By Debbie Adams
RND (Roaster’s Next Door) and the William Byrd Middle School Art Dept. are partnering to
showcase student artwork in the downtown Vinton coffee shop.
Laura Baldwin, the art teacher at William Byrd Middle School, reached out to Jes Curtin, the
Events and Catering Coordinator and HR Director at RND Coffee, in hopes of collaborating to
feature her students’ artwork. Her goal was to connect the students with the community and for
the community to support the students by showcasing their artwork, cultivating a sense of
hometown pride in the Vinton community.
This is Baldwin’s second year of teaching art at WBMS. She began her career as a Special
Education teacher. Her goal is to make art accessible for all. Her husband also teaches PE at
WBMS.
Baldwin offered to work with RND to select the subject matter to fit the aesthetics of the
business, and the size and number of paintings to be involved. Students could work individually
on small pieces or collaborate on larger pieces. The results are a mixture of both.
“RND’s motto is ‘Founded by Family, Bolstered by Community’ and we absolutely stand by that
whenever possible,” Curtin said. “When Mrs. Baldwin reached out with this opportunity, I was
eager to partner with her to continue fostering Vinton’s unique sense of community. RND is
honored to showcase the students’ talents and to foster a sense of connection to the Vinton
business community.”
Baldwin worked with her students to curate custom pieces to display at RND Coffee, inspired by
their menu items, as well as the colors and aesthetic of their space.
Students spent much of March creating their artwork–-57 seventh and eighth grade students,
creating 22 pieces in total. The eighth graders are enrolled in Arts and Crafts and eighth grade
Art; the seventh graders are enrolled in the seventh grade interest block.
Baldwin taught them the skills necessary for drawing a cup, step-by-step, using minimal brush
strokes and breaking down shapes. They did not draw from memory, which is not always
reliable, but from photo observation.
Baldwin, her daughter Jayda, and Curtin installed the artwork on April 8, just in time the Vinton Dogwood Festival on April 25 and 26. The exhibit will remain on display for about six weeks afterward.
The coffee-inspired art project was an actual assignment on which students were graded. It was
also a part of a unit on exploring art as a profession and helping cultivate a sense of community
connection.
Baldwin says that only a handful had visited RND previously, so they were unfamiliar with the
space initially, but now they are eager to come in and see their work on display.
This is not the first time Baldwin and her students have worked with the business community.
For the Christmas holiday in 2023, many decorated ornaments for the Canine Tree in Salem
sponsored by the non-profit Friends of Regional Center for Animal Care and Protection
(RCACP) as a fundraiser. The RCACP asked Mrs. Baldwin’s eighth grade art classes at William
Byrd Middle if they would decorate ornaments for the tree. Anyone who stopped by the Canine
Cottage was welcome to take an ornament (or more) off the tree and hopefully leave a donation.
Stop by RND during the Dogwood Festival to see the students’ work.
