MHAM art class students "really excited" to exhibit work at Mingo

Tara Brown sees great potential in all the students participating in her Tuesday evening art classes at the Margaret Harwell Art Museum in Poplar Bluff. She proudly calls them her “up and coming little artists.”

Those “artists” were recently honored with being chosen as exhibitors at the Mingo National Wildlife Refuge’s Visitor Center in Puxico. Student artwork will be on display at Mingo until the end of November, said Brown.

“The kids are really excited” about getting to show their pieces, she added.

Instructor Tara Brown teaches a variety of techniques and applications in her weekly classes at the Margaret Harwell Art Museum in Poplar Bluff. These students completed “melted pumpkins” during a recent Halloween art class. Photo provided

The former Puxico R-8 art teacher’s path to instructing at the museum developed through an art camp she taught while working at the school. Brown discovered = the kids she was teaching wanted “to go farther as artists and learn more.”

“...not every child is a gymnast or into sports,” Brown said. Knowing the potential growth her students could achieve through art was a motivating factor in her decision to teach at the museum.

Brown finds great joy in witnessing her students’ “creative processes.”

Students Flora Feng, Gavin Feng, Ryan Chen, Gabby Villasana, Hattie Scobey and Emma Brown are shown working on their art projects in Tara Brown’s weekly class at the Margaret Harwell Art Museum in Poplar Bluff. Photo provided

“Maybe they’ve taken a little bit of what I’ve taught them and can build on that” in their lives, said Brown.

She noted artwork can sell outright for “thousands and thousands of dollars” in some instances. Her hope is that her students who have talent and ambition will “stay with it (creating art)” to benefit their futures.

While teaching in Puxico, Brown developed a relationship with Mingo and its staff.

During her time with the school, she partnered with the refuge by inviting them to give presentations to her art classes about different types of wildlife.

Brown’s collaboration with Mingo grew and the refuge’s annual photography contest was one of the events her former students always participated in. She says she’s thrilled to see her current students’ artwork on display at the refuge.

Brown said public response to her museum art classes has been outstanding. She hopes to add more or expanded classes to the class offerings in the coming months.

For more information on the Margaret Harwell Art Museum or its classes call 573-686-8002 or go online to www.mham.org .

Mingo National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center and Headquarters is located 1 mile north of Puxico off Highway 51 at 24279 State Highway 51 in Puxico. The Visitor Center is open Monday through Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. from March through November.