Introducing...The Urban Studio Cafe!

The Urban Studio is back from a winter hiatus and better than ever!  We are very excited about our newest venture, The Urban Studio Cafe!

The cafe seeks to foster a sense of community and creativity while providing a quality cup of joe. Revenue generated by the cafe will go towards funding future art programs for youth in the area. 

Although not open until Mid-summer, this Saturday, May 10th from 10 am to 4 pm, we offer you an exclusive sneak preview of our quirky, cozy coffee shop. The Urban Studio Cafe will be an official stop on the Old North St. Louis House and Community Tour, so hop on that trolley and check us out! Even if you don't participate in the House Tour, feel free to drop by, grab a delectable cup of Kaldi's coffee and learn more about the cafe and how you can help us be a successful social venture.  We are located in our studio space at 2815 N. 14th St. 

  Contact Phil or Claire at info@theurbanstudio.org for more information.

What: Cafe Sneak Peak

When: Saturday, May 10 from 10am-4pm

Where: The Studio!

Who: People who like coffee 

The Urban Studio Fall Update

A quick update on The Urban Studio fall happenings:

SUMMER PROGRAM GALLERY SHOW
The Urban Studio welcomed friends to view the work of the summer participants while enjoying creative drink specials and live music by Last To Show First To Go. Thanks to everyone who made the night truly smashing!
If you would like to be on our e-mail list for future events and fundraisers, please e-mail Phil Valko at philvalko@theurbanstudio.org

The Urban Studio Opens Its Doors to a Packed House for Gallery Fundraiser Night:




ART OUTSIDE
The Urban Studio also participated in Art Outside, the alternative art fair held at Schlafly's Bottleworks. We invited people young and old to get their hands dirty and draw their houses with charcoal, and adults answered questions about their community. These answers and house drawings will be assembled into a ticky-tacky town mural of St. Louis! We will, of course, keep you updated on the mural progress and whereabouts.


Artists proudly displaying their charcoal houses:


A young fair-goer works diligently on his masterpiece:




THE LINUS FOUNDATION GALA
On November 2, The Linus Foundation hosted a benefit gala for The Urban Studio at the St. Louis Contemporary Art Gallery featuring an open bar, a live band, and amazing Maya Lin sculptures. The event was nothing short of stupendous, drawing more than 500 people! The Linus Foundation is an organization run by Washington University students that throws parties for a good cause. We are incredibly appreciative to them for choosing The Urban Studio as their recipient for a second year in a row and for working so hard to make this event a success. A big thank you to everyone who attended the event as well!

Proud Photographers and Media Savvy Youth Show Off Their Finest Work to Friends and Family

The Urban Studio held a photography show/music video premiere so that family and friends could see the amazing work produced by our summer participants. These kids thorougly impressed us all with their skill and talent exhibited through the photos and videos. Thanks to everyone who came and supported our young artists and summer programs!

Students (and siblings) reunited with their adoring photography teacher:


Family and friends enjoying the event:

Adventures in Media Music Videos

Trailnet, KDHX, and The Urban Studio came together to create a teen summer program that explored media, nutrition, food access, and how they all relate. The Adventures in Media program ran for two weeks, June 18 - 29. The program was team taught by a film instructor, an actress, and a photographer. The camp was a very hands-on 2 weeks in which teen participants learned all about media and how it affects their decisions. They visited the KDHX TV and radio stations to see media behind the scenes. They visited the New Roots Urban Farm to learn how food is grown and what constitutes healthy eating. Ultimately, the teens wrote, produced, and acted in their own YouTube videos.

To highlight disparities in access to healthy foods, the teens learned how to read nutrition labels and then went on two scavenger hunts: a local convenience store and a supermarket in an affluent part of town. They found very few healthy foods in the convenience store, compared to an entire section brimming with fruits, vegetables, and health food at the store in Clayton.

The teens watched and discussed "Super Size Me". They were active every day and ate healthy, fresh lunches every day, sometimes to their chagrin.

Since this was a media camp, we asked the teens to maintain The Urban Studio blog throughout the program. Skim through our archives for great photos and daily logs.

