May 27, 2015
Making a difference through art Recipes
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Fruit-filled summer celebrations
Around Town
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“Cowboy Swing”
Zack Smithey displays artwork in his studio on May 12. Smithey created 1,000 acrylic and enamel paintings and launched the Easter Art Search in March.
Photo by Ray Rockwell
Local artist reaches out to the community to raise money for charity
School
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Eureka! STEM summer camp
By Brett Auten Zack Smithey took a leap in the name of art and positivity. The 32-year-old St. Charles native created 1,000 acrylic and enamel paintings and launched the Easter Art Search in March. Little by little Smithey pounded the pavement and Facebook, stashing the pieces throughout the region, usually at non-profit organizations, and then posted clues and location hints. Citing the disruptions in Ferguson and the general unrest in St. Louis, Smithey was motivated to try and bring people together and showcase a spirit in the area. The response was overwhelming. His followers on social media went ballistic as he soon maxed out his Facebook friends’ requests. Local news outlets caught wind and more and more got behind his cause. When it was all said and done, at a signing at Cicero’s, Smithey spent more than four hours signing his paintings and anything else as the line spilled out of the restaurant. The experience not only unified members of different communities but raffles and donations benefited local non-profits. The Easter Art Search raised over
$4,000 for Covenant House and countless donations of food, clothing, diapers and sports equipment. At Stray Rescue he raised $2,500 and Five Acres Animal Shelter in St. Charles, it was over $1,000. He also raffled off paintings and raised $2,000 to be shared by Growing American Youth and a local cancer patient’s medical expenses. “It was different than the normal gallery show which can be kind of cold with just a few pieces and there’s a disconnect between the viewer and the artist,” Smithey said. “There was a different, individual experience. Between meeting people and hearing so many cool stories on the Internet, it changed how I want to present myself as an artist in a new direction. I don’t want to hide out in the studio.” Smithey has been an artist, whether he realized it or not, for as long as he can remember. “My grandmother would set a still life at the center of a table,” he said. “I would draw it from one side and she would draw it from another then we would critique each other’s work.” Smithey taught art at Francis Howell North High School from 2006 to 2013,
painted backdrops at the Muny, created videos for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and plays the viola. He lives in St. Charles where he owns the restaurant and art gallery Miss Aimee B’s. In order to churn out 1,000 pieces, Smithey had to adjust his creative method. See MAKING A DIFFERENCE page 2
Over the Fence
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News of the norm
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