CENTER FOR CREATIVE WORKSÂ X HAVERFORD COLLEGE
WE'RE IN IT (REMAKING THE WORLD) 2017-2018
Learning about artists through their art – and vice versa – we seek to create an open forum for conversation that engages concepts of disability, neurodiversity, narrative voice, art writing, and bookmaking. How do we rethink the problematic term “outsider art” and reconsider how all of us move between “inside” and “outside”? How do we build relationships, one-on-one and across communities, that contribute to this reimagining? This project connects institutions of higher education, art studios, and local and national arts organizations. Building narratives and relationships through speech, drawing, and the written word, we aim to find common ground, build access across boundaries of space and difference, and bring both art-making and storytelling into ethical visions that remake the world. Learn more about the project: collaboratives.haverford.edu/were-in-it-remaking-theworld
The Center for Creative Works is a unique work environment with a goal of developing creative work potential and cultural identity for people with intellectual disabilities. Creative Works combines supported studio art development with work opportunities-including supported employment options – and community programming. Participants learn and work in drawing and painting, printmaking, ceramics, woodworking, sculpture, textiles, design, music and other media. A staff of mentor artists teach professional materials and techniques, with the goal of developing participants as artists, artisans, and designers. We foster individual expression and skill development, promoting our artists’ work through public exhibitions, art fairs, and other events in the community. Our fully engaged program includes many options for inclusion, growth, exploration and development of individual talents and skills within each person. CCW is committed to realizing potential for everyone to contribute in truly meaningful and productive ways, and to support our artists in building their cultural identity as members of their community. Learn more about CCW here: http://www.centerforcreativeworks.org/mission
This exhibition was made possible by Philadelphia Area C r e a t i v e C o l l a b o r a t i v e s t h r o u g h H a v e r f o r d C o l l e g e ’s H u r f o r d Center. It involves two classes, “Critical Disability Studies: Theory and Practice” taught by Kristin Lindgren, and “Thinking Differently: Politics and Practices of Neurodiversity” taught by A d a m R o s e n b l a t t . T h e p r o j e c t i s e n t i t l e d “ W e ’r e i n I t : R e m a k i n g the World” with Samantha Mitchell at the Center for Creative Works in Wynnewood, PA. This event is part of the Philadelphia Area Creative C o l l a b o r a t i v e s ( P A C C ) p r o j e c t ‘ W e ’r e I n I t ( R e m a k i n g t h e World).’ This collaborative group consists of artist Samantha Mitchell; Lori Bartol, Director, Center for Creative Works; Kristin Lindgren, Director of College Writing Center and Visiting Assistant Professor of Independent College Programs, H a v e r f o r d C o l l e g e ; L i n d g r e n ’s c o u r s e , ‘ C r i t i c a l D i s a b i l i t y Studies: Theory and Practice;’ Adam Rosenblatt, Visiting Assistant Professor, and Coordinator, Peace, Justice & Human R i g h t s , H a v e r f o r d C o l l e g e ; R o s e n b l a t t ’s c o u r s e , ‘ T h i n k i n g Differently: Politics and Practices of Neurodiversity'; and Stephanie Bursese, PACC Program Manager at Haverford College. Thank you to Lindsay Buchman, Livia Charman, Kaitlin Pomerantz, and Sherina Poorman. Sponsored by the Hurford Center for the Arts and Humanities and VCAM.
