Local Shop Kicks Off Art Series with WHS Students' Work

Art programs across the country have consistently rolled onto the chopping block for years as school districts struggle with the effort to mitigate rising costs in tough economic times.

Windsor has fortunately been able to maintain its art and music programs from the elementary level right up through high school, and local business owner William Gleason is making an effort to ensure that Windsor's talented youth continue to have their work supported in the community.

On Fri., Feb. 10, Gleason, owner of , will kick off a series of art exhibitions aimed at shining a spotlight on local artists and providing a platform for the continued support of their work.

"I just really wanted to use this as an opportunity to create awareness that the arts are getting cut left and right at schools, so if I could help out in any way it would be an honor," says Gleason, who says he finds inspiration in the work of youths.

"It's great to be around kids and see their creativity," he says. "I'm inspired by a lot of the way the kids look."

Friday's opening reception will feature the work of Alison Flores, a junior at Windsor High who has presented a collection of photographs intent on changing her audiences perception of the world we inhabit.

Flores, a student of Windsor High's pre-Advanced Placement art program, says her goal is "to take things that you see every day, or things that you wouldn't normally pay attention to and say 'this can be really interesting, you should take another look.'"

Her approach has created a body of work that Marjorie Renno, Windsor High School Art Teacher and client of Gleason's describes a "cultivated" and "wonderful."

"Alison is looking at things that are around us every day with this really wonderful eye that makes people make a connection to them," she says.

"I think one of the really great things with Alison's work that we're all really excited about is that she's really learning how to look at stuff.

"So whether it's blueberries or… there's this amazing piece that looks like you're going through a tunnel, and it's the inside of a paper towel tube… Whether it's a paper towel tube or not, her use of line, color and shape can draw anyone in."

Friday's opening at is noteworthy in that it will be Flores' first solo show, but it will also serve as an opportunity for community members and those interested in the arts to support the development of talent in Windsor — development achieved through programs that contributed to Flores getting her first solo exhibition.

"[Alison] was one of our sophomores last year who won a scholarship to go do a summer college intensive program in the arts (at Savannah College of Art and Design), and a lot of this work grew out of that," explains Renno. 

"When she came back this fall, she had this really wonderful body of work that had started during that experience, so when [Gleason] started talking about wanting to support the art department and wanting to bring student work out, I know that she already had a body of work that had been cultivated this summer," Renno says, adding that showing the work of Windsor High students at Hairdresser on Fire is a great opportunity.

"It's fantastic," she says. "William has supported the high school kids before with bringing in kids through our School to Work program where they've shadowed [him] for the day.

"This is just another extension of how wonderful it is to work with this business because we're right in the center of town, tons of people will be coming in and out of here using this business, and now they get to see what some of the high school kids are doing less than a mile up the road."

The opening art reception will be held at from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. with light hors d'oeuvres. A raffle will be held to raise money for the art program, and donations of $25 and $10 dollars will provide supporters with a hand-dyed, 100-percent silk scarf or a discount to local restaurants, respectively.

All donations will go to scholarships like the one Flores was awarded to attend the Savannah College of Art and Design and multiple scholarships for graduating seniors.