Mindy White remembers looking at son Toby’s assignment years ago where he had not only written each letter of the alphabet, but also incorporated designs of animals, lizards and dinosaurs within and around them.
While the additional designs weren’t part of the assignment, it stood out to her.
“Toby has always been a free spirit,” said White of Lower Burrell. “Ever since he was little, he was imaginative and creative.
“His mind is always spinning into making something.”
Now, the creative, monster-animal designs from the 10-year-old have caught the attention of others.
Recently, the fourth grader from Stewart Elementary School had his artwork displayed in a show at the Manos Gallery in Tarentum, winning honorable mention.
Toby was the only child artist in the 24 Minis Exhibition show with his piece titled “Croczilla King of the Monsterverse.”
“I made Croczilla because crocodiles are my favorite animal,” Toby said.
Trisha Donnelly, elementary art teacher at Burrell, said Toby’s art stuck out to her when she first had him in class two years ago.
“It just flows out of him,” Donnelly said. “I try to give them as much creative freedom as I can, and I try to push him to go further.”
Toby has above-average art skills compared to his peers, Donnelly said.
“He’s so talented skill-wise,” she said. “He’s a true artist — he thinks like an artist and he knows who he is. He has his own style. He inspires me.”
White, a radiology nurse at UPMC Shadyside, showed Toby’s work to her co-workers.
“They were flabbergasted by it,” she said. “They wanted a picture for our workroom.”
Toby then commissioned a piece for the department’s work room.
“He knew we were in the radiology department, so he made a dinosaur with half-bones,” she said.
Toby mostly uses pencils to create his pieces. They include a pizza alligator, pencil snake, fire crocodile and a scarecrow monster. A family friend took an alligator-squatch design he made and put it on a shirt.
White isn’t too sure where Toby’s creative spirit comes from but is thankful for family friends who have provided guidance and encouragement for her son’s art.
She and her husband, Keith, encourage their four sons — Tanner, 12; Toby; Talan, 8; and Tucker, 2 — to pursue things they’re passionate about. Her other sons are sports-obsessed, she said, and Toby is more interested in art, nature and the wilderness.
“He’s the mellow one,” she said. “My friend always says, ‘Toby’s a vibe.’ ”
And art is a way for him to express himself.
“Drawing is calming,” Toby said. “It’s relaxing to do.”
Donnelly said Toby’s creativity advances her assignments in ways she hadn’t previously thought.
“He has such creative ideas,” Donnelly said. “I’ll introduce a project, then I’ll meet with Toby to see what he’s thinking. I tell all the kids — as long as you’re still learning the concepts I’m teaching you, you can convey it your own way.”
The future is bright for Toby, Donnelly said.
“He’s a special kid,” she said. “He’s a special artist but has such a good soul.
“He knows his style. I always tell him he’s going to be famous one day.”
