Both accomplished artists, they have been visiting museums for much of their lives and have hosted fundraisers and made donations to nurture local museums. What is remarkable about the Irvin sisters is not their passion for local museums, but the fact that they are 6 and 8 years old, respectively.

The Irvins are just two of 100 artists of all ages who are participating in a community-wide fundraiser for the Chapel Hill Museum and Kidzu Children's Museum called "Art from the Heart."

Katie and Sara became avid museum fans when Kidzu Children's Museum opened in Chapel Hill. The girls have also enjoyed trips to the Chapel Hill Museum, where they have experienced its Fire Safety Puppet Show and the "Meet Me on Franklin Street" exhibit.

Inspired by their love for museums, Katie led the sisters' foray into philanthropy as a preschooler, when she donated a collection of unused diapers to Kidzu Children's Museum (Kidzu provides emergency diapers for its young visitors).

Katie and Sara later donated their piggybank change to the museum and also helped their parents host two museum fundraisers, as part of Kidzu's annual Feast for the Imagination event.

Established in 2008, "Art from the Heart" celebrates the artist in all of us. This fall, local artists, celebrities and children were provided with 12 x 12 inch canvases, paints and brushes and asked to create original works of art for auction. Last year's event raised more than $19,200 for the museums' educational programs and other core initiatives.

Contributors include professional artists, UNC coaches, Triangle chefs, town officials, musicians, authors and more. This year's participants include Alexander Julian, William and Ida Friday, Holden Thorp, Ron Stutts, Jim and Pam Heavner, Bill Smith, Elaine O'Neil, Josh Taylor, Tina Vaughn and many others. Dave Washburn of Atlanta is sharing caricatures of Butch Davis, Anson Dorrance, Woody Durham, Sylvia Hatchell, Rameses the Ram, and Dean Smith to be signed by the models.

In addition, Vietri, the Hillsborough tableware company, has commissioned paintings by two visiting artists from Italy, which will be included in the auction.

While many of the participants are professional artists, others have not picked up a paintbrush in years (or since the last Art from the Heart event).

For instance, Chapel Hill Police Chief Brian Curran contributed a painting of a UNC-Duke game and NBA basketball star Eric Montross has shared a masterpiece rendering of a jack-o-lantern. These and many other unique works of art will be available for the public to purchase via auction.

Art from the Heart is on display at the Chapel Hill Museum and Kidzu Children's Museum through the end of January. The works are online at www.chapelhillmuseum.org and www.kidzuchildrensmuseum.org. Bids for the artwork can be made between now and Feb. 4 by calling the Chapel Hill Museum at 929-SHOP.

The Art for the Heart Gala and Final Auction will be held Thursday, Feb. 4 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Chapel Hill Museum. Tickets to the gala go on sale this month.

Katie and Sara Irvin will have special permission to stay up late and attend the gala. We hope you will join us, too.

For more information, visit www.chapelhillmuseum.org or www.kidzuchildrensmuseum.org