[accessibleimage] Diverse artists team up

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Article from Des Moines Register
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Lisa

http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041012/NEWS08/410120311/1001/NEWS

Diverse artists team up

Artists age 50 and older work alongside those with
disabilities to showcase their talents.

By CHRISTINA SMITH
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
October 12, 2004 

Tom Slater, founder of the State Public Policy Group, wanted
to celebrate the company's 20th anniversary with more than a
plate of cold cuts.

So he gathered 50 professional and casual artists ages 50
and older and 50 artists with disabilities to help paint a
100-foot canvas on top of of the Walnut Street parking
garage Wednesday.

For five hours the diverse group of artists painted. Blind
artists, artists in wheelchairs, professional sculptors and
amateur painters created a public artwork Slater hopes to
see displayed in the city.

He said he hoped the project would also give the artists the
recognition they deserved.

"These are two groups that don't get enough credit," he
said. "And I thought, let's get 100 people together to do a
piece of artwork."

State Public Policy Group, 200 10th St., works on issues of
social responsibility, including issues regarding the health
and well-being of Iowans. The theme of the event was "AWE
2004."

On the canvas, the artists painted flowers, people and other
figures. Denise Nelson of Indianola created purple
mountains. Nelson wears a headpiece with an attached brush
and bends her neck to dip the brush into paint and stroke
the canvas.

Her artwork awed many visitors who watched the project
unfold.

"It's extraordinary," said John Stillmunks, owner of
Independent Thought art gallery in Beaverdale.

Stillmunks said letting artists use their imagination on the
blank canvas resulted in a mural depicting a sense of unity
and harmony.

"We won't ever get this same group of people in a room
again," Stillmunks said. "It proved that people over 50 and
people with disabilities are creative."

Elsi Monthei of Des Moines, who was born blind, said it
wasn't until last year that she was comfortable with calling
herself a visual artist. Monthei said she hoped the project
would show that people with disabilities have something to
share.

"I don't think your artistic nature has to depend on how
well you can see," Monthei said. "I think the project was
about not worrying about how other people are going to view
your work."

Monthei's technique involves painting the background one
color, letting it dry and then using different textures so
she knows where she is in the painting.

It was because of people like Monthei that Doug Carpenter, a
professional artist from Coon Rapids, wanted to be a part of
the event. Carpenter helped a blind man paint a St. Louis
Cardinal sitting on a baseball bat.

"I thought, 'How can a blind person paint?' " Carpenter
said. "He did. There are a lot more senses involved with
painting than just sight."

Not all those involved in the project consider themselves
artists.

Barb Faber of West Des Moines participated mostly to test
her creativity. Faber, who was born with cerebral palsy and
uses a mechanical wheelchair, said she has never let her
disability stop her from trying things, and she hoped
Wednesday's event would break stereotypes about people who
have disabilities.

"What we're doing today is proving that just because we're
different doesn't mean that we can't do the same things
(others) do," Faber said. "I learned a long time ago: If I
can't accept me, who will?"

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