Millburn Group Home residents savor sale of their artwork to agency supporters

by Ron Kaplan
NJJN Staff Writer

Is there anything sweeter to an artist than making that first sale? Alicia Liptscher, a resident of the Millburn Group Home sponsored by the Jewish Service for the Developmentally Disabled, recently experienced that feeling when she sold a painting to David and Jan Ball of Florham Park.

“Alicia is a very high-energy person who gets so excited about what she’s doing and becomes very verbal,” said JSDD program director Marilynn Schneider. “She wants to tell you what she’s doing. Her excitement just bubbles up.”

Another member of the Millburn home, Marcie Schuldiner, enjoyed similar joy with the sale of a large painting to Susan and Saul Andron of West Orange.

“It’s a phenomenal piece of work,” said Schneider. “Marcie uses fantastic color in all of her paintings, and she is very independent in her work. She comes to the canvas knowing what it is that she wants to do. She’s an innately talented artist who just blossoms as she creates and finds enormous satisfaction in what she does.”

The two pieces were among 30 paintings, sculptures, and crafts created by developmentally disabled adults as part of an exhibit on display at the offices of the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey in Livingston in July 2005.

Liptscher took up the brush two years ago when Schneider implemented WAE (Wellness, Arts, Enrichment), an alternative learning center for people with disabilities. JSDD is a beneficiary agency of United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ. Liptscher took to her new hobby with practiced ease and has been working to develop her own style.

The WAE center, located at B’nai Shalom in West Orange, houses a professional art studio available to those interested in exploring creative expression on canvas. The center offers classes in several disciplines, including yoga, Pilates, reading, creative writing, music, creative arts, meditation, and theater arts.

Liptscher is a member of Speaking Circle, which offers an opportunity for people to share their thoughts while learning communication skills and gaining self-confidence through the group process. One of her classes is Virtual Life, whose participants learn about the components — financial, practical, and physical — of operating a restaurant. Schuldiner will take part in a trip to the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in the Berkshires.

Schneider said the “center’s philosophy maintains that learning, creativity, and spirituality is a lifelong journey, which is different and unique for everyone, allowing for learning, spiritual growth, and the sharing of beliefs and ideas respectfully, safely, and in an atmosphere of unconditional acceptance….”

For more information about the WAE center, to inquire about artwork for sale, or to register for classes, call Schneider or Elaine Schenkel at 973-325-1494.

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