A Continuation of Celebrating Books, Art, and Community…..

As a means of encouraging residents’ interest in the arts, the Art in the City Committee coordinated a mural design contest last spring and challenged students at Haltom High School to enter. The contest was co-sponsored by the Haltom City Library 50^th Anniversary Committee. Theme of the winning work was to be military in honor of those who had served in the United States Armed Forces.  Winners were announced before the end of school  last year. They are: 1^st Place – Erik Johnson; 2^nd Place Bethany Ivey.

So that these works could be seen by the public, the city’s Parks and Recreation Department employees constructed two four by 16 foot pallets on the lawn at the library. The students from Haltom High completed the mural by applying the winning designs during the inaugural Art in the City Haltom City Art Festival, held Oct. 1 at the Library. Those who drive by can appreciate the students’ work, just in time for an observance of Veteran’s Day 2011.

A special thanks to Fran Burns who provided this information and photos of the murals in progress, and of course, to all the volunteers of the Art in the City Committee and the Haltom City Public Library's 50th Anniversary Committee for their vision, hard work, and dedication to Haltom City and the library.

Art Wednesdays at the Library

Today, Bennie Johnson Wood, artist and teacher, started the first of her three Wednesday art classes that she is holding at the library for children 8-12 years old.  It was a colorful success with 16 students creating beautiful pictures with Magic Markers.  The class was fun but the students took their artistic work seriously as the picture with Kate and Fernando shows. Melody Vasquez, Bennie Wood’s assistant, was by their side to encourage them.

If your child missed today’s class, don’t worry.  There are two more classes coming up. But please hurry and register your children as seating for the classes is limited!  We unfortunately had to turn away some children today because they hadn’t been registered and there wasn’t enough room for them.  The classes are free but there is a $5.00 registration deposit which will be refunded to you after your child has completed the class. 

The April 6^th class will be held at 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. and the painting medium to be used will be crayons but this won’t be the typical crayon coloring-within-the-lines project.  (In fact, I know a couple of grownups who want to audit this class and may be petitioning Ms. Wood to teach an adult crayon painting class!  Why should the kids get to have all the fun?)

The last of the Wednesday Art Classes will be on May 4^th at 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. and Ms. Wood will be teaching the children how to use colored tissues and Plexiglas to make a stained glass look.

These classes are made possible for your children by a grant funded by the Arts Council Northeast and the Texas Commissions on the Arts.  The library’s 50^th Birthday Committee has also made contributions to help fund the supplies for these classes.  We thank each of them and Bennie Johnson Wood for their ongoing support and efforts in helping bring the beauty and appreciation of art into our lives and the lives of our children.