BIAD Art Club: Where the boundaries between brain injury and creativity crumble

Although I haven't outright said it, I do support the nonprofit for which I work: the Brain Injury Association of Delaware (BIAD). At BIAD, we've been working hard to find out what we can do to help people take charge of their own lives - even if it's not completely at first - so that they can begin to build their own self-esteem.

My last ten bucks of the year will be given to BIAD's Art Club in memory of Mr. Bob Crowley.

The BIAD Art Club was conceived by Tracey Landmann, one of the board members of BIAD. Together with the Gibby Art Center and Art Therapy Express Program, Inc., we put together the BIAD Art Club Program - she worked on the concept and the research - I worked on writing for grants. We got some help from DFRC and the DDC - a local foundation and a state agency that gets money from the federal government help people gain their independence.


The BIAD Art Club Pilot Program was a success in many ways. To see smiles on everyone's faces and watch as they produced art was an emotional experience for me. I saw people enjoy the company of others, as well... even two men who didn't get along were speaking more frequently. Art has since become a major factor in their lives.

One of our artists, Bob Crowley, passed away after the 7th Art Club session. He had suffered a stroke about a year prior to his enrollment in the BIAD Art Club and had been struggling with complications from pneumonia. He was non-verbal, but understood all of what was happening around him. His sister, Dr. Jane Crowley, is a member of our Advisory Board and enrolled him because she loved him. I watched as he worked to construct a model of the Coliseum, experimented with pastels, and quite simply, enjoyed the process of creating something. In honor of his sister, he named his character Jane. (Jane - or Janus Flavius - was a rat that lived in the Coliseum). Bob's nephew was his caregiver, he sat and doodled on his arms and clothes while Bob plugged away at his projects.

I vividly remember the Sunday morning when Tracey called me to tell me that he had passed away. We were camping, and I cried hysterically at the small table while my best friend Liz sat with me. I was so heartbroken. After the shock wore off, I was grateful that I had been able to meet Bob and see him enjoy his experience working with clay and using his art supplies to his heart's content.

I am making a donation of ten bucks to the 2012 BIAD Art Club in Bob Crowley's name because he embodied the BIAD Art Club's intent - to bring together people with similar challenges in order to inspire them to create - to remember that their disability doesn't stop their creativity. I believe in the Art Club and want it to flourish.

Make your own donation to the BIAD Art Club by clicking on the green "donate" button at www.biade.org. You can also send a check to BIAD, P.O. Box 1897, Dover DE 19903. Call 1-800-411-0505 for more information.

My ten bucks matters, and so does yours.

The Highs and Lows of Working in a Nonprofit

There are real highs and lows for those of us working in the nonprofit field.

The lows include being challenged on a daily basis to meet the needs of the organization, in the most basic ways, things like insurance, office supplies, and oh yeah, staff. In my particular nonprofit, every expense is magnified in my mind. Even the most basic bills get reviewed for accuracy and for hidden charges. Before signing any contracts for services, I comb through pages of legal gobbldygook to ensure we're not going to get nailed three years down the road. We don't have the luxury of making stupid mistakes. And by the way, I hate finding out a few years later I didn't catch something that will now cost my nonprofit $29.95 extra per month. I growl out loud when that happens (which isn't very often).

The highs - and I do mean highs - make the disadvantages worth enduring. The other day, I was in a meeting about a program that the Brain Injury Association of Delaware (BIAD) piloted with several other nonprofit collaborators. The people in the room represented - for me - the long term leadership of "The BIAD Art Club". Check out pics of the program here. (You have to scroll all the way down to the bottom.) The energy in the room among the four of us (and our distant participant on conference call) was fabulous. Andrew, who serves Peach Tree Acres as its Activities Director, said something about our program that made my heart skip a beat: "For some of the [Art Club participants], this program was the biggest thing of their entire lives." Hearing this, I realized that through BIAD's Art Club, we helped people experience their own highs through personal achievement and recognition. I was struck at the weight of that statement. An immense feeling of humility washed over me.

When the lows get me down, I will think of Jody, who was terrified and nervous at the thought of showing her work in a professional gallery, but got dressed up, did her makeup, and bravely did it anyway. I will think of Hollis, who created a chalk pastel sunset so beautiful it took my breath away. I will think of Linda, who created gorgeous clouds and taught me how to use a paint brush. I will think of Bob, who loved his sister Jane so much he featured her in his artwork, in a manner of speaking. I will think of Tracey, who inspires me every day to continue to work to enhance the quality of life for everyone I meet - not just brain injury survivors - by looking at the whole person.

