A Community full of rockin' Michelangelos

For the past month I've sponsored an anime art contest at our library. The response has been overwhelming. We've put colored paper on the walls and then taped the art around the teen section but we've just about run out of room. I think if we had just said we were having an "art contest" there would not have been as much response. I think "art contest" sounds a little elitist and it's too broad. But by giving the teens something specific, and something so popular they've really come through. They love having them on display. I want to keep them up there as long as I can. I hope they don't want their pictures back because honestly I want to take them all home and put them on my fridge.

I've put up some pictures on this blog of other art projects they've worked on. What really impressed me was the gingerbread men they made back at Christmas. Now if I made a gingerbread men he would have buttons down his middle, cute little eyes and a perky smile. The teens went completely out of the box on this assignment. There were very few "cute" gingerbread men. Actually, we had "Naruto/gingerbread men", "cat/gingerbread men", and ones of all different bold colors instead of the traditional brown. One teen made one with a pistol in its hand but then he later claimed it was a "candy cane." (Yeah right.) Some gingerbread men even had googly eyes all down their bellies instead of bright, black buttons. The teens really used their creativity.