A handful of representatives from the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, the San Jose City Council and Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley held a small dedication ceremony Feb. 27 at the Wallenberg Park/Line 26 shelter to unveil two works of art that are part of the VTA's Art on Route youth outreach project.

The program involves showcasing local public elementary school students' art in bus shelters located near schools or community centers in an attempt to "increase public interest in school arts programs" while also promoting the use of public transportation.

The hour-long ceremony was held just behind the shelter in a tent displaying art that was selected for placement in other bus shelters. More than two dozen individuals--guests and speakers--milled around inside the tent, viewing the gallery of students' art as they waited for the official unveiling of the two selected art pieces created by a pair of Booksin Elementary students.

Third-grader Anastasia Flores drew the large face that greets riders in the shelter's interior poster display. On the opposite side is third-grader Karey Markham's giant multicolored giraffe head, painted in watercolors.

"I thought it would be cool to make something different," Flores said of her untitled work. Against a background of crayon scribbles, the blue and white face is bisected vertically between the eyes. Markham's pastel giraffe has a green nose, a blue snout, a yellow face and rainbow antlers.

Markham's advice for young artists: "Try your best, and instead of starting over just use your mistakes in your picture."

When Dana Powell, director for Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley's Creative Education Program, was looking for children's art to include in the Art on Route program, she and other judges visited classrooms at various elementary schools in the Berryessa, Cambrian, Franklin-McKinley, Oak Grove and San Jose Unified school districts.

Powell said she was looking for art that could be easily scanned vertically, had images that could be easily recognized from a distance, didn't have words and, most importantly, had "bright, vivid colors."

"We looked for something that would make people smile," Powell said.

And the concept is working, as far as 19-year-old Stephanie Randoni is concerned. A few days after the ceremony she was waiting in the shelter to catch a ride to San José City College, where she studies early child development.

"It certainly draws attention," Randoni said of the artwork. "It makes your day a little brighter."

She adds that her studies have given her a keener understanding of what artists are like.

"The face is smiling and has lots of bright colors," Randoni said. "So apparently whoever drew this is pretty happy."

Powell said that while the Booksin students' work will only be displayed through the summer, the Creative Education program plans to work with more school districts to have students create art specifically for Art on Route. The Wallenberg Park/Line 26 bus shelter was the pilot program for the project.

VTA has a contract with advertising agency Clear Channel Worldwide, which donated resources to scan the selected artwork, print it on large posters and place it in the shelters.

Speaking at the Feb. 27 event were County Supervisor Blanca Alvarado and San Jose District 3 City Council member Cindy Chavez--both VTA board members--but they were difficult to hear due to the ceremony's proximity to busy Curtner Avenue.

District 6 City Council member Ken Yeager was invited but couldn't attend the ceremony because of a scheduling conflict.

Chavez was on hand for her instrumental role in facilitating VTA's partnership with the city.

"I have no artistic talent," Chavez admitted later. "But a couple things did catch my attention. I was overwhelmingly impressed with the creativity and imagination that went into each work."

She added that the students "were beaming with pride. Every first-, second- and third-grader should feel that way about something special they create."

San Jose District 9 City Councilwoman Judy Chirco, who was representing Bagby Elementary School of the Cambrian School District, said that she would like to have seen the artwork accompanied by artists' comments.

"I love the stories children tell about their work," Chirco said. "Children's artwork has qualities that as grownups we can all enjoy."

Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley is a nonprofit organization created during former San Jose Mayor Susan Hammer's administration. The organization's mission is to develop a "cultural transformation" for Silicon Valley. It does this by implementing creativity education in elementary schools and developing an "informed and committed" community leadership.

Booksin Elementary School was awarded a five-year school grant from Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley in 2001. The school receives $10,000 per year for four years, totaling $40,000, and a teacher liaison and technical support for five years.