- November 8, 2024
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Nine-year-old Mikaela Marin started creating art when she moved from Virginia to Lakewood Ranch three years ago.
Her first piece was a unicorn she painted at Let’s Create Art at Main Street Lakewood Ranch. Now, Marin is an artist extraordinaire, creating at least five pieces per week with a variety of mediums and styles.
She sold her work for the first time during the Manatee County Libraries’ Kids Biz Fair, held Jan. 25 at Braden River Library.
“I love it,” Marin said as visitors looked over her paintings. “I love that people like my art and want to put it on their walls.”
Youth entrepreneurs sold their wares — everything from dog treats and dog ice cream to jars of honey, homemade candies, paintings and slime — to each other and to the guests visiting the fair and the library.
Dozens also stopped in two watch one of two performances offered by Lakewood Ranch’s Zoe Balakrishnan, an 8-year-old attending Robert E. Willis Elementary School. Tickets to “Zoe’s Magic Show” cost $1 apiece. It was her first time performing magic publicly.