A Life Lesson: See Closed Doors As Opportunities
Kennedy Heights Arts Center Has Student Art Show
Each spring, the galleries at Kennedy Heights Arts Center highlight the work of our area’s most up-and-coming artists. The annual Student Art Show features artwork by more than 80 youth and adult students who take class at the arts center or in one of its many outreach programs in local schools.
Paintings, drawings, photography, mixed-media collage and textured wall sculptures grace the walls of the historic building’s exhibition space. The works demonstrate the great imagination and talent of these diverse students, as well as the creativity of their skilled, professional art instructors. Kennedy Heights Arts Center offers a wide range of classes and camps for youth ages 5+ and adults in drawing, painting, photography, sculpture, print making and more – allowing people of all ages and backgrounds to express themselves creatively, hone their skills, 
or learn a brand new art form. The center’s sliding-scale fee policy ensures affordability for all people regardless of income. Outreach programs in public schools and social service organizations provide enrichment opportunities for many under-served children.
Students of all ages look forward to this exhibit every year so they can show off their hard work – and its a great chance for the public to view all the imaginative and inspiring work students have been making, and to discover what others have been learning. Participating schools include Academy of World Languages, Nativity School, The New School Montessori, Pleasant Ridge Montessori, Silverton Paideia Academy, and Woodford Paideia Academy.
The show runs through Saturday, May 23rd. Gallery hours are Tuesday – Friday, 10am to 5pm and Saturday, 11am to 4pm. The Kennedy Heights Arts Center is located at 6546 Montgomery Rd; 45213.
Andrea Francisco Shares Her Lessons Learned As My Good Things Intern
I am so very proud of Andrea Francisco, a recent Indian Hill High School graduate who has been interning with me this school year; and I am grateful for the opportunity to get to know her and all of her abilities. She is no doubt going to be going on to great things. Before then she took a few minutes to share how the experience has helped her grow.
written by Andrea Francisco
Over the past year, I have learned some important lessons on life that I want to share with you all. From my experience writing at Good Things Going Around to having a blast finishing my fourteenth year at the Indian Hill, I have had a wonderful year, perhaps my best yet, with many lessons learned along the way.
Being Grateful and the Importance of Giving Back
In the past, I always took all of my blessings for granted, and never fully appreciated the scope of how lucky I am. I live in a free country, go to an excellent school, and have little hardships compared to others. However, this does not mean that I should sit back and relax: because I have been given so much, I believe that I should give back even more. This sounded overwhelming to me at first, but I am now convinced that this is the meaning of life: to lift up and help others. Also, I am inspired by this quote from the French writer and poet Antoine de Saint-Exupery: “When you give yourself, you receive more than you give.” In other words, when you give back to others even a little bit, the joy you have inspired in them will be reflected back to you, and you will have more joy than what you started out with.
Being Joyful and Sharing With Others
The power of sharing stories and experiences with others is that it is incredibly moving; just think about the countless lives that are touched everyday by the stories in Good Things Going Around alone. Without sharing, we would be unable to connect with each other, particularly strangers whom we might be tempted to judge, in meaningful ways. Sharing improves trust and understanding between different and sometimes conflicting groups or individuals. Furthermore, I have learned that it is important to be joyful in sharing, as that joy can touch the lives of others in ways I can’t imagine. I have found that the saying “Be the change you want to see in the world” is really true, because when I am more joyful the people around me tend to be the same. For instance, I notice that when I smile around others they tend to smile back also. It’s incredibly empowering to think that if I choose so, I can influence the people around me to be joyful if I show joyfulness myself.
Balancing Life and Prioritizing
The art of balancing life is an important lesson that I have learned this year, as it is the first year in my young adult life I have felt truly balanced. Some years I would be lazier and procrastinate, while other years I would spend too much time studying and working. However, this year I have found a happy medium between the work-life balance, and part of this is because I learned to spend more time working on the things that make me more happy and fulfilled. Yes, school and work are important, and you should work hard, but always remember to find time to do the things that make you happy. In my case this includes helping others, exercising, writing, making art, cooking, and spending time with friends.
People are Truly Amazing
I am actually shocked at how amazing people are! I never knew the world had so many talented, happy, and strong people, especially in the greater Cincinnati area, previous to starting my internship at Good Things Going Around. The ReelAbilities Film festival was definitely the pinnacle of the newfound amazement I have for people with disabilities. Watching the different film trailers made me laugh and cry, and allowed me to connect with people that have disabilities in ways I never imagined. I saw the film called “Stand Clear of the Closing Doors”, a drama film about a boy with autism, Ricky, who lives in Queens and hides in the subway with Hurricane Sandy approaching, all while his family desperately searches for him. In addition, the photography work done by Rick Guidotti in his program Positive Exposure, which exposed the true beauty of those with genetic, physical, and behavioral differences, such as albinism or autism, was a real eye-opener. I don’t know a lot of people with these kinds of differences personally, so being able to see how beautiful they are in reality rather than how society tells us to think of them is really enlightening. It’s made me really realize that just because someone looks or acts different from most people does not make them inadequate or inferior, as society might lead us to think. I once heard a quote about autism from Paul Collins saying, “Autists are the ultimate square pegs, and the problem with pounding a square peg into a round hole is not that the hammering is hard work. It’s that you’re destroying the peg.” I think this can also apply to anyone that is different in some way. It teaches society that we need to stop trying to mold everyone into perfect round pegs, and instead let people be as they are, imperfect, but still striving to do their best, which is all that matters.
