Yesterday was the second day of a printmaking workshop that I attended at Starlight Studio and Art Gallery. This studio, located in downtown Buffalo, is designed for adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. It’s a very cheerful looking studio, with brightly colored images decorating the walls. The people who come to the studio daily produce all of these happy, positive, and hopeful images.
This is how the program is described on Starlight’s website: “The Starlight Studio & Art Gallery Certified Day Habilitation Program (site-based) supports creative expression and art making with adults with developmental disabilities under the guidance of teaching artists in an open studio environment. “
In April, the teachers who run the studio offered their first workshop series that was open to the general public. That was very exciting for me because I’ve known about this studio for some time and have hoped that they would offer a workshop for anyone who wanted to go. And that anyone world be me. The workshop series was all about sketchbook journaling. It was great fun, and the studio provided all the materials that were needed to make the project a success.
The second workshop series was the one that just finished yesterday: the printmaking workshop. And, once again, that was great fun! I got to make stencils and then create not one but two designs for printmaking. Here are my prints!
My original concept was to create a mandala, but then I thought that would be fun to break it apart to create a hand bursting out of its boundaries. The circle is ripped apart and the hand is free to seek a world that is unlimited by boundaries. How often do we feel closed in by artificially created boundaries and unhelpful rules? How afraid are we to say no to those boundaries and to break out of them? And when we do break out of the boundaries, how do we feel? Scared? Liberated? Hopeful? Lost?
This is my second concept. It’s a group of hands that are reaching toward one another and going past their boundaries. They have found a common bond, and they are feeling the joy of discovering companionship, freedom, and hope.
This was my first experience with this form of art, and I have to say that I truly enjoyed creating my images. I liked the color combinations that I chose, as well. This is definitely something I would want to do again. Sussan and Olivia did a great job teaching the workshop and in making a new and different type of art accessible and a positive opportunity for growth. I’m thinking of getting both of these images made into notecards. I’ll let you know when that happens.
