are Tuesday – Saturday – 10-4.

Other upcoming events at the Gallery are:

– Sat., March 15th – 10-4 – ‘Learn to draw faces’ with Maurice Costello – costs $30, rsvp

– Thur., March 19th – 1-4 – ‘Portrait painting Maurice style’ with Maurice Costello –  costs $25. rsvp

– Tues./Wed., March 25th, 26th – 9-12 – ‘Wood Blocking Class’ for STUDENTS –  costs $15. rsvp

– Sat., April 15th – 1-4 – ‘Needle Felting’ with Vera Tiani – cost is $20, rsvp