Dover Library hosts special art exhibit
Rodney, left, Terry and Jan Ridenour pose for a photograph with their art.
Starlight Enterprises, a nonprofit organization based in New Philadelphia and dedicated to aiding those with intellectual and developmental disabilities in achieving their dreams in their communities, will display paintings, soaps, wood art, art arrangements, citronella bottle torches and more, all made by their clients and available to purchase at the library, 525 N. Walnut. St., across from Dover High School. The proceeds of the sale will benefit the specific artist.
Additionally a special art exhibit reception will be held in honor of the artists from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 15 in the library’s community room. The community is invited to attend and meet the artists.
“We try to showcase a different artist every month,” Jan Ridenour of the Dover Public Library said, and for the month of October it has been Starlight Enterprises. “We have a showcase full of things, and the community room is full of paintings.”
Ridenour said one of the paintings has already been sold. “We sold one this morning off the wall. That was really neat.”
The items are all priced to sell, and the organization can bring in replacements during the month. Ridenour said in addition to the exhibit at the library, Starlight Enterprises also has a store in the mall with their work available for purchase. “They have a lot of fun, creative objects. It showcases their ability, talent and imagination.”
Ridenour said if any artists are interested in being part of the monthly displays, they can contact the library. “We have three display cases to showcase local art.”
For more information about the current exhibit or to be a future exhibitor at the library, call 330-343-6123.
“We are a nonprofit serving persons with disabilities and try to offer a variety of services including the creative arts,” said Cassie Elvin, the director of Starlight Enterprises. “We have a working gallery at the mall that offers an opportunity for our artists to be in the public and have their creative outlets and sell their art and primitive products.”
Elvin said the library reached out to their organization with this opportunity to showcase their work. “We are so honored to be able to display. Our artists based their work on their mood, a color, something they saw, something that’s just in their head, and this is an opportunity to use these talents differently than they have done before,” she said.
Elvin said Starlight Enterprises looks for opportunities to let their clients live and learn in the communities. “We have a couple of hub sites in New Philadelphia, at the mall and now in Carroll County. That way they can go to the site and learn and explore and
be part of the communities,” she said.
Elvin said Starlight Enterprises also has brought art opportunities to downtown New Philadelphia, taking part in creating mosaics for the trash cans and painting murals. “It’s a great way to involve persons with disabilities to meet new people and grow new skills,” she said.
The Tuscarawas County Center for the Arts has been an asset to Starlight’s arts program.
The arts program is not the only opportunity for community involvement Starlight Enterprises provides. Other activities and programs include horsemanship, gardening, bowling, cooking and meal prep, computers and technology, sewing, and more. These are all opportunities
for community involvement, self advocacy, personal interest, earning a paycheck, making friends and cultural growth.
Being a nonprofit, Starlight Enterprises is always looking for support from the community through donations. For more information about them, visit their website at
www.thinksei.org or call 330-339-2020.