Special thanks to The United Way of Greater St. Louis, Trailnet, and KDHX for their hard work and support of this program!

The Urban Studio Hops Aboard The Art Outside Bandwagon Armed With Thrilling Art Projects for All!!!

Join The Urban Studio at the 4th Annual Art Outside Art Fair and get pumped to break out that inner artist/architect. Draw a creative rendition of your house to help us create a gigantic art piece representing the entire St. Louis community. Bring the kiddos too! It's one of our favorite events of the year.

Where: Schlafly Bottleworks
When: September 7, 5pm-10pm
September 8, 10am-10pm
Why: You love The Urban Studio and alternative art

Picture the Future Photography Show on August 30!!

Photo by Charlotte Holden, age 16

The Urban Studio is proud to present a very special photography show featuring the photos of our youth and teen participants from the Picture the Future summer program. Drop by The Urban Studio any time between 7pm and 9pm on Thursday, August 30, meet the budding photographers, and marvel at their stellar black and white masterpieces! These photographs reflect the process of learning to taking pictures, develop film, and print photographs in a darkroom- all in a whirlwhind two-week period. Yup, we're impressed.

Photo (above) by Yuseff Randle, age 12



Photo (Above) by Rachel Mann, age 15


After the photography show, stick around for a fab fundraiser party from 9pm until 12am. Enjoy live music and drink oddities. We'll be selling brilliant posters with images from the summer.

The Urban Studio on MayorSlay.com!

When the fine folks at MayorSlay.com took a minute to ask The Urban Studio's Phil Valko about his favorite St. Louis sound, we had no idea that he would be featured on the MayorSlay.com podcast.

Check it out HERE.

The Urban Studio Summer Programs End with a Bang- Or in This Case, a Flash!

Session 2 of the Picture the Future rounded out a summer of creativity and excitement at the studio. Our talented 11-13 year old photographers produced amazing pictures! Daily adventures allowed us to explore St. Louis on bikes, in water, down slides and most importantly, through the lens.


Making posters about our community at the studio:


Yuseff snaps a photo at the zoo:



Teombi and photo instructor Matt enjoy the sculptures at Laumeier:



Braving St. Louis construction and heat waves for that perfect photograph:



Our crew and Jose the trailranger at the Mary Meachum Freedom crossing.


We want to thank all of the following folks & institutions for their support and involvement with Picture the Future. Without them, this program would not have been possible:
-Grace Hill
-The Linus Foundation
-The City Museum
-The Contemporary Art Museum
-Washington University
-Cbabi Bayoc
-Chinyere Oteh

The Urban Studio Director Recognized as one of St. Louis' "30 under 30" by the St. Louis Business Journal!!

We take our work very seriously around here. The Urban Studio Founder and Director, Phil Valko, was honored in the July 13th issue of the St. Louis Business Journal as one of the young professionals under 30 who are making a difference in the community and business world of St. Louis. Congratulations, Phil! To read the article in full, visit:
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2007/07/16/focus8.html

"Healthy living, the environment and the arts are important to Phil Valko -- and he works hard to promote them."

Below, Phil bowling a perfect game wearing Prada jeans ($1500), Gucci Hipster glasses ($950), and a vintage western shirt ($1250). ...kidding, just kidding. Work hard, play hard, right?

Tutoring Nights at The Urban Studio!

Fall brings many glorious things. Apples at Eckerds. Sweaters. Art Outside. Leaf piles. The Urban Studio tutoring nights.

Itching to volunteer with the The Urban Studio? We are looking for people interested in spending an hour each Wednesday evening tutoring a neighborhood child at the studio. If this strikes your fancy, please e-mail Phil Valko at phil@theurbanstudio.org and we will match you with a child. If you have a preference with age range or school subject, please include this information in the email as well.

Tutoring program participant Arthur, dilligently typing up his vocab words:


Arthur, not so dilligently goofing around with his tutor, Claire:

The Urban Studio Wraps Up Session 1 of Picture the Future Photography Program!

