8-Year-Old's Heartfelt Art Project Welcomes Patrons to the Libary

Almost a dozen crayon drawings line the wall next to the book check out at the Gulfport Public Library. The detailed drawings of the library staff are the work of an 8-year-old girl who wanted everyone to feel welcome at the library.

The young artist is Wisconsin native Clare Wittman. She spent the summer in Gulfport to have time with family and friends in the Tampa Bay area before she moves with her family to Panama in October. She likes Gulfport and the library.

“The library has lots of books and it’s a place where you can go to chill and relax. . . Gulfport has lots of things to do. Everything is in walking distance. It’s just one block to everything,” Clare said.

Library Staff member Linda Burke described how she met Clare and the start of Clare’s drawing project.

“(Clare) just showed up one day. She was about counter height and she started talking about sea slugs and the size of a white, whale’s heart. Then she kept coming back and brought me things like feathers, acorns, and pinecones. Then I asked if she wanted to help me . . . then one day she wanted drawing paper. She was very particular to get the jewelry and eye color right (as well as the favorite snacks of the library staff). She wanted to make her own welcome sign. She was very concerned about people wanting to come to the library,” Burke said.

What inspired Clare to draw the library staff and write her welcome note?

“I just started drawing some other pictures. Then I wanted to make Linda. Then I started making everybody... I made the whole note. I wanted all of them to have smiles (in their pictures). If you don’t make a smile on everybody then they think you are mean. They won’t want to come to the library. So I wrote the note nicely, too.” Clare said.

Members of the library staff shared their appreciation for Clare.

“(Clare) was very creative. She was a big help volunteering. One day she asked for paper and she looked real close and she decided to draw us…I thought it was great,” Library Assistant Diann Morningstar said.

“I thought it was a good tribute to all the people here to see a little kid’s interpretation of what we look like,” Librarian Alex Hooks said.