NORWICH – Sometimes a mess can be a beautiful thing. Sometimes, we spend too much time trying to clean one up before it’s allowed to happen.
That’s the message behind “The Magic Paintbrush Project,” an exercise in expression for the developmentally disabled and their families that’s scheduled to land this summer at the Chenango County Council of the Arts in Norwich.
Armed with only themselves, a colorful array of paint and a room covered in canvas, project participants are welcomed into a place where their challenges and hardships don’t matter, program founder and coordinator Jennifer O’Brien said.
“We focus on the child’s ability, rather than their disability,” said O’Brien, a Greene resident. “It’s a place where these kids can come and just have fun and act like kids.”
Using everything from their heads to their toes, families transform themselves into human paintbrushes – and the canvass into living art, O’Brien said.
“It’s all about living life – not always cleaning it up,” she said, explaining that the program aims to build confidence, relieve the pressure disabilities can create, and highlight the wonderful aspects of each family. “If we can celebrate the mess we’re in, then we can start to see that it’s not so bad after all.”
O’Brien started the “Magic Paintbrush” in the winter of 2005 – in conjunction with the Southern Tier Discovery Center and Handicapped Children’s Association – after she’d seen what a tremendous impact painting had on her own children, who have been diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Now, less than two years later, O’Brien’s project – now conducted through Binghamton Imaginink, Inc. – has grown to help over 1,300 special needs individuals and their caregivers across a six county area out of its headquarters in the Oakdale Mall in Johnson City.
She said the changes witnessed in the kids and their families thus far have been overwhelmingly positive.
“The response is universal,” O’Brien said. “Parents thank us, because they got to look at the children in a whole new way. To see the relief in their faces is beautiful.”
After taking part in a demonstration of the workshop two weeks ago, Council of the Arts board member Sue Marson said the organization is excited to bring “Magic Paintbrush” on board.
“The program is not about the finished product – it’s about participation,” Marson said. “It gives them permission to get all messy.”
O’Brien and Marson said “Magic Paintbrush” is open to kids of all ages and requires no formal fee to participate.
Both added that the program compliments physical and occupational therapy goals, but does not replace them.
“It’s good for these kids to have those different sensory experiences they sometimes avoid,” Marson said.
Each session lasts roughly 45 minutes, and the number of sessions depends on the number of participants and their needs. Each participant brings home a small canvass taken from a part of the larger painting surface.
Right now the program is looking for volunteers from the Chenango County area to help run the sessions. Training for volunteers is required, and is likely to begin in late May.
For more information, visit the website at www.magicpaintbrushproject.org or call the Council of the Arts at 336-2787 or visit www.chenangoarts.org.
Magic Paintbrush is funded through several different grants and donations from area businesses and organizations. Participation does not require a formal fee amount, but a $15 donation for materials will be accepted if possible.
The council is also holding a Kentrucky Derby Party May 5 to raise funds for the paintbrush program. Contact the council for more information.