Haverford and Bryn Mawr students involved in this project: Clara Abbott Elise Black Grace Brosnan Julia Coletti Keri Cronin Amanda Dennis Bryn Everson Julia Fortier Nicole Giannetti Margaret Gorman Tessa Haas Julie Hanss Sarah Jesup Mary Kearney-Brown Silvia Lang Julian Ledger Sasha Mathrani Grace Pindolza Claudia Rivera Theodora Rodine Paola Salas Rory Seymour Fiona Smith Julia Smith Adam Stambor Hanae Togaami Kate Weiler Riley Wheaton Lindsay Wytkind Anna Yang
Owen Ahearn-Browning
Beth Barsky
Mary T. Bevlock
Kelly Brown
Jenny Cox
Paige Donovan
Vinetta Miller
Joyce Moseley
T i m o t h y O ’D o n o v a n
Tamisha Williams
Owen is twenty-five years old, and has been an artist at the Center for Creative Works for four years. He was born in Manayunk in Philadelphia, but currently resides in Bala Cynwyd. His favorite art-form is w r i t i n g , a n d h e s a y s “ I r e a l l y l o v e t e l l i n g s t o r i e s . ” H e ’s very close with his parents, with whom he loves to go for walks, watch movies, and make pizza or stir-fry. He has a rich love of movies, and a passion for imitating the characters in the movies he sees. His favorite character is Rasputin from the film Anastasia, and he enjoys trying to incorporate this character in h i s w o r k . O w e n i s v e r y i n s p i r e d b y f i l m ’s v i l l a i n s , a n d finds it “interesting” to play the villain in his own stories. Owen believes that CCW is deeply critical to his life, b e c a u s e , h e s a y s , “ i t ’s i m p o r t a n t f o r m e t o s t a y b u s y , important for me to stay active.”
Materials: Colored pen on paper Dimensions: 6 in. x 4 in. (each)Â Materials: Colored pen on paper Dimensions: 16.25 in. x 4.25 in.
Through this mobile installation, we have sought to immerse the viewer and listener in the world of Owen's characters through the simultaneous presentation of sound and image. Having worked with Owen for nearly three months, we have come to learn that the characters around which Owen crafts his stories float around in his mind, becoming more and less prominent as others come into favor. Suspending Owen's pieces on invisible wire, making them float connectedly, and asking the audience to enter the enclosure in which they can see and hear Owen's characters come to life, puts into practice what Owen accomplishes through each of his works. The selected pieces share a common visual aesthetic: character illustration paired with text. Together, this installation offers a glimpse into a more complete understanding of Owen's craft. Â Â
Form: Beth incorporates text, painting, and drawing into her artwork. Bright, warm colors, such as reds, p u r p l e s , a n d p i n k s a r e h e a v i l y f e a t u r e d i n B e t h ’s w o r k . She also mixes in cool blues, greens and yellows that contrast the warmth of the dominant colors but match their bright quality. Beth stretches her compositions to reach the edges of the page. She includes negative space between images and text so her compositions usually contrast negative space with large shapes c o n s i s t i n g o f p a i n t i n g a n d l i n e d r a w i n g s . B e t h ’s c h o i c e of paper can vary from piece to piece; she uses brightly colored paper, white paper, paper with d i m e n s i o n s a r o u n d 1 . 5 ’x 1 . 5 ’, a n d p a p e r a s s m a l l a s a r o u n d 6 ’’x 6 ’’. C o n t e n t : C e n t r a l t h e m e s r e p e a t t h r o u g h o u t B e t h ’s artwork. She focuses on some of her favorite things for the subject matter of her art, such as horses, rainbows, and flowers. People and places that Beth cares about recur through many of her works as well, such as her family and roommate on vacation or in a p a r k . T h e w r i t i n g i n B e t h ’s a r t s p e a k s t o t h e s u b j e c t matter of her work. She also almost always writes her name and the date in her artwork. In some of her art, Beth also draws a five point star and writes “good job” next to it.
