'Creating Apart to Come Together'

"Penguins"

Two large-scale Red Bank streetscapes capturing the downtown shopping district are among the highlights of an exhibit of works by young art students.

"Creating Apart to Come Together" is on view at No Ordinary Joe's coffeehouse, 51 Broad St., Red Bank, through the end of March.

The two, 3-foot Red Bank streetscapes capture the downtown area in oil paint. As the title of the show signifies, the paintings were a collaborative effort by 14 students of The Inspired Minds Fine Art School of Lincroft.

Co-owner of Inspired Minds, Heather Brown, explained that the overall image for the work was singular, but the vision of the work was shared.

"We took a photograph and sectioned it off a bit like a puzzle," the Red Bank native said.

"Each student independently executed one piece, and when we put all the pieces back together it created a striking collaboration."

The unique styles and techniques of each of the young artists "harmonize to create a dream-like representation of a typically ordinary view," she added.

"Downtown"

"We wanted to give the kids the opportunity to try something totally new, relying on the group as a whole to bring one image to life. The outcome of the project was even more compelling than we anticipated.

In addition to the works of local color, other students used the same puzzle process to create a 5-foot penguin-filled snowscape.