Young artist gives back to Beaverton community

By Jennifer Priest Mitchell

The Times, Jul 19, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (1 Reader comment)

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(Jennifer Priest Mitchell is a writer who lives in Beaverton. She can be reached at jnjmitchell@yahoo.com.)

When young children create drawings and other artwork, parents often display these masterpieces on the universal in-home art gallery: the refrigerator. As kids grow older, many outgrow this desire to create and move on to other activities, but some continue to pursue their artistic interests and stick with this hobby, and some kids are lucky enough to enroll in art classes and receive guidance and nurturing in this area. Bobby Bonaparte was among the lucky kids whose talents were recognized and whose mother signed him up to take classes at a local studio. His abilities and interests have been supported, helping to shape who is he is today.

When children enroll in art classes, they expect to learn the basics of painting, drawing and sculpture. The Beaverton art studio where Bonaparte studied goes a step further — in addition to art technique, students at Ano’s Art: An Academy for Creative Minds learn life and leadership skills. They gain confidence by taking risks and making mistakes in a place where there’s no judgment. Here, art students become as familiar with interpersonal skills as they do with tools and media. Director Ano Youseffian, a longtime youth advocate and professionally trained artist and educator, offers a wide array of classes for children between the ages of 4 and 18.

To Youseffian, art and life are inseparable. Students of varied backgrounds and levels of ability both look to and become role models. Through her guidance, they come to share a sense of community, responsibility and accomplishment — qualities that our future leaders will need, along with the flexibility and critical thinking engendered by art.

These intuitive traits are evident in several of Youseffian’s students who have “graduated” from the program and returned to pass their skills along to the next generation, and Bonaparte is one of those students.

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