The project has been met with an overwhelming amount of enthusiasm and sponsorship support Shirley Keenan, PACES Program Director, said she is supporting Town Craft's effort to involve youth in neighborhood planning because, "This project is a way of helping the youth feel significant and involved in their community, a way for them to be heard. It also helps them see the important relationship between what they do in school and the real world."

Butch Niebuhr, Perry City Manager and Wendy Goodale, Director Chamber of Commerce are also supporting the project and looking forward to the scheduled community and city council presentations. Butch stated, "We have found in the past that young minds see things differently than what we see them as we walk by every day. Fresh minds and fresh ideas from a generation that we don't usually hear from would be an interesting exercise for our city to experience." Goodale, stated, "Getting the youth involved at this stage of their lives in Perry is extremely important both to the community and to them. They are our future residents and if they can remain involved and see their ideas come to fruition, it would be awesome. Projects like this could keep them interested and hopefully, encourage them to stay in Perry or bring them back after college".

Students will host an opening reception for the public and meet with civic leaders in July to discuss ideas and present their final product. Final dates for presentations will be posted to the Town Craft Website at http://www.design.iastate.edu/TownCraft/ and on the Iowa State University Extension Calendar at - http://www.extension.iastate.edu/community/.

Art on the Prairie
Town Craft Gallery is currently hosting an exhibit of art work by twelve local area artists in the. The artwork is a preview of Perry's fall art show, Art on the Prairie scheduled for November 13 and 14, 2010. Works includes colored pencil drawings, metal art, photography, acrylics, mixed media, pottery, stained glass, and woodworking. Artists have expressed a wide variety of interpretations of the world around us.

An opening reception with featured Metal Artist and Des Moines native, John Brommel was held on March 30th in coordination with the Town Craft Sustainability Index Roundtable. Brommel describes his artistic process and art as "a never ending journey of discovery and invention. I avidly recycle and repurpose material, drawn from diverse technical genres, searching out new and innovative applications. I greatly enjoy the interplay of energies and ideas in the execution of commissioned works. The work ethic and sense of efficiency practiced in my 35 years as a steamfitter are very apparent in the execution of my work. My art expresses oneness and balance through the creation of earth's artifacts formed by fire, wind and Water"

Also included in the art display is the photography of Town Craft's Project Assistant, Iris Coffin, and coordinator of the exhibit. Iris says her photography reveals the serenity, beauty, and the power of nature. Her photos are taken while on the bike trails and at various camp sites around central Iowa. She is always on the lookout for that very special display of nature in the sky as well stating, "Sky vistas can make the most dramatic of expressions." She has been taking photos for approximately ten years and has exhibited at the Iowa State Fair several times. Currently her work is done with a Cannon Rebel XT digital camera using various lenses and exposures.

Thanks to Gallery Volunteers, that are supporting these artistic efforts, the Art Exhibit will be open for the publics' enjoyment Tuesday through Friday 10:00am to 12:00pm and 1:00pm to 4:00pm through May 28th, 2010.

For public reviews of the exhibit, please refer to and article written by Perry Chief writer Shawn Stokely, published in the April 16, edition of the Perry Chief (online edition - http://theperrychief.com/).