The St. Croix Valley is rich with talented artists who produce a constant stream of new pieces of art to show off. An artist’s greatest pleasure is knowing that their work is being appreciated. The artistic abilities of the Stillwater area will be on display downtown at the ArtReach facility from Jan. 8 until Feb. 14.

ArtReach St. Croix is a non-profit organization whose mission is to connect the St. Croix Valley community with local art and artists. ArtReach St. Croix has deep and proud roots in the St. Croix Valley area, and is constantly adding on to it’s rich history of art.

ArtReach St. Croix was founded in 1993, and has been providing opportunities for local artists to share their art with the community they love. Local artists rarely get the chance to display their art in galleries, and the competition for spots in the gallery is heavy.

“Local art is important because it makes us realize that all these big mainstream famous artists started from somewhere,” said Forbes Gefre “Appreciating art from your hometown is even more important because it should have a deeper connection to you, it should connect with your roots and where you came from because it was created in the same place you were.”

ArtReach St. Croix displays many different forms of art through both its physical galleries, and by referring community members to local opportunities for learning and appreciating art.

“Art can be defined in so many ways,” said senior Claire Dronen, “It’s all around you. In the music you listen to, in the words of a poem that awaken your feelings, in the passion of a dance, or through the brushwork in a painting. Anything that requires a little imagination or provokes your human senses is something each person can relate to differently. Art is so very important to us as a society because it provides such a rich and meaningful life.”

Art is a large part of any culture, it depicts the passions, creativity and lifestyles of a community. Art can take many forms and can be appreciated in even more ways. Finding art is not about what you look at, but rather how you look at it.

“I see art everywhere I look,” said junior Emma Hanson, “Anything can be made into art, and every piece of art has a small part of the artist in it. Art expresses a person’s thoughts, feelings and emotions. It’s suppose to made people feel things.”

Art is a way for an artist to escape reality and express themselves to anyone who is willing to give the time to take in and artist’s work.

“An artist expresses themselves by making art in their own original style,” Dronen said, “Some express their emotions in song or dance, while others capture what they’re feeling through lead in a pencil or the paint on a brush.”

Art can be found anywhere and everywhere. From the bright and beautiful sky to a dark and dirty swamp. Art can even be found in a dumpster. The only difference between an average person and an artist is the way they look at the world.