Update from the Executive Director
As you read through Art with a Heart’s August newsletter, keep in mind that with every image you see, there was an immense amount of preparation and hard work to ensure a robust, enriching and hands-on art experience for each and every student. The Art with a Heart team continues to dig deep, pivot and move forward with providing access to visual arts programming to children and adults in the Baltimore community. As a collective, we know that arts education can be a lifeline for children, youth and aging adults facing difficult circumstances and isolation. We also know that the arts can be a community healing activity from shared trauma. And, most importantly, we know that the arts are essential in developing creative thinkers and problem solvers. Solutions to world crises like the pandemic or national issues like those related to race relations can only be solved by creative, thoughtful and empathic minds. Access to visual art programming is essential to developing these minds and cultivating much needed creativity and ingenuity to solve current problems and those that will affect generations to come. So as you scroll through the images and learn about our work, just think...with each marker, piece of clay, paint brush, and crayon...Art with a Heart is cultivating creative thinkers, providing opportunities for self expression and healing and keeping children and adults from being alone and idle. 

We appreciate your continued support of our work and hope you will consider a donation today.

With wishes for continued good health and safety, 

Randi


Happenings
As the summer comes to a close, Art with a Heart has all your fall needs covered. Art with a Heart notebooks (great for journaling or note taking), sweatshirts (for those cool evenings), new HeART Kits (engaging and fun!) and tie-dyed masks. Visit shop.artwithaheart.net to shop for these and other products!
HeARTworks/HeARTwares
Adinkra Printmaking
In August, Art with a Heart's workforce development program, HeARTworks, started weekly sessions with the youth in Arrow Child & Family Ministries' residential program. The residents explored values meaningful to them and correlated the values with Adinkra symbols. The youth painted beautiful banners and embellished them with the symbols through a printmaking process.
Bon Secours Community Works
The HeARTworks team facilitated a six-week workshop with Bon Secours Community Works Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship Program. The 29 youth enrolled in the virtual program enjoyed creating self reflective art along with marketable art for sale on the HeARTwares online store.
Youthworkers Expand their Digital Art Skills
YouthWorks participants spent 11 weeks working with Art with a Heart. Their summer digital art curriculum focused on branding, graphic design, 3D modeling and web design. Most recently, the youth developed jewelry and office items in TinkerCAD for 3D printing and created portfolio websites using HTML and CSS.
Programming
Hands-On; Spaced Out!
In August, Art with a Heart resumed its first in-person programs with Lakeview Towers and Bel Park Towers. Residents at these locations were eager to participate in Art with a Heart classes as a creative and social respite. After learning hand-building slab techniques, the residents enthusiastically made two ceramic projects for use in their apartments: a nature inspired bowl and a napkin holder.
Heart and Mind: A Creative Collaboration
In partnership with Keys Development, Art with a Heart facilitated classes with their family therapy group combining a visual art practice with topics of "Engaging with Family," "Coping with COVID," "Embracing Black Lives Matter,"and "Self-Awareness." In one session, students learned about artist, Roberto Lugo and practiced coil building techniques to build their own portrait vessels. Other projects included continuous line drawings and printed trading cards inspired by West African Adinkra symbols.
You Scream, I Scream...We All Scream for Ice Cream (with our masks on)!!
Art with a Heart has collaborated with Peace Camp for 12 summers and while this summer had to be a bit different, students still logged on for class, spent summertime together and celebrated Peace Heroes. This summer, Art with a Heart honored peace heroes John Lewis, John Carlos, Tommie Smith, and all the STUDENTS! During the final week of camp, students explored how they can be peace heroes and how their unique voices can be used for social justice causes. Speaking of unique, below students show off their final project of the summer which was to create their own ice cream flavor.
Community Service and Public Art
Glazed, Fired and Ready for their Close Up!
These handmade ceramic tiles were created by students from The Greenmount School and The William S. Baer School. Greenmount students glazed the tiles from their homes and returned them to Art with a Heart for firing. These completed tiles will become the border of a mosaic sign being created for the entrance to the Baer school.
AND THEY'RE BACKKKKKKKK!
Art with a Heart is thrilled to safely welcome back some of its volunteers and Impressionists to help with program preparation and many of the ongoing large-scale art projects including mosaics for the Weinberg Library at the Maryland School for the Blind, Ben Franklin High School, and the Johns Hopkins Scleroderma Center.
Art of Leadership
Step Right Up to the Baer School!!
Art of Leadership students continue to work on their Capstone Public Art Project for The William S. Baer School. The painting is now done and inspirational mosaic words will be installed soon. Stay tuned for the final images.
Leadership Students Begin their Year of Learning
The Art of Leadership's 6th Cohort held its first session this month. This new group of young leaders laid the groundwork for their year ahead, and focused on building community norms and expectations, defining leadership, and getting to know one another's passions and personal stories.
Art with a Heart provides Baltimore's children, youth, and adults with 12,000 visual art classes a year in schools, community centers, group homes, shelters, permanent housing facilities, hospitals, and senior facilities. Since 2000, Art with a Heart has provided its students with access to creative, educational, and positive programming, caring and nurturing adults on a consistent basis, and the chance to embrace new ideas and skills in a safe and structured environment. In an effort to achieve its mission of enhancing the lives of people in need through visual art, Art with a Heart works to harness the benefits of arts education to cultivate positive changes in behavior and general attitudes among its participants. Art with a Heart is steadfast in its commitment to help nurture and grow its students and encourage them to become better communicators, problem solvers, and community members. 


3000 Falls Road | Mill No. 1 | Baltimore, MD 21211