B e v l o c k ’s c o n f i d e n c e i n h e r s e l f a n d h e r w o r k s h o w i n the ways that she interacts with her colleagues and artistic audience. She describes herself as a talker, much like her father, and enjoys conversing with just about anyone. She loves showing her work, and never gets nervous before the opening of an exhibition. She is grateful for the collaboration she has shared in with Haverford College over the last several months, as she found it inspiring and helpful for her creative process. Every art piece in Mary's exhibition is paired with a song to create a immersive physical and metaphorical space where her art and personality inhabits. Given Mary's enthusiasm for soap operas and musicians popular in the 1960s-80s, this installation not only embodies the inspiration behind her art, but also creates a dynamic sensory experience that merges visual and auditory elements to result in a nuanced form of "outsider art" in it of itself. • Mother Nature: "Mandy" by Barry Manilow • Gladys Knight/Elizabeth Taylor: "Celebration" by Kool & the Gang • Bionic Woman: "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond • John Denver: "Goodbye Again" by John Denver • Lee Majors and Farrah Fawcett: "Doctor Dancin' " by Donny & Marie Osmond
Mother Nature 2015 Marker on paper
Lee Majors & Farrah Fawcett 2017 Acrylic paint and ink on canvas
John Denver 2013 Screenprint on paper
Kelly Brown was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1968 with hearing loss. Since 1991, she has developed a loss of sight and communicates fluently using signthrough-touch. Since the Center for Creative Works (CCW) was founded in 2011, Kelly has worked and flourished in the studio creating various forms of art. Initially, Kelly would crochet long strands from yarn. Once she was introduced to new media, chiefly the use of large looms, she began to incorporate these crocheted ropes into larger, woven art objects. Kelly primarily weaves her pieces using a large frame, but she also uses a smaller A-frame and tabletop loom. Her style ranges from tightly-knit and uniform, to looser and more chaotic. A diversity of tactile-rich materials are incorporated into many of the pieces. You may notice yarn, thick fiber, ribbon, and plastic bags in each of her pieces. Kelly also wraps these various materials around different objects, including metal racks and lampshades to create sculptural pieces. She uses everyday objects, such as buttons and pieces of masonite board, as beads in some of her sculptural works.
Jellyfish Mixed media
Fish Mixed media
Jenny typically uses markers as her medium for her artwork. She has a box full of markers, of different colors, different textures, different thicknesses. After choosing a piece of artwork to begin or continue, and taping it down to her workspace, Jenny begins. She starts by transferring all the markers she wants from her supply box and arranging them on the table in front of her. She chooses stacks of cards and puts them at the top of her paper. Each card in these stacks contains a word or phrase that Jenny uses in her artwork. The words range from ‘flower’ ‘dog’ ‘cat’ to ‘ w h o ’ ‘ b r o w n ’ ‘ k i n d ’ a n d e v e n p e o p l e ’s n a m e s . J e n n y ’s signature work consists of a collage of words that she copies from these cards. Using just black markers, Jenny carefully crafts each word, generally with an ‘X’ on either side of the word, each ‘X’ encapsulated in a circle, and the whole word surrounded by a continuous line. To finish out each word, Jenny adds her signature d o t s u n i f o r m l y a r o u n d t h e w o r d a n d t h e ‘ X ’s . O n c e t h e word is complete Jenny brings out the colored markers and begins to fill the page.
Paige Donovan is 21 years old and has been working at CCW for over four years. She currently works primarily with calligraphy ink to create pieces using a unique mark-making style comprised of small lines and dots of varying thickness and orientation. Paige first outlines her art in pencil and then goes over it in calligraphy ink, with her favorite colors to use being black, red, and green. Often, Paige uses these tools to create landscape pieces, with a particular interest in deserts and volcanoes. In addition to nature pieces, Paige sometimes creates scenes with castles, animals, and fictional characters. When Paige is finished with a piece, she enjoys selling her artwork. She has sold her work at a variety of exhibitions over the past few years, including the Outsider Art Fair in New York, the Fleisher/Ollman Gallery in Philadelphia, the University City Arts League. While some of the images and scenes that Paige creates come from landscape books, her final piece is always fairly different from the landscape pictured in the book because of her style. Whenever asked, Paige simply says that her art comes from her head and that she imagines it. Paige works at CCW five days a week, but when she i s n ’t w o r k i n g o n h e r a r t , y o u c a n o f t e n f i n d h e r a t h e r home in Audobon, PA with her family.Â
Vinetta Miller is a 44-year-old Philadelphia-area artist who produces her art out of the Center for Creative Works (CCW) in Wynnewood, PA. She was born in John F. Kennedy Hospital in Philadelphia, and has lived in the Philadelphia area for her entire life. Raised by her mother Vincentine, Miller is close to her family, including her two siblings: her brother, named Julius, and her sister, named Jasmine. Julius has a one-yearo l d d a u g h t e r – V i n e t t a ’s n i e c e – n a m e d A m e l i a , w h o i s just beginning to learn to walk. Miller also has a dog, an excitable brown Chihuahua named Kiki, who is prone to pulling her along when the two go on walks. Miller first came to the Center for Creative Works five years ago, in 2013.