The Urban Studio just completed session 1 of Picture the Future, a two-week, Intro to Black-and-White photography program for teens. The program revolved around the four central themes of self, family, community, and dreams, and the teen's experiences in PTF as well as their resulting photographs reflect these concepts. To find inspiration and subject matter for photographs, Picture the Future took field trips to places like the City Museum, Laumeier sculpture garden, and the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing, and also had professional artists and photographers visit to talk about their work. Taking the picture is only a sliver of the process in Black and White photography; the participants also spent every day in the Wash U. darkroom developing their own film and printing their black-and-white masterpieces. Check back soon for student photographs!

Our group hangs out under an awning during the rain delay of our Delmar Loop field trip:



The Laumeier Sculpture garden provides incredible inspiration:





Nehamiah enjoys the bike ride to the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing:


Charlotte takes time out from the ball pit at City Museum to snap some photos.

Adventures in Media Day 9: KDHX

(All the contents of this post were created by the Adventures in Media teen participants including the title, all photographs, and the text. Due to technical difficulties, we do not have photographs for Day 9.)

Today we took a field trip to KDHX TV station. We made 3 talk-show style shows which we made up on the spot. Each person played a different role in the production crew. We switched off roles as actors, directors, camera crew, light engineer, and sound engineer. It required a lot of teamwork, and everyone worked very well together.

Then we went to KDHX radio. The tour was short but interesting. We saw behind the scenes of a live radio broadcast. We learned the importance of isolating sound and talked about how musicians can get their music played on the radio.

Everyone learned something new and enjoyed different parts of the day:
Kalin learned that he used to live by the radio station, but he never knew it was there.
Rachel learned how to use the switchboard at the TV station.
Constance was a good director.
Tyler learned that it took many lights and cameras to get a shot.
Terrell's favorite part of the day was "The Whitney Houston Show."
Kanazia liked acting in front of the camera.

Adventures in Media Day 8: That's a wrap!

(All the contents of this post were created by the Adventures in Media teen participants including the title, all photographs, and the text. Day 8 photographer: Dylan. Witty title: Rachel)

Today we finished shooting the commercial for Crunk Bars. Then we played prisoner's ball (a game similar to dodge ball) that Tim especially liked. We watched an educational movie on teen media and "cool." Then while we ate lunch, Robert and Tim played chess:


The acting game we played was fun! We created scenes where we had to decide Who, What, Where, When, and Why.
Our last activity was to make a newscast on the pros and cons of soda machines in schools. Dylan and Rachel gave an exhilirating and heartbraking performance as newscasters.
Rachel and Dylan doing action news:


Our group:

Adventures in Media Day 7: Movie Stars

(All the contents of this post were created by the Adventures in Media teen participants including the title, all photographs, and the text. Day 7 photographer: Tim. Witty title: Rachel)

Today, we worked on our commercials and music videos. We practiced, produced, and directed. We also played Freeze.

Hot Mama Kalin:

Getting Crunk (editor's note: although "crunk" was originally derived from "crazy drunk", our teens and their peers associate crunk with being hyped and in a good mood, and not with alcohol. Language is always evolving.):

Adventures in Media Day 6: Let's start acting! Sponsored by Fresh Image Productions and Mineral Productions

(All the contents of this post were created by the Adventures in Media teen participants including the title, all photographs, and the text. Day 6 photographer: Connie. Witty title: group effort)

We did a lot of things today. First of all, we had two new teachers, Aurelie and Robert. They were nice and cool. In the morning, we made our very own production companies. Kalin, Rachel, Connie, and Kenazia's production company is called Fresh Image, and their slogan is, "Get Fresh, Get Crunk (hyped up)." They are producing a commercial for Crunk bars starring rapper "Killa Kale."

Dylan, Jelenda, Kierra, Chelsea, and Tim's production company is called Mineral Productions, and their message is "Get up n' get out!" They are producing a music video with rapping, singing, and dancing.

We took a break from producing to play kickball, eat lunch, and watch Supersize Me.

