A place for us to share, shine & inspire one another
Each piece of art sparks something new —
a story, a song, a sculpture, a smile.
Together, we’re creating a living art gallery,
where every creation plants a seed in someone’s imagination.
Your spark matters.
Join the Shining Star Art Club
"Sunset at the Beach" artists: Halaya & Peter from: Panama City Beach, FL
"Big kid, bigger heart" artist: unknown
"Star Girl" artist: Rylee from: Sylacauga, AL
🌟 How the Shining Star Art Club Began🌟
The idea for the Shining Star Art Club began with two bright lights, Kate and Jack, on a chilly spring morning.
In 2024, I was leading a sing-along at the Orion Amphitheatre for the Rocket City Reading Festival. That’s where I first met Kate and Jack. Their joy was infectious — two siblings dancing and singing along. After the event, their dad came up to me and asked if they could find "You are a Star" online anywhere.
The following week, their dad reached out online to send me a couple short videos of Kate & Jack singing "You are a Star" — to each other at the museum, and to ducks at the park— it had become part of their lives.
At the time, the song had been recorded, but it hadn’t been released yet. I knew I wanted the cover art to reflect the spirit of that song — and suddenly, I knew exactly who should inspire it.
So I asked their dad a playful, “hypothetical” question:
“If Kate and Jack were stick figures, what would they be doing?”
That one question bloomed into the artwork for the song. As soon as it was released, I let them know:
“You’re on the cover.”
But the story didn’t end there — it grew. 🌱
Kate and Jack were so inspired by the artwork that they recreated it — as a giant, movable 3D sculpture made from cardboard. It was full of imagination and love. Kate even left me a voicemail from to say she couldn’t wait to give it to me at the next local sing along, and that she and Jack had spent, in her words,
“a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot of time”
on it.
And that artwork — their artwork — inspired me again. I picked up my new Cigar Box Guitar and wrote a brand-new song. One that might never have existed if not for Kate, Jack, and their cardboard masterpiece.
And that’s when it clicked:
This is what art does.
It inspires. It circles back. It grows like roots & branches, winding from one heart to the next.
And that’s how Miss Calliope’s Shining Star Art Club was born — not as a product, or a program, but as a chain of inspiration that will never truly end.
“Miss Calliope is doing wonderful things with her music... In this era of seeming detachment, she provides real human connection and caring. ” - Lou Columbus
— Community Photographer, Panama City, FL