STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

In the foyer of The Community Library sits an array of tiny art.

Very tiny art.

The canvases are just 5-by-5 inches. They are but a sampling of the 124 artworks that were submitted for The Library’s second annual Tiny Art Show.

Eli Sattler, 13 created “The Puzzler,” a mesmerizing collage of crossword puzzle lines.

Their creators ranged in age from 3 to 16. And, if you have any fears that today’s youth might have lost some of their creativity given today’s ubiquitous use of screens, put them aside.

These kids are darn imaginative.

“Finley is inspired by a lot of art,” said Wyatt Caldwell of his tiny tot. “She used all the colors of the rainbow in her work.”

“Our child definitely likes making art,” said Finley’s aunt Scarlet Baxter during a mini-Gallery Walk for the artwork, which included kid-sized tiny cookies and lemonade.

Eight-year-old Sawyer R. added sawdust, coral and shells to his painting “At the Ocean.”

Children’s Librarian DeAnn Campbell said The Community Library received three times as many artworks this year as last. The library provided 124 free art kits, each of which included a 5-inch-by-5-inch canvas, paints and brushes. In fact, it had more requests than it could accommodate.

The exercise demonstrated The Library’s mission to go beyond the written word to inspire creativity in its young patrons.

Eli Sattler, 13, created a mesmerizing collage made of crossword puzzle lines.

Twelve-year-old James Stangeelini painted a Looney Tunes Bugs Bunny mug shot while his 14-year-old brother William created The City, a silhouette of orange skyscrapers, with Posca markers.

Five-year-old Love Levy painted “Cat.”

Some of the young artists added dimension to their paintings with pom pom balls. Eight-year-old Jasper Riccardi applied leaves to his “Maple Tree Sunrise.” And 8-year-old Sawyer R. added sawdust, coral and shells to his painting “At the Ocean.”

Penguins were popular subjects, including one that featured “Penguin 1 and 2,” hand in hand. Seven-year-old Jules Moore memorialized the sinking Titanic, while 12-year-old Indy Conway created “Cozy Nights in Sun Valley” with glitter over her acrylic paint.

Eduardo Lopez-Arellano, 16, painted a robot worthy of a graphic novel with the title “It’s Getting Hot in Here,” while 10-year-old Ava Toussaint painted a simple but cute picture of a frog under a big red and white spotted mushroom titled “Looking for Shade.”

Three-year-old Dupre Read made the quintessential abstract painting—a 5-inch square of brown paint aptly titled “Brown.”

Twelve-year-old James Stangeelini painted a Looney Tunes Bugs Bunny mug shot.

COMING UP:

The Children’s Library will host Digital Daze and Kids’ Button Making from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. today—Thursday, April 23.