Administrative headaches will always be there. Funding will never be what we need it to be. And yet, these things are all peripheral to the importance of our mission. They will never stop me from working to make a difference.

Creative Expression Changes Lives at Art Therapy Express

Executive Director Lisa Bartoli
(pictured here at The Gibby Art
Center in Middletown, Delaware)

I first met Lisa Bartoli nearly three years ago at a conference in Wilmington. Lisa bustled into the room, dressed in brightly-colored clothes, wrestling an enormous bag overflowing with stuff. She had a bright smile on her face. I remember thinking, Who is this woman? She's like a burst of sunshine! I soon found out that Lisa is the Executive Director of Art Therapy Express Program, Inc. in Hockessin, Delaware. Little did I know I would have the pleasure of working with Lisa in just a few short years.

For years, Lisa worked with people with disabilities in different medical groups, using art therapy to empower them. In 2003, she established Art Therapy Express Program, Inc., feeling art needed to be accessible to everyone, especially people with disabilities. "My vision is to bring the arts - movement, music, and drama - to everyone, and to give people without verbal communication the chance to communicate with the world." Lisa's program introduces artistic expression at the most basic level, creating a step-by-step process. "It's more about a successful, creative art journey," she says. "The real joy comes when they do [art] themselves... to me, it's like hitting a home run." She loves that art can foster and reinforce personal independence.



Lisa shows an adaptive device used for
holding paintbrushes or pencils



Art changes people. "One of my students with autism has been coming to an evening art therapy class for more than ten years. Her parents are amazed at how she can concentrate on art for an entire hour." Lisa smiles broadly and says, "She is so focused for that hour, she doesn't want to leave! Art draws people in."



Lisa's daughter frequently pitches in



Another student (a TBI survivor) came to the studio after an awful day. "She is nonverbal, and was crying hysterically." The student calmed herself while Lisa started the pottery wheel across the room. "After a few minutes, she came to the wheel, sat down, and put her hands on the clay [as it spun]. Her mother and I watched with tears in our eyes as she put her thumbs into the clay and began to model a bowl," Lisa gushes. They were astounded at her ability with the potter's wheel (something I know is difficult to master), having never touched clay before. "Art is bigger than all of us," Lisa says.



Lisa also bridges communication between people with disabilities and their non-disabled peers, getting them to cooperate on projects. I couldn't help thinking, This is a great strategy to curtail discriminatory behavior at an early age. A brilliant idea, actually, one that could change the world a couple of kids at a time.



New Castle County Community Services provided the space for Lisa to create her adapted art studio at Absalom Jones Community Center. There she holds a Saturday open art studio, evening art therapy, summer art camps, educational in-services, and tours, performances, and experiential workshops. "Art Therapy Express is my canvas," she says with great pride. Lisa's photo album (which she carries with her everywhere) is filled with touching images of her students. I'm struck by the beauty of the children, their eyes lit with excitement and joy. Their smiles are so genuine that I sometimes giggle as I'm paging through the album. Students may need headgear to paint, or be placed in a swing to use their toes. It's no problem. Lisa uses adaptive technology in many different forms, sometimes using household objects like dish scrubbers or makeup brushes.

Lisa has collaborated with the Leach School, The Meadowood Program, REACH Program, Delcastle High School, the University of Delaware and the Delaware Art Museum. Starting this week, the nonprofit begins its newest venture - The BIAD Art Club - with the Brain Injury Association of Delaware (sound familiar?) and Associated Community Talents, Inc., the nonprofit behind The Gibby Art Center in Middletown, Delaware. "We're in this together," I've heard her say many times.

I ask, "So, Lisa, how has serving your community changed your life?" Lisa thinks for a moment, then smiles her one-of-a-kind smile. "I realize how fortunate I am to have a gift to give to the world... Every day's a party."

My Ten Bucks will be used to pay for art supplies: canvases, brushes, and clay. If more people donated their ten bucks, Lisa says she will use it first purchase art supplies, followed by purchasing or creating new adaptive technology. She wants more people to see the power of the program and get involved. She also needs volunteers. "More than anything, I need people to help market the program. We need to let the public know we exist."

There are two ways you can make a donation. 1) Mail it to Art Therapy Express Program, Inc., P.O. Box 1661, Hockessin, DE 19707 or 2) Drop off check at the studio or one of our community outreach programs! Lisa hopes you'll choose option 2. Call ahead to make sure she'll be there. (302) 584-4068. You can learn more about Art Therapy Express at www.arttherapyexpress.org.

My ten bucks matters, and so does yours.