Reaching kids through art
Teacher gets into character
to add to their fun
By Janet C.
Wetzel
Enquirer contributor
Mark Cummings draws on his artistic
talents to help brighten the lives of children. He goes to great lengths
to entertain and teach the youngsters, transforming himself into a caveman,
a cowboy or a character from the Sherlock Holmes stories.
Cummings, a graphic designer for Lohre and Associates, volunteers at Happen, Inc., a basic art class that brings parents or mentors and children together through art.
Many of the students at the nonprofit organization come from Project Connect, an organization for homeless children. Volunteers from Happen serve as their mentors.
The classes are a theatrical experience - with the characters he becomes teaching the classes.
"They have a great time here. They get such as kick out of it," said Cummings, 32, of East Walnut Hills. "It's so wonderful to see their faces, watch them get involved, have fun."
Cummings said he heard about Happen through a mutual friend of Tommy Rueff, founder and director of Happen, in Mount Washington.
"Mark is incredible, wonderful with children, and the children love him," Rueff said. "He doesn't just play characters; he IS a character inside and out. Without him we probably couldn't keep going. He works so hard, and he really makes this program come to life. This is a lot of work, takes a lot of preparation, and he pulls it off with such professionalism."
Cummings spent months last year teaching weekly basic art classes at Maplewood Children's Home in Florence. He also started and ran a weekly after-school art class for children in Corryville for about a year.
"I made a conscious decision at one time to make a point of helping others," Cummings said. "I saw a lot of need - a lot of neglected children. I knew I could go and help coach basketball or those kinds of things. But I just kind of felt kids have more needs to help them be well-rounded. Having a God-given talent in the arts, I just thought I should use my skills that way."
Happen began in 1999 after about 40 students visited Rueff's art studio in Corryville. When another group wanted to tour, Rueff asked some friends to help him put together a program. He got hooked on the idea of bringing art to youngsters.
Within six months, he had sold his advertising partnership and opened Happen, said Rueff, who still has a fine arts studio in Corryville.
Three years ago, Project Connect asked Happen to do something for its children. Happen created an entire program for those children, and provides the mentors for the five-week sessions.
"It gives me a lot of
satisfaction. And it's a little selfish, I guess," Cummings said.
"Playing the characters is a wonder therapy. I can go in there,
get crazy, make the children laugh and enjoy themselves, and it's just
wonderful."
