ALEDO —
Noelle Franklin comes from a family of artists.
The demure 13-year-old is quiet at first, but get her started talking about art and it’s apparent that it’s in her blood. Her grandfather is a sculpture, her mother introduced her to photography and the family can trace a history of relatives involved in weaving, woodworking, dollmaking, painting and several other art media.
Noelle, an Aledo Middle School seventh-grader, is one of several artists exhibited at the Weatherford Art Association’s Miniature Art Show and Sale, which runs through Jan. 2.
While she said she enjoys painting and drawing more — as more of a personal hobby — the miniature photos she has exhibited in the show not only show her creative side but have a purpose.
Noelle decided when she first got involved in creating art to donate proceeds from pieces that sell to different non-profit groups. Her current philanthropic venture is to donate to Texas Rustlers Guinea Pig Rescue.
“I really wanted to do something,” Noelle said of giving 10 percent of proceeds to a charity.
Of course, that sentiment can be used to describe Noelle’s ambition. She started creating art when she was just 6 years old.
Jewelry making was her main creation at that point. It’s something she still does, and the jewelry she has made is also on exhibit at art251 in Keller. Examples of her jewelry work, mainly glass and ceramic pendant necklaces, can be seen at the gallery’s website at www.art251.com.
Some of her jewelry and small pieces can also be found in Art-o-mat machines under the “It’s a girl thing” label. Art-o-mat machines are retired retro cigarette machines. The cigarette packets have been replaced by packets of artwork created by artists throughout the country. The gallery at art251 has an Art-o-mat, as does the Whole Foods Market at Park Lane in Dallas. Several other locations are throughout Texas and the country.
But, jewelry wasn’t enough for the artist in Noelle. So, she moved on to photography.
“It kind of started two years ago,” Noelle recalled. “Me and my mom would go out and take pictures.”
They would go to the Fort Worth Botanic Garden or to Clark Gardens.
“I’ve always loved photography,” mother, Reba Franklin, said. “It’s so much fun to have her to share it.”
Noelle said she likes looking through the lens at gardens and nature. Those images can be taken in a way so that they seem abstract or in a different form than usually perceived, she said. It’s that reason that she tries to stay away from taking pictures of people.
“To me, when taking pictures of people, it’s not making anything unique, exactly,” said Noelle. “It’s not as interesting to me as plants and things you may capture that can’t be by anyone else.”
For as much as she loves the various forms of artwork she’s chosen to do in her off time, Noelle said she doesn’t think she’ll make a career of it.
“I kind of want to do it as fun,” she said, “I’d rather do it as I see it, just all for fun.”
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