Ronda93
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The KC Star has started to require registration to look at stories, so it's pasted below. Kinda neat.
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Posted on Wed, Jan. 07, 2004
Young artist makes her mark with love of all things Disney
By DIANA LAMBDIN MEYER
Special to The Star
JENNIFER HACK/The Kansas City Star
Christina Grantham of Kansas City was one of 75 artists nationwide selected by Disney World to create a 75th birthday statue of Mickey Mouse. In the basement of her parents' home in Kansas City, North, she has painted murals of Disney characters, including Lilo from Lilo and Stitch. Grantham is a graduate of Park Hill South High School and attends the Kansas City Art Institute.
At 6 feet tall and 700 pounds, it's the size of a mouse nightmare for some people.
But for 21-year-old Christina Grantham of Platte County, the mouse is a dream come true and the culmination of a young life filled with the childhood love of Mickey Mouse and all things Disney.
Grantham is one of 10 artists nationwide selected to design a statue of Mickey Mouse in honor of the big-eared guy's 75th birthday.
Mickey, who was first doodled by Missouri native Walt Disney in Kansas City at the Laugh-O-Gram Studio, turned 75 on Nov. 18.
That was the date Grantham's statue, along with 74 others, was unveiled at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, and where it will remain through April, when the statues begin a 10-city tour in celebration of Mickey's birthday. Fifteen of the statues, including Grantham's, will be on display on the Country Club Plaza, Aug. 17 through Oct. 21.
A 2001 graduate of Park Hill South High School and now a junior at the Kansas City Art Institute, Grantham is majoring in illustration while working toward a bachelor's degree in fine arts.
That she studies at the same institution that Walt Disney once attended is no coincidence, according to Mark Ballard, station manager of Radio Disney in Kansas City and a Platte County resident.
The other cities on the tour are much bigger, but The Disney Co. wanted Kansas City to be represented because of Walt's history here, said Ballard, who was contacted by the company to recommend an artist.
I thought of several established artists first, but then I remembered Tina and it just made sense, Ballard said.
Grantham's mother operates an in-home day-care center and had cared for Ballard's children years ago. Ballard remembered the creative Christmas cards Tina had designed for the family and how she loved Disney characters.
Like everybody else, I grew up watching Disney movies and I just love the characters and the story lines, Grantham said. I think Disney characters have become more stylistic and more detailed over the years, and that the characters are designed to look like the actors who play their voices.
As an example, Grantham refers to Robin Williams as the genie in Aladdin. However, her favorite movies are The Lion King and Lilo and Stitch.
Grantham had just 24 hours to create the three designs on templates provided by The Disney Co. Each artist worked with the same pose of Mickey, which was already created by the Disney entertainment department. As a Beatles fan, Grantham designed Mickey in the Sky with Diamonds, covering the mouse with glittering stones. She also designed a Tarzan Mickey.
However, the design selected reflects the Kansas City connection with Mickey Mouse. It is called Fountain of Fun, drawing on the city's reputation as the City of Fountains. Grantham's original design had water squirting from Mickey's mouth and a bird perched on his ear.
Because the statues are going to be moved from city to city, the water element was eliminated. Also, The Disney Co. wanted the statues to be climbable, allowing children and adults to stand on or near the statues for photographs. The water element prohibited interaction with the statue.
Therefore, artists at Disney took Grantham's concept of a fountain and simply have Mickey dipping his big toe in a pool of water, which is the base of the statue.
I was kind of disappointed in the changes, but I understand why it had to be done, Grantham said. I'm just thrilled to have this opportunity and to have something like this on my resume at my age.
Grantham's achievements with The Disney Co. don't surprise her former art teacher at Park Hill South High School.
In class, I ask the students to do a report and a self-portrait in the style of an artist of their choosing and Tina chose Walt Disney, said Kris Smither. Her love for Disney makes her excel in that style.
Grantham is the youngest of the artists who designed statues reflecting their cities. However, the birthday celebration includes 75 statues, one for each year since Mickey debuted in Steamboat Willie in 1928. Other statues were designed by celebrities, such as Tom Hanks, Rosie O'Donnell, Ben Affleck and Andre Agassi.
Former Kansas City Royals outfielder Jeff Conine, now with the Florida Marlins, created one of the statues.
At the conclusion of the tour, which wraps up in California's Disneyland, the statues will be auctioned off by Sotheby's Auction House with all proceeds going to a children's charity selected by each artist. The minimum bid for each is $10,000. Grantham chose Boys Hope Girls Hope, a privately funded, multi-denominational organization for at-risk children. The charity is based in the St. Louis area and has an office in Lenexa.
Grantham and the charity will be featured at a birthday bash for Mickey Mouse when the statues arrive in Kansas City in August.
