Student Creativity Shines at Ferndale’s Artist in You Reception

Student Creativity Shines at Ferndale’s Artist in You Reception
(Crystal A. Proxmire, April 2, 2016)
Ferndale, MI – When it comes to helping young artists find their inspiration, teacher Jerry Lemenu likes to “get out of their way and let them work.”  The results of the right mix of support and freedom filled the walls of The Ferndale Area District Library Thursday for the Artist in You reception.  Nearly 50 students from CASA, a seven-school consortium for students from Berkley, Clawson, Ferndale, Hazel Park, Lamphere, Madison, and Oak Park High Schools, had their work shown.  Plus the work could be selected as one of six that gets made into large-scale public art.
This is the second year for The Artist in You program, which is a collaborative effort of The Ferndale Area Chamber of Commerce, Ferndale Schools, the Ferndale Library and businesses that support the effort such as Level One Bank and Jim Schaffer and Associates.
The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at Level One Bank on Friday, April 29 from 6pm to 9pm, 22635 Woodward Avenue.
Jack Michalak enjoys drawing cars and hopes to go to school for design.  His “untitled” charcoal and pastel drawing features a Mustang, partly reflected in a puddle with multi-colored spheres in the sky and mountains in the background.  “Mr. Lemenu is a good teacher because he gives advice when you ask and likes to help,” Michalak said.
Isabella Garza made a pastel image of two skeletons together with a heart.  “In Love” ties well with her interest in the human body and her desire to go into forensic photography. “I wanted to go into forensics for a while,” Garza said.  “But I am getting more into art and I think the two would be a nice mix for a career.”
Linden Godlove of the Ferndale Area Chamber welcomed the families and guests, stating “It’s inspiring to see these fresh art works from our young community members.”
Lemenu said art is “not about talent.  It’s how much does the creative process excite the kid.  It’s how much can they let go, when they think they are going one way and they go a different direction from when they started.”
The Artist in You Program is great, he said, because “It’s nice to support the kids and put their art out into the world.  That’s great for them.  But this also shows the whole community how valuable the arts are for kids.  You know, for some of these kids this is what they get up in the morning and go to school for.”
The Artist in You Program is funded with support from businesses and community members.  People can donate at https://www.gofundme.com/artistinyou.
      

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