The group playing kickball and having fun:


Then we played acting games to learn how to become different characters so we are more comfortable in front of the camera.

For the rest of the afternoon, we worked on storyboarding for our videos. Kenazia is excited that we are finally getting into media more. Kalin's favorite part was making the production companies.

Playing an acting game:


A group working very hard on their storyboard:

Adventures in Media Day 5: Fun in the Sun

(All the contents of this post were created by the Adventures in Media teen participants including the title, all photographs, and the text. Day 5 photographer: Kalin. Witty title: Rachel)

Today we took a field trip to the Clayton Schnucks and did another scavenger hunt. We found over 100 fruits and vegetables, compared to 4 fruits and vegetables yesterday at the convenience store. Then we went to Forest park. It was hot! In the afternoon, we made posters to hang at the North City Farmer's Market.

In Forest Park:

It was hot in the sun. We needed some Shiznit water:

In our bonding time, we remade a video:

Adventures in Media Day 4: Quick Quesadillas

(All the contents of this post were created by the Adventures in Media teen participants including the title, all photographs, and the text. Day 4 photographer: Terrell. Witty title: Chelsea)

Today, we went to New Roots in the morning. We learned all about vitamins, minerals, cholesterol, fats, sugars, proteins, and carbohydrates. We learned how many serving of various foods are recommended each day. You should avoid too much cholesterol, fats, and too much protein, but it is important to eat some...just not too much.

Tim helped make fruit smoothies. We each made our own quesadilla for lunch. Cuttin' up collared greens:

Cookin' the quesadilla:
The quesadillas were great:
Relaxing after a full stomach:
After we left New Roots, we went on a scavenger hunt at a local market/convenience store. This is the main market in this part of town. They only had one fresh fruit: gross tomatoes. They had much more unhealthy foods than healthy foods. Dylan found cereals that were all sugar and fat.

After the scavenger hunt, we walked back to The Urban Studio and watched some more of Super Size Me. In the movie, they showed that some marketing images like Ronald McDonald are more easily recognized than images of George Bush or Jesus. After that, we played 3-line improv to learn better ways of acting. At the end of the day, we chose photos and molded the blog:

Adventures in Media Day 3: The Program Begins to Sprout

(All the contents of this post were created by the Adventures in Media teen participants including the title, all photographs, and the text. Day 3 photographer: Rachel & Constance. Witty title: Tyler)


This morning, we watched a DVD of the commercials we made yesterday. Some were better than others. The best commercials were the ones where the actors had the best relationships off camera. The best commercials also had better scripts.

We watched part of Super Size Me which made us think more about what we eat at McDonalds and other fast food restaurants. It was nasty.

We then walked down the street to a park to play kickball. After kickball, we walked back to The Urban Studio to eat lunch.

After lunch, we walked to New Roots Urban Farm where we planted melon seeds and harvested sprouts. We had a good conversation at New Roots about what we would do if we had a lot of money. Kierra said that she would give it back to her community. Tim said that he would make sure to share it with his family because his family has already shared so much with him.

Snipping the fresh sunflower sprouts:


Herbert Hoover counselor Erica and Kanazia separating the shells from the sprouts:


Teen geniuses help harvest broccoli:

Adventures in Media Day 2: Acting it Out

(All the contents of this post were created by The Adventures in Media teen participants including the title, all photographs, and the text. Day 2 photographer: Kierra)

We started the day with acting exercises to loosen up and get more comfortable acting in front of each other. We played a game called The Blob where we practiced portraying scenes and relationships between characters (example: coach and team member, teacher and student) with body language along--no speaking. Below, Rachel and Jelenda laughing as they play The Blob.


Miss Bev Hacker from KDHX came and showed us videos about food and how it's portrayed in the media. We then split into groups and wrote and acted in commercials where we were selling healthy drinks. As we were filming each commercial, the others groups waited patiently outside the studio (below).


We took a break from acting to play 4-square on the 14th Street Mall.

Adventures in Media Teen Camp Begins!

