Walking into Creations, a new addition to The Arc of Dickinson, is a chaotic, yet relaxing experience.
Colorful graffiti, encouraging quotes. and power tools fill the walls. Everything from bowling balls, table legs, and canvases are strewn about the floor and tables. A steady stream of cheerful, encouraging music plays in the background, while a vapor machine releases Valor, a mix of essential oils meant to "promote feelings of courage, confidence, and self-esteem" into the air. It would be hard to imagine a more inspiring place to make art.
At least that's the idea Stephanie White, program director of Arc's Creations, had when she turned the original space, "just a bunch of walls with things in it," into an artist studio for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
"When you come in here, you feel that you want to create," White said.
Using mostly discarded materials from the Arc's connected thrift store, White is now running daily art classes of up to six students per class. The eventual goal in the next month or so is to have a shop where artwork created in the Creations studio will be sold to members of the wider community.
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"Some of the things the thrift store receives are broken or can't be sold as-is, so we take it and make it shabby-chic," White said.
The Arc of Dickinson's store manager Karen Thompson and executive director Pam Tolling, conceived the idea that would become Creations around three years ago. Thompson knew that some people with special needs "were falling through the cracks " from her years of experience teaching special education, so she and Tolling decided that "(The Arc) needed to do something different" to address this population.
Something different came in the form of Stephanie White. After more than a decade of working with special needs populations and the arts in Florida, White moved to the Dickinson area late last year to take on the Creations project with The Arc. Starting on June 22, White began leading daily art classes. White wants the students to "feel free and comfortable" and encourages them to pursue their own artistic interests in the space.
"It's not a strict environment. It's an environment where they can come and create. There's no limit if you think about it," White said.
On Friday a man named Roland was sanding down a bedside table so that it could be later repainted and sold. Another student was busily painting a piece originally constructed from wood.
White is still looking for more special-needs applicants to join her art classes, and they are free for students. Eventually, White hopes that the Creations program and the new store will become a financially sustainable enterprise. Pieces sold at the store will help provide a paycheck for the artists and also help fund Creations.
"They get a paycheck themselves, and they also get to lift their community," White said.
But Creations is not limited to just art classes. White has already started up mindful meditation, yoga and group exercise classes in the space, and hopes that even more will sprout in the future. To White, these classes present an opportunity to create positive social spaces that otherwise wouldn't exist for the special needs community. White described the space as, "like a party, a working party, where (the artists) want to interact with each other."
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She sees the opening of the yet-to-be-named new store as "an opportunity to break the barriers" between Dickinson's special needs population and the wider community, and also as a way to deconstruct "old-school thinking" around special needs populations.
"I think it's important that we start really looking at our special needs (population) and integrating them with the community because I think they can share and teach us a lot. There is no limit to what they can do. We got to showcase that," White said.
As a first step in integration, White is inviting local artists and other members of the Dickinson community to The Arc.
"I want local artists to feel free to come (to Creations) and paint away," White said.
Moreover, White and the other managers of The Arc see Creations and the new store as the beginning of something much larger. Thompson believes that Creations could provide "jumping stone" to other communal activities, increased independence, and paid employment for its members.
"(Creations) is huge, this is just the tip of the iceberg," White said.
If you would like learn more about Creations and The Arc of Dickinson call Stephanie White at 701-483-4272 ext.104 or email her at white.stephanie53@gmail.com .
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