By MARLA K. KUHLMAN THISWEEKNEWS.COM Posted Jan 29, 2019 at 1:35 PMUpdated Jan 29, 2019 at 2:00 PM The Westerville community will have a chance to purchase original artwork created by local leaders, thanks to the Westerville Education Foundation’s Jan. 23 Celebrity Sip & Sketch. The theme was “The Sky is the Limit,” resulting in 20 pieces of original art that will be available during an auction at An Artful Affair on April 27 at the Lakes Golf and Country Club, 6740 Worthington Road, said Colleen Moidu, the foundation’s executive director. She said the painting event at the Point at Otterbein, 60 Collegeview Road, was wonderful. “We had such an incredible group of celebrity artists,” she said. “Many of these leaders in our community had expressed some concern about their painting abilities, but they all bravely picked up their paintbrushes. “I was truly surprised by the beautiful work they created, led by Jan Fedorenko and other volunteers from the Arts Council of Westerville,” she said. Related content An Artful Affair to help Westerville Education Foundation grow April 23, 2019 Celebrity artists included Michael Wettrich, Education First Credit Union; Mike Heyeck, Valerie Cumming, Mayor Craig Treneff and vice mayor Kathy Cocuzzi, Westerville City Council; police Chief Joe Morbitzer, Westerville Division of Police; Dave Collinsworth, city manager of Westerville; Dave Krebs, Westerville Noon Rotary Club; Frankie Hejduk, Columbus Crew; Gretchen Kiehl, Westerville Sunrise Rotary Club; Janet Davis, Westerville Area Chamber of Commers; Superintendent John Kellogg and Deputy Superintendent Mark Hershiser, Westerville City Schools; Linda Wilkins, Arts Council of Westerville, Nancy Nestor-Baker, Rick Vilardo, Tracy Davidson, Westerville Board of Education; Vaughn Bell, Westerville school board and Westerville Area Ministerial Association; Rick Rano, Community Culture Day, Sunrise Rotary Club; and Laurie VanBalen, Columbus Crossing Borders Project. Kellogg said he has never considered himself to be much of an artist, but he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to express his inner Rembrandt. “I gave it my best, but I know for a fact that you can walk down the halls of any of our elementary schools and see some artwork that is far superior to anything that I could ever produce,” he said. “In all seriousness, this was a fun event for a great cause. The foundation had a terrific turnout, so I’d like to thank everyone who participated in support of our schools.” Kellogg issued an invitation to attend An Artful Affair, where items have typically been auctioned off in silent and live auction formats. “If our work doesn’t catch your eye, the foundation will have plenty of other pieces from real artists to purchase that night, too,” he said. About 150 to 200 guests were invited to Celebrity Sip & Sketch to view an exhibit of student artwork and receive encouragement as they stepped out of their comfort zones to paint for the benefit of Westerville students, Moidu said. She said Morbitzer participated as a celebrity artists just two days before his retirement from the Westerville police department. He was presented with a framed Columbus Crossing Borders collage as well as a canvas print of one of the pieces of student artwork called “The Flags of Our School” painted by Kayla Carte from Westerville Central High School. Morbitzer was one of the founders of Community Culture Day and was instrumental in bringing the Columbus Crossing Borders Project to Westerville and CCD, Moidu said. She said there were nearly 300 pieces of student artwork on display and they were inspired by the Columbus Crossing Borders Project. “The Columbus Crossing Borders Project was brought to Westerville in early October by the collaboration called Westerville Crossing Borders (Westerville Education Foundation, Westerville Education Challenge, Westerville Partners for Education and Westerville Parent Council) with a mission to create awareness, understanding and connection around the diversity in Westerville City Schools,” Moidu said. For more information on An Artful Affair, go to westervilleeducationfoundation.com. mkuhlman@thisweeknews.com @ThisWeekMarla
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