Today we kicked off the 2-week Adventures in Media Teen Program sponsored by Trailnet, KDHX, and The Urban Studio. Over the course of the next 2 weeks, these teens are going to be learning all about media, how it is produced, and how it affects their lives. In particular, the program focuses on how media affects the foods that we eat. By the end of the camp, the teens will produce videos that we will post to this blog and to YouTube, they will create print media, and they will have had an opportunity to visit the KDHX radio and TV stations.

Since this is a media camp, we are going to be asking our teen participants to create a blog entry each day. They will be responsible for all parts of the process: taking the pictures throughout the day, selecting which pictures to post, and writing the text. For the next 2 weeks, this blog will be almost exclusively dedicated to the teens in this program. Check back daily for new entries and new pictures. Additionally, we are making it a goal to increase the readership of this blog over the course of the next 2 weeks. Afterall, what is media without an audience?! Our blog currently has just over 4200 page visits. Our goal will be to reach 5200 page visits by the end of the camp--an additional 1000 visits in 2 weeks. We need your help: pass this link along to friends, family, and co-workers. Each time someone visits this site, the hit counter will add a number.

OK, back to the first day: the teens spent the morning doing a variety of activities to get to know each other, creating a class agreement for what they expect from each other and from their teachers, and learning about the very basics of media. After lunch, they headed to the New Roots Urban Farm to see food growing straight up out of the ground. They had an opportunity to harvest some produce and start their own bed of sprouts. (See the pictures below)

And from here, we're going to turn it over to the teens.

(The following photos were taken by Tyler)
Preparing healthy lunches:


Planting sprout at New Roots Urban Farm:

Urban Studio Party Pic!

Eclectic people + Hot music courtesy of St. Louis superstar DJ Trackstar = a great party! Saturday, June 9 The Urban Studio Summer Party Series had its second event of the season to raise money for upcoming summer programs. Thanks to all the friends and neighbors who came out and spent the evening with us! If you missed the party, do not fret- there will be more events to come. Check back soon for dates/times!

The Urban Studio Mural finds a home on the 14th Street Mall

A Vision Realized

If you happened to visit the Old North Farmer's Market last Saturday morning, you probably noticed a curious pile of colorful wooden pieces next to a plywood wall with graffiti. If you come next Saturday, you will see a vibrant mural masterpiece in its place! Nearly 150 individual wooden pieces were originally painted by St. Louis youth at Art Outside last September. With the help of market-goers young and old, we re-assembled the mural like a big puzzle during the farmers' market to reveal a vibrant image representing the regrowth and revitalization of our near-north side community. Join us next Saturday, 9am-1pm, at the farmers' market to see this gorgeous mural for yourself! The market is located across from Crown Candy Kitchen at the corner of St. Louis Avenue and 14th Street.

Blow bubbles with The Urban Studio at the Old North St. Louis Farmer's Market!

The Urban Studio is creating a gathering space for market-goers young and old to mingle, play, and create while shopping for fresh fruits and vegetables, baked goods, coffee, and more. To build on the energy of this great market, located half a block from our storefront, we are setting up chess & checkers games, sidewalk chalk for artists of all sizes, bubbles, juggling balls, hoola hoops, face paint, and more. We will also be hosting various special events throughout the summer starting June 9 with the installation of our puzzle mural (see the Let There Be Murals post for pictures). So come on out, shop for your weekly produce, sip a cup of coffee, play a game of chess, and try your hands at juggling.

Where: In Old North St. Louis, across from Crown Candy Kitchen on the 14th Street Mall (St. Louis Ave and 14th Street)

When: Every Saturday morning, 9am-1pm, June 1 - October!

Upcoming Summer Programs!!

The Urban Studio is thrilled to be offering three summer programs for youth ages 11-15! The summer programs are 2-week sessions, free of charge to participants. Lunch is provided each day, as well as transportation during the day. Parents/guardians are responsible for transportation to and from The Urban Studio.

If you are interested in enrolling your child or would like more information, please contact Claire Wolff at claire@theurbanstudio.org.


