Sara Kunnemann Rusk, the art teacher at Lake Forest Middle School in Cleveland, was awarded two Allied Arts Council of Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce Arts in Education grants totaling $700. The funds from the grant went towards kits to make sketchbooks, drawing and painting materials, linoleum printmaking blocks and printmaking supplies.
This grant made it possible for two Advanced Art classes and an after school Art Club made up of about 80 students to do projects that Ms. Rusk didn’t have money in her budget to afford.
"A sketchbook is such a valuable tool for an artist, but they can be expensive," said Ms. Rusk. "This grant gave each student the opportunity to design and create their own sketchbook that they could then keep to fill with art.
"Thanks to this generous grant this is the first time I have been able to make sketchbooks with my students and they absolutely loved the project. Printmaking is one of my students’ favorite projects. I notice that they get so excited about the actual project itself and are always so proud of the finished product.
"My students did amazing on these projects and learned so much during the lesson! The past three years I was able to do projects with my students that I ordinarily wouldn’t have been able to afford thanks to the generous grants I received from the Allied Arts Council of Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce."