Size: 11" x 14"
Medium: Colored Pencil
Artist: Sarah Raban
Inspired by: "Best Friends" by Ka'lehya from Wade Park School
Suggested Value: $240.00

"The poem inspired me by communicating the powerful feelings a good friendship can hold. I thought about my best friend from my childhood and how we are still friends now. I loved the use of star imagery in the poem, and thought about how the stars are forever, just as the poem was describing the friendship."

Sarah Raban has spent much of the recent past joyously exploring her idea of "Home" in as many colors of acrylics and oils as possible. A recent transplant to Cleveland from the mountains of Colorado, she is finding no end to the inspiration and opportunity available here. For her, painting is the vehicle to most thoroughly and consciously engage with the universe. Like lucid dreaming, through art, she reframes her relationship with the world. Painting allows her to communicate that new relationship with the viewer. She has been making art since Mr. Sketch black marker smelled of licorice, and took art classes in high school and college.

Size: 18" x 24"
Medium: Mixed Medium
Artist: Gilberto Rivera
Inspired by: "Best Friends" by Ka'Lehya from Wade Park School
Suggested Value: $350.00

"What drew my attention to the poem was its honesty and the vision of two friends floating in the sky."

Gilberto is an artist, educator, director, and producer with over 15 years of experience in the film industry. He has produced work for a variety of clients, including Cuyahoga Community College, T-Mobile, Crime Stoppers, NBC, MTV, and Bandai. Gilberto has created and taught workshops at the Ohio Valley Arts Center and the Julia De Burgos Center, including his popular "Superhero in You" workshop. He now rebranded the art workshop into Narrative Boom, and his workshops have been featured in many Cleveland area schools, the Cleveland Public Library.