By Megan Sprague

The young artist’s eyes lit up as he pointed to his latest work — a cat with colorful rainbow stripes down its back.

“I love the different colors,” said 6-year-old Adam Weber, flashing a jack-o-lantern grin. And, he added, “I like cats.”

Adam’s work was one of many on display last week at Woodland Heights Elementary, as the school hosted its “Celebrate the Arts” event.

“Every kid should have the opportunity to be celebrated,” said Lisa VanBuhler, a PTO board member and organizer of the event. “They’re all shining stars.“

Each child was asked to submit one piece of artwork to be displayed on the walls of the school, accompanied by a plaque with their name and a description of their work.

“It looks like a museum gallery in here,” VanBuhler grinned. “You should’ve seen the way the kids lit up as the PTO started hanging up their work. It was great. They were all exclaiming, ‘There’s mine!’ and pointing, with their faces just glowing. It was much more than I expected.”

Last week, with the school choir singing in the background, proud families walked around, admiring their children’s handiwork.

“I just love it,” gushed Trish Travers about her granddaughter’s piece, a Japanese ad turned into a realistic drawing. “She’s a fabulous artist.”

Tatiana Fahs, Traver’s granddaughter, said she created the drawing because she’s always loved Japanese culture.

“My favorite part of the drawing is her hair and the tattoo she has,” Fahs said. She said she draws a lot and one day hopes to be an artist.

Amanda Weber chose a slightly different theme than her brother’s colorful feline inspiration.

“We were supposed to do a sea theme,” said 7-year-old Amanda, pointing to her drawing filled with seaweed, octopus, fish and eels. The colors were mainly blue and green, because “I like them,” she said shyly.

The kids weren’t the only artists in the school that night, however.

“We have nine professional artists here from Charlotte, Mooresville and Matthews,” said VanBuhler. The artists were there to explain their craft to the children and hopefully spark a lifelong interest.

Her son, Michael, had his portrait drawn by one of the more popular artists of the night, Randy Lebowitz Dean.

With deft strokes of her paintbrush and fingers, Dean created a painting so realistic it could have popped off the page, as onlookers peered over her shoulder.

“Art isn’t emphasized enough in schools, and you don’t see real artists very often,” Dean said. “Children need to see that there are artists in the career world, and that they are thriving.”

Portraits have become her main line of work, because they “feel more personal.“

“I thought with the popularity of digital cameras that I might be out of work, but people still see that having a painting is so special and different.”

As she blended her work and finished placing the shadows on Michael’s face, she had a last bit of advice for future artists.

“Draw every day,” she said. “Always have a sketch book with you.“

Last but not least, a silent auction was held in the gym to raise money for the PTO, with the items created by the school’s budding artists. Stained glass windows, tiled coffee tables, birdhouses and quilts were up for grabs, and VanBuhler was “amazed” at how well the event and the art had turned out.

“I am overwhelmed by the creativity of the students and I’m so glad this worked out as well as it did,” she said, smiling. “I really think we’ll do this again next year.“

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