Tonight, from 5-7 p.m., Artisan Style will host its second opening reception for the "Budding Young Artists" show, featuring works from the children of Art Stop, a private children's art school in Preston Center.
I attended last week and had the unique viewpoint of seeing this event through the eyes of a mom of an Art Stop student (There's my little angel standing underneath her painting of a Geisha she so aptly named "China Girl" at last week's opening reception.), an Art Stop teacher and an Artist represented by the Gallery.
From every way you can slice it, this is a wonderful show. "Children" and "art gallery" are not two concepts that usually go hand-in-hand, but Brandon Lynch and Steve Iha, Co-Owners of Artisan Style, have gone out of their way to make this a family-oriented event, serving kid-pleasing beverages and nibbles along with your typical opening reception fare.
It pleased me so much to see the pride on the children's faces as they found their artwork on display and the delight in their parents' eyes as they admired their children's work. The art teacher in me knows how hard these kiddos have worked all year and how much they have been looking forward to this opportunity to display their artwork at a Gallery. Each student was invited to select 1-2 of their strongest pieces of the year to display at the gallery and I was truly amazed by the quality of work that they produced.
It was also wonderful for the families who visited (and I could not believe how many parents, and grandparents, and friends came out) because in addition to viewing their children's artwork, they got a dose of what Artisan Style usually has to offer as they took in the other works from Artisan Style's in-house artists peppered throughout the children's works.
This is such a wonderful family event and I encourage all of my Dallas friends with young children to attend tonight. The opening reception this evening is showcasing the works of the older kids, ages 7 - teen, and is sure to impress. I am a firm believer that it is never too early to instill a love of arts in your children!
