Portrait of an Art Studio

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Portrait of an Art Studio

Autumn Simpson

My mission in all of this is to show people how capable, talented, and smart the STARS are. People saw the artwork on exhibition and were amazed. And all I can say is, ‘They’ve always been capable of this. It just takes a few people to help unearth that.—Rachael Corey, Art Studio Coordinator, STARS Family Services

Rachael and I sit in the basement of the Jean Hooten Home, a spacious room that houses a washer, dryer, TV area and the Art studio. It’s a wondrous space; a long table sits laden with paper, paint and every art supply imaginable. Art and supplies also cover every shelf and wall, a testament to the creative hours spent here, and it’s breathtaking.

Rachael is wearing her painting clothes. The fabric is dotted with bright splashes of color and radiates creativity. I ask her about where she grew up, what she studied, her interests.

“I’ve lived here in Wheaton for most of my life,” she says, “I studied art at a college in Michigan and then came back. I’ve known for a long time that I have a passion for working with adults with disabilities. My end goal is to do something involving therapeutic arts.”

Rachael smiles when she recalls how she became involved with STARS Family Services (SFS). She first heard about SFS through a family friend who had worked at Washington House. “It was insane to find this huge thriving community of people with disabilities who were so integrated into their community; into the workplace, and that’s a very special thing. I can’t believe it was sitting under my nose for so long.

‘I was drawn in by SFS’s mission to provide their residents with a high as possible quality of life; to provide community, to provide friendships, familybuilding—that was everything I was looking for. And it totally exceeded every expectation I had. The more I’m involved with SFS, the prouder I am to work here.”

Rachael has served in many different roles throughout her time at SFS. Beginning the summer of 2016, she worked Sundays at the Jean Hooten Home, shifted into mornings, and now serves as the art studio coordinator.

“I was always doing art,” Rachael exclaims, describing her quiet Sunday afternoons at the Jean Hooten Home in the room that would later become the art studio. Rachael grows more serious as she talks about the impact of COVID-19 had on the SFS houses. The residents couldn’t go to work or do their regular activities. The studio was initially created as a temporary program and began with just a few residents, but Rachael recalls that “every parent reached out to me and said, ‘my resident has really enjoyed this; we’re seeing a lot of positive change.” It became clear that the art studio should continue, even as the normal activities began again. Angela Killian, executive director of SFS, helped the studio become a regular program.

Currently, the participants at the studio are the residents in the SFS homes, but the goal is to expand this program to other STARS in the community. “I’m excited to see how it grows.” she says. Great care goes into tailoring the class rosters as Rachael explains, “It’s important to us to put people together who will thrive together. We will work through conflict, but my main goal is to create a seamless environment where they are free to really be themselves and create without any barriers.”

A day at the art studio begins with music and a creative exercise, which is “a warm-up that allows you to get into the groove of creating without any stress of how it will turn out. We do all sorts of things.” Rachael grows more animated as she continues, “The other day I found one that everybody really enjoyed. Everybody drew, painted and cut out their own ice cream cones, and we made a collage involving different mediums.” That’s just the beginning. It takes anywhere from ten to forty minutes at the start of the two-hour class.

“Most of our time is spent working on the main project for that day or week,” explains Rachael. “We rotate projects based on what we think will keep the residents engaged and interested. We use a variety of mediums— paint, charcoal, chalk, cut paper, collages, markers, pencil, colored pencil, anything like that. We’re even branching out into sculpture.

“On Thursdays, and sometimes Tuesdays, we do a twentyminute art history lesson. Each week we learn about an artist, who goes along with coordinated with the project we’re doing. This past week we did Berthe Morisot, a French Impressionist artist. We’ve looked at all sorts of different people, and we go through visual analysis. We walk through a whole of range of questions, looking at the work and asking, ‘What colors do you see, what emotions, what do you think these brush strokes meant?’” Rachael says she’s proud of how the residents have built up their art knowledge and observing skills.

Planning takes the bulk of Rachael’s time. “My goal is to create plans that allow our residents to be able to thrive in doing all this work with their own hands on their own accord and with their own style. We want to play into their strengths.”

When it comes to creating art projects, Rachael says, “One of the things I do is I simply ask the STARS what they’re interested in, and they’re full of ideas. I facilitate the idea, I add my own little art lessons into those and we go from there. We also get inspiration from other art. For example, saying, ‘This painting is cool. That causes us to think of this other project we could possibly do, based off this idea, and go from there.”

Currently, the art studio’s major project is the Wild Woods Art Show on August 19 and 20 at College Church. “It’s a huge installation piece that involves two seasons, winter and summer. This idea was entirely crafted by our residents. We have animals, plants, flowers…all these things were their ideas.”

Pieces for the show hang around the room, full of color and life. “The thing I like most about art studio and the shows is how proud our STARS are of the things that they create,” Rachael says, smiling, clearly also proud.

For Rachael, it’s touching to see the residents grow in selfconfidence. She tells the story of a resident who would become stressed out when told he was doing a good job, and repeat ‘I can’t do it, I can’t do it.’ But now he responds to the praise with, ‘I know.”

The art studio itself has had a positive impact. Rachael says, “Negative behaviors completely cease when they’re in this space. Instead, it is an outlet for negative feelings and frustrations. And that gives them peace. It’s cool to see how their emotions are displayed in different projects. Sometimes you can tell exactly what they were feeling by looking at what they made that day.”

Being the art studio coordinator is a long-time dream come true for Rachael. She also exhibits her own work regularly and learns from STARS and is inspired by them every single day. The art studio’s comforting and creative space has also benefited her. She says, “It’s not always easy to find a space where you feel completely comfortable and loved and cared for and safe. The residents make that for me too. There’s so much we can learn from them. Sometimes we can have a limited view of what they’re capable of and even who they are. In the art studio, we’re able to see that and it has changed my life to experience it.”

This is just the beginning of art studio; there is so much possibility for growth and beauty. It has already made such an impact. I get out of my chair, gather my equipment, computer and notebook from among the scattered art supplies and head up the stairs. I hit the light switch by the door, and with a small click, the room descends in darkness. I stand for a moment, and hope that the beauty of the residents at the SFS homes and their creations continues to be brought into the light.