Montgomery - Art is a window to another world, and students from Orange AHRC’s Jean Black School lived in that world for a morning last week as they enjoyed a hands on creative arts experience with artist Shawn Dell Joyce at the Wallkill River School and Gallery in Montgomery.
Dell Joyce intrigued the children by presenting them with a mountain of jewel tone cutouts of translucent paper and inviting the boys and girls to choose the shapes and colors they liked to glue onto white backing.
"When she clothes-pinned each artwork onto a curtain through which the sunlight beamed, it brought each piece to life just like stained glass windows," said Gloria Detore-Mackie, the social worker who organized the adventure for the Jean Black students, each of whom has developmental disabilities.
The expedition included a tour of the gallery which features landscape art by many local artists. The children loved it when Dell Joyce challenged them to point out scenes of places they have visited. Even the youngest were gesturing excitedly and bursting out with names like West Point, and the Hudson River. "I think it might have been the first time they ever looked at art that way," said Dell Joyce.
"We like to engage our students in the community around them," said Detore-Mackie. "They all live in Orange County, and as they grow up, we want them to feel a part of things here. Our mission at Orange AHRC is to encourage all of the children and adults in our programs to lead rich, rewarding lives, full of relationships and experiences," she said.
The students from Jean Black had an impact on host Dell Joyce as well. "There was one moment during the workshop when the girl in the wheelchair turned and looked at me. It stopped my heart for a second: it was a look of pure joy," said Dell Joyce.
Celebrating and cultivating the unique abilities of each child is the fundamental principle of the Jean Black School in Middletown, a personalized education center providing K-12 instruction for students with developmental disabilities, including autism.