United Pet Fund Opens New Center To Help Animal Rescues
I have got to say. I so admire people who have a dream and a passion, and absolutely do not quit in pursuing it.
This photo of Dr. Zekoff captures the heart of what United Pet Fund is all about.
Dr. Zeke Zekoff is one of those people. As a busy veterinarian, he has witnessed the tremendous gift of life and love given to animals who, for any number of reasons, have found themselves homeless only to be saved at the hands of caring people. Those people are the advocates, volunteers and staff of many area rescue organizations.
The problem is, there are just SO many animals in need and heart alone is not going to help those organizations flourish, or even maintain their level of sometimes very difficult, emotional and challenging work at nourishing, rehabilitating and finding new homes for those in their care.
Dr. Zekoff had a vision…to create another nonprofit that could assist those animal care and service organizations including dog and cat shelters and rescues with basic business services, education, food and emergency funding, and products.
That vision is United Pet Fund; and in five years they have supported the work of dozens of local member causes. They even hold a Pet Health Day in Over-the-Rhine once a year with a free preventative health clinic.
This week the culmination of five years of fundraising was celebrated with the grand opening of the 8,500 sq ft United Pet Fund Resource Center and warehouse. Dozens of animal advocates were there to celebrate such an important goal, and one that is going to allow for expanded services.
“I’ve always felt the need to give back to those who take care of homeless animals and use the gifts I was given that could most help them. United Pet Fund is a personal ministry to me,” Dr. Zekoff said. “This is what I will do to help this unrecognized army caring and finding homes for the animals the Lord has here now.”
He is excited about the future and wants to reach more organizations. “In five more years I would like to see United Pet Fund take on the role of “the” go-to animal support organization in the Tri-State and the State of Ohio. In 20 years, I’d like to have every major city with a UPF-type organization using the internet and major shippers to parcel out the blessings that businesses and the public donate.
“You never know when the big opportunities or supplies will arrive, but you have to be ready,” he said. “Now with the space a Resource Center provides, we can take our core mission to the next level and be a central source of distribution to really be impactful.”
Reasons To Play At Cincinnati Parks’ Smale Park This Summer
The big kid at heart in me can hardly wait to see the new elements of our Cincinnati Parks’ Smale Park, truly one of our city’s great gems.
On May 12, this new spectacular ‘Splas
h & Play’ Susan and Joe Pichler Fountains element opens atop the carousel plaza.
And, speaking of the Carol Ann’s Carousel…it opens May 16, just west of the Roebling Suspension Bridge in downtown Cincinnati. Located inside a glass building, the carousel is 20 feet tall and 46 feet in diameter and will operate year-round. The Cincinnati Parks Foundation received a $5 million gift from the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr. / U.S. Bank Foundation to build the carousel, which honors Carol Ann Haile’s philanthropic vision.
You can bet you will be seeing me there this summer!
What makes this carousel ride even more special is that its 44 animal characters 
are hand carved and each tells a story of our great city. This one is Martha, the Last Passenger Pigeon. After magnanimous efforts to save from extinction the beautiful bird that once numbered in the billions, her death at our Cincinnati Zoo resulted in stronger conservation laws.
The paintings on the carousel feature a whimsical exploration of one of Cincinnati’s parks. Animals featured in the paintings include an elephant flying a kite at Ault Park; giraffes enjoying the sunset at the Alms Park overlook; a squirrel, toad, and lizard band playing in Washington Park; and an artist owl painting the Abraham Lincoln statue at Lytle Park, with the Taft Museum of Art in the distance.
Local artist Jonathan Queen was selected to create them. “My own experiences in Cincinnati’s parks inspired most of these scenes,” he said. “I also thought about my own family and what we’ve enjoyed doing together in the parks.”
Jonathan Queen completes Rapid Run Park in his studio.
In addition to the Cincinnati Parks landscapes, Jonathan worked with ArtWorks apprentices to paint 16 views of Cincinnati architectural landmarks for the center of the carousel.
His paintings appear effortless, but they required nearly two years of painstaking work. You can that work in an exhibition at the Taft Museum of Art called From Studio to Carousel: The Whimsical World of Jonathan Queen from May 22 to September 6, 2015.
The exhibition will include preliminary sketches, clay models of animals, and all 16 painted studies.
ARTIST TALK: JONATHAN QUEEN
Thursday, June 4, 7 p.m.
Jonathan Queen will discuss his work decorating Carol Ann’s Carousel and From Studio to Carousel: The Whimsical World of Jonathan Queen in the Sinton Gallery. Reception to follow.
FREE Taft Members and Students. $10 Public (includes Museum admission)
Reservations: (513) 684-4515 or taftmuseum.org