She deserves the recognition, Ballard said. I put her in the difficult position of creating something very special in a short amount of time and she did a bang-up job. All of Kansas City should be proud of her.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted on Wed, Jan. 07, 2004
Young artist makes her mark with love of all things Disney
By DIANA LAMBDIN MEYER
Special to The Star
JENNIFER HACK/The Kansas City Star
Christina Grantham of Kansas City was one of 75 artists nationwide selected by Disney World to create a 75th birthday statue of Mickey Mouse. In the basement of her parents' home in Kansas City, North, she has painted murals of Disney characters, including Lilo from Lilo and Stitch. Grantham is a graduate of Park Hill South High School and attends the Kansas City Art Institute.
At 6 feet tall and 700 pounds, it's the size of a mouse nightmare for some people.
But for 21-year-old Christina Grantham of Platte County, the mouse is a dream come true and the culmination of a young life filled with the childhood love of Mickey Mouse and all things Disney.
Grantham is one of 10 artists nationwide selected to design a statue of Mickey Mouse in honor of the big-eared guy's 75th birthday.
Mickey, who was first doodled by Missouri native Walt Disney in Kansas City at the Laugh-O-Gram Studio, turned 75 on Nov. 18.
That was the date Grantham's statue, along with 74 others, was unveiled at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, and where it will remain through April, when the statues begin a 10-city tour in celebration of Mickey's birthday. Fifteen of the statues, including Grantham's, will be on display on the Country Club Plaza, Aug. 17 through Oct. 21.
A 2001 graduate of Park Hill South High School and now a junior at the Kansas City Art Institute, Grantham is majoring in illustration while working toward a bachelor's degree in fine arts.
That she studies at the same institution that Walt Disney once attended is no coincidence, according to Mark Ballard, station manager of Radio Disney in Kansas City and a Platte County resident.
The other cities on the tour are much bigger, but The Disney Co. wanted Kansas City to be represented because of Walt's history here, said Ballard, who was contacted by the company to recommend an artist.
I thought of several established artists first, but then I remembered Tina and it just made sense, Ballard said.
Grantham's mother operates an in-home day-care center and had cared for Ballard's children years ago. Ballard remembered the creative Christmas cards Tina had designed for the family and how she loved Disney characters.
Like everybody else, I grew up watching Disney movies and I just love the characters and the story lines, Grantham said. I think Disney characters have become more stylistic and more detailed over the years, and that the characters are designed to look like the actors who play their voices.
As an example, Grantham refers to Robin Williams as the genie in Aladdin. However, her favorite movies are The Lion King and Lilo and Stitch.
Grantham had just 24 hours to create the three designs on templates provided by The Disney Co. Each artist worked with the same pose of Mickey, which was already created by the Disney entertainment department. As a Beatles fan, Grantham designed Mickey in the Sky with Diamonds, covering the mouse with glittering stones. She also designed a Tarzan Mickey.
However, the design selected reflects the Kansas City connection with Mickey Mouse. It is called Fountain of Fun, drawing on the city's reputation as the City of Fountains. Grantham's original design had water squirting from Mickey's mouth and a bird perched on his ear.
Because the statues are going to be moved from city to city, the water element was eliminated. Also, The Disney Co. wanted the statues to be climbable, allowing children and adults to stand on or near the statues for photographs. The water element prohibited interaction with the statue.
Therefore, artists at Disney took Grantham's concept of a fountain and simply have Mickey dipping his big toe in a pool of water, which is the base of the statue.
I was kind of disappointed in the changes, but I understand why it had to be done, Grantham said. I'm just thrilled to have this opportunity and to have something like this on my resume at my age.
Grantham's achievements with The Disney Co. don't surprise her former art teacher at Park Hill South High School.
In class, I ask the students to do a report and a self-portrait in the style of an artist of their choosing and Tina chose Walt Disney, said Kris Smither. Her love for Disney makes her excel in that style.
Grantham is the youngest of the artists who designed statues reflecting their cities. However, the birthday celebration includes 75 statues, one for each year since Mickey debuted in Steamboat Willie in 1928. Other statues were designed by celebrities, such as Tom Hanks, Rosie O'Donnell, Ben Affleck and Andre Agassi.
Former Kansas City Royals outfielder Jeff Conine, now with the Florida Marlins, created one of the statues.
At the conclusion of the tour, which wraps up in California's Disneyland, the statues will be auctioned off by Sotheby's Auction House with all proceeds going to a children's charity selected by each artist. The minimum bid for each is $10,000. Grantham chose Boys Hope Girls Hope, a privately funded, multi-denominational organization for at-risk children. The charity is based in the St. Louis area and has an office in Lenexa.
Grantham and the charity will be featured at a birthday bash for Mickey Mouse when the statues arrive in Kansas City in August.
She deserves the recognition, Ballard said. I put her in the difficult position of creating something very special in a short amount of time and she did a bang-up job. All of Kansas City should be proud of her.
