YMCA hosts artistic activities

By Sean Barron

An area artist is putting together a montage showing the bottom of people’s feet.

When 8-year-old Christian Pruitt went to see several large puppets, he never expected to end up behind the controls of one nearly three times his size.

“I went to play with them but didn’t know I would be in a show,” Christian said.

For his efforts in the puppet performance, Christian, a third-grader at Hilltop Elementary School in Canfield, took home a certificate.

Christian was one of many youngsters who attended the Afternoon of the Arts event at the D.D. and Velma Davis Family YMCA, 45 McClurg Road in Boardman.

The free, three-hour program Saturday also featured exhibits by professional artists, live music and dance, crafts and cookie-decorating for youngsters and poetry readings.

The 30-minute puppet show promoted various positive messages, and its theme focused on the importance of recycling. Each of the estimated 22 puppets was made from recycled materials, noted Mary Adams, a retired 38-year art teacher in the Youngstown city schools. Adams also wrote the show’s script.

Also assisting with the show’s scenery and recordings were Tresa Kurz-Hedrich, Fran Kachmar, Linda Smith, Joyce Swierz and Rita Herchik, all current or retired teachers.

Christian’s puppet had an otherworldly look and was meant to symbolize doing the right thing and making good choices, Adams said.

Christian came with his mother, Chris, who was one of the artists, and his father, Chris.

The variety of art mediums was a major attraction for Angie Mainhardt of Poland, who brought daughters Cecelia, 3, Gaby, 6, and Sophia, 8.

“It’s something fun to do on a Saturday.” Mainhardt said, noting that plans for the three girls included adding decorative touches to several cookies, as well as having decorations added to the bottom of their feet.

Many children and adults removed their footwear and had markers applied to their feet as part of a montage being assembled by Suzanne Bort Gray she titled “Peaceful Soleutions.

Gray, of Boardman, said she hopes for the project to get 1,000 images of the bottoms of people’s feet complemented with numerous designs, messages of peace and other colorings. The work will then be exchanged with another country next April, noted Gray, an artist and volunteer with the Global Art Project for Peace.

The organization seeks to promote peace and break down communication barriers worldwide through art, she explained.

“Hopefully we will have feet from everywhere; it’s the coolest thing,” added Gray, who’s done montages for about five years.

The show’s offerings also included jewelry, woodcarvings, collages with balsa strips and wallpaper, multimedia expressions and caricature drawings.

Many attendees gravitated toward the table that displayed several pastel landscapes and portraits by Jan Milhan of Bristolville.

Milhan’s technique includes using pure pigments that resemble chalk and working quickly with bright light and colors. An example of her work is a quartet of chickens she completed in 20 minutes and had on display at the Canfield Fair.

Milhan, who works for Severstal, a Warren-based steel company, also is a member of the Mahoning Valley Watercolor Society.

Providing entertainment via contemporary and modern dances was Michelle Edison, a dance and fitness instructor at the Y.