December 03, 2008 04:58 AM UTC

Heart-wrenching art hits Pearl Street

• 2 Comments
• by: Salacks

Whoa. I just got back from the Vision of Giving open house, at 1600 Pearl Street, in the old Borders Book Store location. This is some serious art. These kids have poured intense passion and emotion into their paintings, photography and sculpture. Each piece promotes giving to a local cause of the artist’s choosing.

Don’t miss this show. Hurry. The grand finale is Wednesday, Dec. 3. Gallery show starts at 2 p.m. The Awards Ceremony and Celebration is from 6:30 to 8 p.m. It’s free. It’s open to the public. And the winning artists will donate half of their cash prizes to the nonprofit at the center of their masterpieces. If you can’t come Wednesday, you’ve got one more chance Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Then it’s gone until next year.

Here’s a taste of what you’ll see:

“Give”: Fairview High 12th-grader Ben Lotte promotes “Share-A-Gift” with this whimsical graphic arts piece

“Change”: Boulder High 12th-grader Ari Davis promotes Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center with this piece, painted on an American flag.

“Some people just pass them by, but I found out that they’re just like me”: Manhattan Middle School 6th-grader Patrick Lavelle took photos of homeless people around Boulder for this piece in support of the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless. “I photographed homeless people so I could get to know them and show other people who they are,” he wrote. “I liked hearing their stories and telling them what I like to do. One man had gotten hit by a car and another man lost his job and can’t find a new one. They should be allowed to get food and have a place to live just like other people.”

“Ill at Ease”: Centennial Middle School 7th-grader Kelsea Dionne, who has struggled with depression, poured her heart into this painting. Wrote the artist: “I love this artwork of mine, it really symbolizes me powerfully. Such as, I have to take a whole crap load of pills every night because my sleeping schedule is backwards and I was diagnosed with depression last year. I remember I kept telling myself the best I would ever be was six feet under the ground. That means buried and in a coffin. And in fifth grade I wanted to jump out a window and fall head-first and break my neck. But, this painting changes things. For good.”

“Think Green”: Boulder High School 11th-grader Paige Hirschey wrapped her wire sculpture around an energy-efficient “idea bulb” to pay homage to her cause, the Center for Resource Conservation. “Together, by ‘Thinking green,’ we can reverse the effects of climate change and create a healtheir, cleaner planet for everyone,” she wrote.

Disclosure: I work with the non-profit organization The Community Foundation of Boulder County which exists to improve the quality of life in Boulder County, now and forever, and to build a culture of giving.