Left to right: Carol Panek-Clark, Judy Warner, Jim Clark, and Tom Keaney chat during the artists’ reception. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)

The old library was abuzz last Friday night as Harvard’s artists and art enthusiasts gathered for a reception honoring those who entered their work in the first-ever exhibit of local art, sponsored by the newly-formed group For Art’s Sake (F.A.S.). F.A.S. founders and exhibit organizers Pam Cochrane, Bess Haire, and Melissa Yahia said they are astonished by the reception their efforts have had in town, which, they said, taps into a deep reservoir of creative talent in Harvard.

The “Made in Harvard” exhibit, made up of the work of 36 professional and amateur artists, included a striking sewn and appliquéd quilt by Sister Marie-Jean, the prioress of the Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Still River, called “Mother of Good Counsel,” depicting a Madonna and child; an intricately formed clay sculpture in an abstract form by potter Mary Marazzi-Henderson; and a simple but elegant banner of red, white, and blue woven by Roben Campbell, as well as watercolors, pastels, charcoal and pencil drawings, and sculptures by Harvard artists both renowned and emerging. From Bromfield freshman Rachel Leicher’s series of graceful glazed bowls to artist Geoffrey Koetsch’s large and elaborate sculptures of folded paper and polyurethane resin mounted on a light table, the exhibit drew from creativity and expertise at all levels.

The show is just one of the events sponsored by For Art’s Sake since Cochrane, Haire, and Yahia had the brainstorm of starting an organization to support the arts in Harvard schools. The three women said that, having crossed paths for years as they raised their children, they have always been on the same wavelength when it comes to their interest in supporting the arts.

An animated wooden sculpture by Dug North. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)

Cochrane, whom her colleagues describe as “the gallery owner with the Rolodex,” has spent her entire professional life working to bring art to Greater Boston. The owner of the Clark Gallery in Lincoln, a space devoted to contemporary art, Cochrane represents both emerging and established artists. She got to know both Haire and Yahia when all of their children took part in “The Worker’s Quirky Circus,” a play Haire created and directed for students at the elementary school.

Haire, whose background in theater and education make her interest in nurturing Harvard’s art scene a natural fit for her talents, has a long resume of art projects accomplished at both the elementary school and Bromfield. She is currently in the planning stages of creating a giant puppet with the students at Bromfield.

Yahia, whose charcoal and pencil drawings of children were also part of the exhibit, lends her background in graphic design and advertising to F.A.S., creating the colorful and multi-layered website. Both Cochrane and Haire credit her with shepherding the group’s ideas along the path to fulfillment as well, a task that seemed all the more impressive considering that this reporter’s interview spawned as many ideas among them as there are hours in the day.

Since F.A.S. first recognized a need to support the arts in Harvard’s schools, as well as to plumb the depths of creativity in town, its mission has been to channel the creativity of the community, Haire said. Part of doing that is to create gathering places to be creative or to admire the creativity of others.

“We’re art brokers of events to promote the arts,” she said.

Starting with an outdoor sculpture show in Cochrane’s Still River garden last September, the group has since coordinated a high school field trip to sculptor Linda Hoffman’s studio at Old Frog Pond Farm, sponsored a series of costume-making sessions in the weeks before Halloween, funded a trip to the Museum of Modern Art for Bromfield students, and helped Bromfield art teachers Sharon Chandler and Julie Cooke start art classes for adults. While the group seems endlessly creative in and of itself, all three see themselves more as conduits than actors, emphasizing that their ideas come largely from the community. To date, the community seems to be very enthusiastic about the F.A.S. mission:

“[Ideas are] bubbling up out of the ground,” Cochrane said.

The group has met with swift success, but that success has not come without challenges: the women recognize that F.A.S. is already at a critical juncture and will need more infrastructure to sustain its momentum.

“We need a few more movers and shakers,” Yahia said, explaining that more volunteers are needed to help carry out the many ideas on their slate.

The group would like to see growth in their membership as well. It currently numbers 74 individual and family members, but Haire would like to see hundreds of names on that roster, she said.

For now, though, the F.A.S. founders seem to be having a ball, having tapped a well of creativity in Harvard that seems virtually limitless. From field trips to large-scale exhibits, the group vows to keep moving forward with its mission of uniting people with art in every way feasible. “We’re about making it happen,” Yahia said.