- Eric Lemke gets guidance and encouragement from Maggie Schultz, a University of Wisconsin-Whitewater student who volunteers at Studio 84. Jamie Scharf (below) holds up the sunflower painting he recently completed at the studio. (Heather Ruenz photos)
Studio 84 enhances creativity by encouraging students to make decisions
By Heather Ruenz
Editor
Deborah Blackwell knows a thing or two about art. She also has a knack for connecting with people and has found a creative way to tie the two together.
When Blackwell was attending the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater several years ago for sculpture and arts management, she came up with the idea of opening a non-profit art center that would cater to all ages and abilities and specialize in working with people who have physical and cognitive limitations.
Studio 84 became a reality in 2008, landing in Whitewater “because of it’s close proximity to UW-Whitewater and area group homes, and also because the community was very receptive and supportive of this type of offering,” Blackwell, founder and director of the studio, said.
“For me it’s about having the exposure to art. This is what I love to do – teaching art. It’s not art therapy… the therapy comes with it and I can’t stop that nor would I want to,” Blackwell said.
For Blackwell though, it goes much deeper than the art, particularly in working with people with disabilities.
“It gives them the opportunity to make choices where they rarely have that chance. From choosing the materials to the colors to whatever it is they want to create, those choices come from them,” she said.
Blackwell said she enjoys getting to know the students, including Steven Durchslag.
“Steven is very careful about where he puts his colors and is very calculated in his work,” Blackwell said. As much as she enjoys seeing Durchslag try new things, she said he has his favorite things to paint.
“He almost always has pumpkins and trees and candy and cake and taffy incorporated into his paintings,” Blackwell said. “He’s a very sweet man.”
One of Blackwell’s younger students is Joseph Kienbaum, who “is a 3D kind of guy as he likes to sculpture things,” she said.
Kienbaum’s mom, Barb, said the transformation in Joseph in the year he has been coming to the studio is amazing.
“He had huge sensory issues. He wouldn’t touch Play-Doh or glue and didn’t like to get anything on his hands,” Barb said. “Deb has gotten him to do amazing things. Everything has a ripple effect and what Deb has helped him with here at the studio has carried over into other areas in the most positive ways,” Barb said.
Blackwell meets with students prior to deciding which class they should attend.
“Meeting with them individually first gives me a chance to get to know them a bit and get a better feel for where they’ll be most comfortable,” Blackwell said.
Brad Houdek, who lights up the studio when he walks in for class, likes to make planes, boats and submarines by gluing a variety of wood pieces together. During a recent class, Houdek brought back the project he had made the previous week, a plane, and immediately showed it to Blackwell.
“It’s still together? I can’t believe it!” Blackwell said, throwing her hands in the air and smiling. Houdek, according to Blackwell, always takes his projects home but rarely brings them back in one piece.
When Eric Lemke first started coming to the studio, Blackwell said, he wouldn’t stay in his chair. “He’s come a long way. He’ll sit down by himself, though sometimes it takes a while,” Blackwell said. Because Lemke is easily distracted, Blackwell said they try to help him be more focused “by changing up who is sitting next to him during his class.”
Blackwell and studio volunteers communicate with Lemke by writing a question on a small, dry-erase board with “yes” and “no” options underneath it so he can choose his answer.
During an interview with a reporter Jamie Scharf, when asked what he likes to paint said, “buildings and flowers. I paint all different things. It depends on the day if it’s harder or easy.”
Scharf, who was working on a painting of a sunflower, asked Maggie Schultz, a psychology major from UW-Whitewater and studio volunteer, how the sky looked.
“Do you remember what you said last time about it, that you wanted to lighten it up?” Schultz asked.
Scharf then looked to Blackwell, who said, “What do you think?”
“It could use more white,” Scharf said, and began lightening up the sky.
After class, Blackwell said the interaction with Scharf was a good example of encouraging the students to make choices.
“We could have told him what we thought but it’s his painting, he’s the artist, so encouraging students to make decisions is important,” Blackwell said.
When Scharf completes his sunflower painting he holds it up, smiling and proud of his accomplishment.
“This is what it’s all about,” Blackwell said. “It doesn’t get any better than seeing that smile.”
Blackwell said seeing people changing and thinking on their own is inspiring because “you know there is so much more inside their minds and it’s glorious to see this come out in their art.”
For many adults with disabilities, Blackwell said, society has stopped trying to encourage growth.
“The opportunities for these folks are so much more limited so when you see them thinking and challenging themselves with their art, you know they all want just what we want in life… to be actively engaged and challenged,” Blackwell said.
How you can help
Those wishing to be hands-on in helping are welcome to volunteer at Studio 84. Volunteers can help gather supplies needed for a project, sit with the students and artists and offer encouragement and help with cleanup.
Studio 84, a non-profit 501c3 organization relies heavily on donations to cover its costs, however, donations also help provide scholarships for studio students.
To make a monetary donation and become a friend of Studio 84, visit www.studio84inc.org and click on “Memberships” where several levels of donations are listed.
The studio also welcomes donations of the following supplies that are constantly used by the artists: Liquitex Acrylic Paint, paint brushes, canvas board or stretched canvas, 30-gallon garbage bags, oil pastels, heavyweight watercolor paper, painter’s tape and yogurt cups and lids.
For more information contact Deborah Blackwell at Studio 84, 121 W. Center St., Whitewater, WI 53190, visit www.studio84inc.org or call (262) 812-7560.
Precious Hill, a 2014 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater graduate who volunteers at the studio, contributed to this story.
