I’ve always said, I found BAYarts by accident. I was invited to teach a comic book class on a Saturday. I had minimal experience in teaching, with only a few programs for local Lorain County libraries and LCCC. I taught that one class on Saturday, and have never left. That was almost 10 years ago.
Probably my favorite memory, and there are a lot…has to be the mural I did with my students. It was 4-6 weeks after having our classes shut down during the pandemic, and we hadn’t seen or talked since then. It was a dark, depressing and unpredictable time. But in those 3 or 4 times painting together, we managed to brighten each other’s lives, and hopefully a lot of lives that needed that semblance of hope and faith that we could and would make it through that moment in time. I think of those 7 kids, and those times whenever I look at that mural on the former Playhouse building. And I smile. Every time.
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We thank Jim Giar for his service to BAYarts as a beloved instructor. Pictured first is the mural he and his students created in 2020.