State College is flourishing with budding artistic talent, as is evident by a youth art exhibit that opens tonight in the area.

Young local artists are being given center stage for the event, which is being presented by local business The Artisan Connection, 135 E. Beaver Ave.

"This is the first time in this location that this has been done," Micah Messenheimer, gallery manager of The Artisan Connection, said.

The artistic range of the promising artists thoroughly impressed Messenheimer. He said he is very excited about unveiling the exhibit, which features work done primarily by high-school aged children as well as younger ones.

"I was really surprised by how professional a lot of the art was," Messenheimer said. "We have some ceramics, some origami ... there's a whole range of work."

The idea to make youth art a focal point of an exhibit started this summer during Central Pennsylvania's Festival of the Arts, when Bonnie Marshall -- one of the owners of The Artisan Connection -- took a look around the Children and Youth Sidewalk Sale.

"We found some outstanding young artists," Marshall said. "We were just blown away by the stuff they were doing, so we asked them if they'd be interested in having their stuff in our store over the Christmas season."

Even some of the work done by the youngest children is something worth checking out tonight, according to Marshall.

"I think the youngest [artist] may be around five ... she was making simple little wineglass charms. For a 5-year-old, that's perfect," Marshall said.

One of the artists, 10-year-old Skye Pilato, comes from a family of artists, including her father, painter Michael Pilato. He has painted many of the downtown State College murals that residents and students pass by everyday.

"It's so cool to now have their youngest doing it," Marshall said. "It's like a continuation of the tradition."

Skye Pilato said that she's contributed 10 of her art pieces to the show, and is most proud of a metal artwork piece she has titled "Aunt Trudy."

"I feel very proud of my family ... it's great that I am contributing to my family [art]," she said.

Marshall and Messenheimer both said that they have done the best they can to get the word out about the exhibit, sending out around 800 postcards to various community members who have taken interest in their business before.

"I was thinking if this one goes well, we'll try to do it again next December," Messenheimer said.

First Thursday events will be ongoing, occurring on the first Thursday of every month in 2006, and the youth art exhibit will continue to be on display at The Artisan Connection for the remainder of this holiday season.