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The local art community continues to grow. This time, with an opportunity for some of our youngest residents to learn and show off their talents.
The Summit Art Gallery, operated through the efforts of the Top of West Virginia Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Top of West Virginia Arts Council, recently unveiled its new children's gallery room. It's first exhibit went on display last Saturday, with some of the young artists and their families attending a reception.
"The Power of Process Art" features pieces by youth who attend Miss Tiffany's Early Childhood Education House in Weirton. Showcasing seemingly simplistic techniques applying paint to paper using fingers, cotton swabs and other every-day items, the exhibit shows that art doesn't have to be long hours staring at a canvas resulting in smooth lines and vivid imagery.
According to a quick search on Google, process art is considered art which emphasizes the process used rather than the end result. It's more about self expression and connecting with the world around the artist than coming up with a pre-planned piece.
Ultimately, art is about sharing a vision of creativity and encouraging thought and emotion.
The pieces by these young artists do just that.
This new children's gallery joins two other components of the Summit Art Gallery; one display area with rotating exhibits from guest artists and one showing off the works of members of the Arts Council. It's one more opportunity in an ever-growing effort to display the talents of the Ohio Valley; talents that, for too long, were relegated to the occasional weekend showcase or possibly hidden away in a closet or storage space.
It's been amazing to see the growth in the art community in the Tri-State Area in recent years. Area residents who, perhaps picked up a paintbrush for the first time in high school and never thought any of their pieces would be seen now have an opportunity for others to see what they can do.
Our area has a variety of murals painted on the sides of buildings, but now we also have public sculptures in some of our businesses, neighborhoods and even at our schools.
We have actual art galleries in our area. We don't have to go to Wheeling or Pittsburgh to visit an exhibit. Although, by all means, if there is something in those communities you think you might enjoy, visit them too, just don't forget the opportunity in your own back yard.
There are long-term, community-based projects still in the works through various efforts, as well.
The Weirton area has, for decades, been considered part of the "rust belt" of the United States; and area known more for its industrial craftsmanship than its artistic expression. That talent has been there, though, often shared only with family and friends as opposed to the community at large.
We don't always see it for ourselves, because we have been so accustomed to our world, but there truly is beauty in everything. It might be in the precision of a brush stroke or the randomness of a fingerprinting session, or perhaps the image of a raindrop on a flower petal or the connections between the pieces of a machine.
It's there, though, if we're willing to take a step back, or, better yet, allow others to see it for themselves. That's a lesson we all can share with our family, friends and neighbors, no matter their ages.
(Howell, a resident of Colliers, is managing editor of The Weirton Daily Times, and can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com or followed on Twitter @CHowellWDT)