Picture the Future Summer Photography Program
Session 1: July 16- 27 (Monday-Friday) * 9am-2pm * Ages 13-15 * FREE
Session 2: July 30- August 10 (Monday-Friday) * 9am-2pm * Ages 11-13 * FREE

Picture the Future is a creative/experiential summer program that weaves the skills of black and white film photography together with exploration of self-identity, family, community, and dreams. Throughout the two week session, participants will learn to develop their own film, print pictures, and even make their own cameras! We will venture out into the community to local spots such as the Contemporary Art Museum, the Arch, and the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing in search of inspiration for our pictures. The program will culminate with a show of all the participant’s best photographs at the end of two weeks. We provide the camera and film, you provide the creativity and vision!


Adventures in Media: Making and Creating through Radio, TV, and Photography**
June 18-June 29 (Monday-Friday) * 9am-3pm * Ages 13-15 * FREE

Adventures in Media is an exciting, field-trip based exploration of food and nutrition through TV, radio, and photography. In order to discover how culture, food, and media affects us, we will be taking trips to radio stations, TV stations, urban farms, and grocery stores. The participants will also create their own media by performing skits and raps, designing posters, and ultimately making a video that will be posted to Youtube. Come prepared with plenty of creativity and energy because these two weeks will be packed with exploration and adventures in media. Light breakfast and lunch provided each day.

**This program is being offered through a partnership with:
Trailnet, www.trailnet.org
KDHX, www.kdhx.org
New Roots Urban Farm, www.newrootsurbanfarm.org


If you are interested in enrolling your child or would like more information, please contact Claire Wolff at claire@theurbanstudio.org.

Party Saturday, June 9th with DJ Trackstar

Work hard, play hard. It's that simple. Plus, we've got a lot to celebrate.

This Saturday night, we will definitely be playing hard! Join us from 7pm-10pm at The Urban Studio for a night of music and some paintbrush graffiti. We'll be celebrating the installation of our most recent mural (for photos check out the Let There Be Murals post). Hometown favorite DJ Trackstar will be working his nimble fingers on the turntables, spinning a head spinning basket of grooves. And lest we forget, the drinks will be flowing. We'll be serving beers, Old North martinis (can of beer with an olive dropped in), and fruit juices for the non-alcoholic crowd. Suggested donations of $5-20 are welcome to support our work. 100% of the proceeds will go to supporting the Urban Studio summer programs including Picture the Future and the Adventures in Media camp.

What: Party
When: 7-10pm, Saturday June 9th
Where: The Urban Studio, 2815 N 14th Street

Check out Trackstar's stuff: http://www.myspace.com/djtrackstar

Thanks to everyone who came out for our last fundraiser party- it was a great success!!!

Rock the Schoolhouse!!!

The Linus Foundation presents an Urban Studio benefit:

A night of live music, hors d'oeuvres, and an open bar at St. Louis's newest, funkiest venue,

The Lucas Schoolhouse!

Come help us rock the schoolhouse to some old-school rock, funk, motown, soul, and R&B, courtesy of The Melvin Tournage Band.

Open bar and hors d'oeuvres

The Lucas Schoolhouse is St. Louis's church of rock! A historic 1880's church that underwent a dramatic transformation into a premier mid-sized concert venue. The Lucas Schoolhouse just opened this fall and has already hosted world class musicians, as well as some of St. Louis's best. Beautiful architecture, great atmosphere, and sharp acoustics!

Saturday, November 4th bring your friends out to The Lucas Schoolhouse for a night of funk and soul, drinks, and great people!

The Haps: Open bar--hors d'oeuvres--live funk, soul, blues, motown, and R & B music courtesy of The Melvin Turnage Band

The Wheres: The Lucas Schoolhouse, 1220 Allen Ave (Allen and Gravois)

The Whens: Saturday November 4th, 9pm-1am

The Whys: For all things decent and good, to explore one of the newest and definitely coolest venues/bars in St. Louis, to celebrate the Cardinals winning the world series, and to support a great cause (all proceeds benefit The Urban Studio youth programs).