Lola de Valence
The Dark Man
Joyce was born on January 29, 1954. Currently, she is a 64 year old artist at the Center for Creative Works. She lives with her daughter in the Francisville neighborhood of Philadelphia, where they have lived for the past thirty years. She also lives with her dog, Polo, and her cat, Sassy. She likes the neighborhood she lives in due to its proximity to shopping centers and her friends. She enjoys walking to the shops near her home. Their favorite store to visit is a jewelry store near their home on Broad Street. Prior to moving to their current home, they lived in a different house in Philadelphia. She has always lived in the Philadelphia area. For the past two years, she has been an artist at the Center for Creative Works. Before attending the Center for Creative Works, she attended a different art studio in Philadelphia called Oasis. She likes the Center for Creative works more than the previous program because it has given her the opportunity to work with a greater variety of mediums. In her career at the Center for Creative Works, she has participated in several art shows and sold several pieces of her art work. Her favorite medium to work with is clay. She enjoys getting her hands dirty with the clay while creating her art. She is currently working on a mural for the Center of Creative Works. The mural features the various members of her family as well as her pets. She also recently finished a book about her family.
Head of a Woman: 1910 2017 Acrylic on paper
Joyce's Favorite Things 2017 Â Acrylic on paper
Using a variety of mediums, including calligraphy ink, watercolor, acrylics, and pencil, Timothy creates detailed accounts of the places he has traveled. There is no shortage of content for his art as Timothy has travelled the world extensively with his father. His piece “Queen Elizabeth II and the View of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa” (2013), depicts the coastline of South Africa, the nation where he grew up as a child. Viewers are invited to share in his travels to Italy, Wyoming, and California with his pieces “Venice, Italy Gondola at Night” (2016), “Yellowstone River in the state of Wyoming” (2014) and “Yosemite Lake with El Capitan, California” (2016). When Timothy moved to New Orleans with his family during his teenage years, viewers can take part in this transition with him by taking in his 2012 piece “New Orleans, Louisiana, City Skyline.” Today, Timothy lives in Pennsylvania, so others who live near Philadelphia can also sense the feeling of home in his recent painting “Reflection of Boathouse Row on the Schuylkill River” (2016). T i m o t h y ’s a r t i s s t u n n i n g a s i t s t a n d s a l o n e . H o w e v e r , when paired with the stories that define his life, they become more than paint and ink on two dimensional c a n v a s e s . T h e a r t b e c o m e s a w i n d o w i n t o T i m o t h y ’s past and an opportunity for viewers to feel transported and share in his experiences.
Colorado Rocky Mountain National Park 2018 Ink and watercolor on paper
Queen Elizabeth 2 and Reflection of Table Mountain 2013 Â Acrylic on paper
T a m i s h a ’s a r t o f t e n f o c u s e s o n f l o w e r s a n d b i r d s , a n d i s very colorful. When asked about it, she brings up the seasons (particularly spring), and how pretty flowers and birds are, as well as other nature. She is particularly drawn to spring and the colors that are everywhere. Her creative process usually involves either imagining scenes from her own life (or movies), or consulting books about nature or different species of birds. Tamisha draws things that are important or memorable to her, and encourages others to do the same. Tamisha talks about her life in a non-linear fashion, bringing up things she remembers from her childhood, like watching birds outside with her mother, and then stories about her mother in the garden growing vegetables (which she also draws). She later shared about the difficulty of losing a parent to cancer, in reference to pop culture icons. Â
Cassie and Flowers on a Boat Marker and ink on paper
catalog design by tessa haas (bmc '18)