The Cost: $30 in advance, $35 at the door

What are you waiting for? Buy your tickets online now! www.linusfoundation.org/Gallery/St_Louis06/nov0406.php

A big thanks to our partners at The Linus Foundation for all their hard work in planning this event. For more information, visit: www.linusfoundation.org

Let There Be Murals!

Art Outside, September 9th, 2006:
The Urban Studio engaged Art Outside attendees to help paint a huge tile mosaic mural, where each piece of the mural is an individual work of art. The day began with a bunch of brightly colored puzzle pieces laying ready to be painted. Children and adults painted their pieces with a single color which was slightly darker/lighter than the base color of their piece.

As the pieces were painted, we assembled them like a big puzzle to reveal a vibrant image representing the regrowth and revitalization of our near-north side community. The mural will be installed in Old North St. Louis, likely, on the 14th Street Mall, just an ice cream cone's throw from Crown Candy Kitchen.

Early Saturday morning after a late night preparing materials, Scott Green (who built the frame for the mural), Misti Andrade (our graphic designer), and Monica Parsons (the master-mind/designer behind the mural) relaxed for a few minutes before our first painters arrived:

When the day began, there were nearly 150 pieces waiting to be painted:

Our first painter putting the final touches on his work of art:

In just a few short hours, Art Outside children and adults painted nearly 150 pieces. Artist collaborators working hard:

Once all the pieces were painted, we worked with our child artists to assemble the puzzle. Each piece had a number on the back that corresponded to a puzzle key. The child artists had to look at the key, then find the next piece in the puzzle. One tiny artist held up a big piece and asked "Is this one next?" We asked him, "What number is it?" Never having counted all the way to 132, he responded, "It's really big." We asked him what numbers he saw, and he responded, "There's a one, a three, and a two." We said, "Well, go look at the key and find a number that looks just like that one with a one, a three, and a two." About five minutes later, he came back with a big smile on his face and said, "I got it!"

The final product was even more wonderful than we could have imagined. The setting sun lit up the mural perfectly:

A HUGE thanks to all the volunteers that made this project possible: Monica Parsons--Urban Studio volunteer staff and mural designer), Barbara Manzara--Urban Studio volunteer staff, Christy Moessmer--Urban Studio volunteer staff, Laura Lyon--Urban Studio Board Member, Christian Andrade, Misti Andrade, Darrell Butler, Jackie Butler, and Scott Green--Grace Hill PROPEL Board members, Jessica Harvath and Rob Guinness--Urban Studio volunteers, Schlafly Bottleworks, and The Old North St. Louis Restoration Group.

This is mural #1 in what we hope to be a series of 4-5 murals that will create an art walk in Old North St. Louis. We are looking for financial support to cover project costs and artist time for future murals. Each additional mural will be designed and created by a different group of near-north side constituents--school children, residents, the burgeoning artist community, and so on. If you are interested in contributing time, financial resources, or material resources to this effort, please get in touch with us: info@theurbanstudio.org.

Capoeira Classes a Great Success!

The Urban Studio wrapped-up an 8 week session of all-ages Capoeira classes (an acrobatic Brazilian martial art that has strongly influenced modern break dancing) September 7th. The classes were made possible through the generous support of The United Way. The Capoeira classes were designed to teach and support the importance of active lifestyles, increased body-awareness, and good nutrition. Classes were 1.5 hours long and were followed by healthy snacks consisting of fruits, vegetables, and hearty sandwiches. Classes began with a warm-up and stretching:

Then, the class spread out and practiced the basic movements together:

Then, in pairs, students practiced moving together with kicks, escapes, and cartwheels:

Every student progressed dramatically throughout the 8-week session, gaining strength, flexibility, discipline, and self-confidence. The Urban Studio would like to thank The United Way (www.stl.unitedway.org), Grace Hill (www.gracehill.org), Capoeira St. Louis (www.capoeirastl.org), and The Confluence Academy (www.confluenceacademy.com/ONS.htm) for their support of these classes. We are seeking support in order to offer another session of Capoeira classes this fall/winter. Please contact us with resources: info@theurbanstudio.org