Foundation ‘gallery’ displays the gifts of developmentally disabled adults

by Ron Kaplan
NJJN Staff Writer

The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey is usually in the business of helping others, with its grants for the ill, the poor, and the underserved.

Now some of the recipients of the foundation’s largesse have returned the favor, transforming its offices in Livingston with a colorful riot of paintings, sculptures, and crafts.

The 30 or so pieces on display — and for sale — were unveiled at a “gallery” opening July 14. They are the work of participants in a new program sponsored by the Jewish Service for the Developmentally Disabled. The program, matching adults with physical and mental challenges with trained facilitators, is designed both as a creative outlet and as a fund-raiser for JSDD.

“It is our real privilege and an honor to welcome the artists and the friends of artists,” said Ellen Lambert, the foundation’s executive director, in remarks at the opening gala. “We are so delighted at the work. We have changed our atmosphere. We come in to joyful pictures every day.”

The artwork was created at the WAE (Wellness, Arts, Enrichment) Center, established two years ago by JSDD with a grant from the Healthcare Foundation and now located at B’nai Shalom in West Orange. The goal was to provide classes in yoga, Pilates, and meditation, as well as artistic outlets for the developmentally disabled. “The doors to their lives had been very narrow,” JSDD program director Marilynn Schneider told NJ Jewish News, “and we needed to create opportunities for them for the same kind of learning that you or I have in our lives.”

Facilitators — trained through a two-week seminar by the Matheny Arts Access Program at Matheny School and Hospital in Peapack — help the artists by becoming their hands, eyes, or “whatever the artist needs,” Schneider said.

The facilitators do not consider themselves collaborators; instead, they serve as an extension of the artists, who use whatever means possible — speaking, pointing, blinking, or some other method — to communicate the brushes and canvas they prefer, and the brushstrokes and colors that express their artistic vision.

“It was an incredible experience to see them working this way,” Schneider said. “Nothing here happens quickly.” It usually takes “months and months” of 45-minute sessions held once a week to produce a finished project.

Lisette Rotman of Fort Lee is one of the artist facilitators. “It was definitely a shock at first,” said Rotman, a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology. “I never worked with this population before but it was amazing. It was two weeks when I was in another world.”

Several of the artists were on hand at the foundation offices to share in the excitement of the opening.

Debbie Hirschorn had four paintings on display, ranging in price from $450 to $1,300. Her parents, Jerry and Helene Hirschorn of Monroe Township, and sister, Mindy Baker of Pine Brook, offered words of praise for their daughter and sister, who lives in a group home in Millburn.

“She works on [her artwork] every day,” said Helene Hirschorn. “They love to direct other people to how they want to do it, rather than be told how to do it.” The experience has made her daughter “a lot more confident,” she said.

Mark Lubinsky, another resident of the Millburn facility, greeted everyone with either a handshake or a hug. He said he was enjoying the occasion. “It makes me feel happy. I love to be with my friends. They’re all my family.”

Lubinsky worked with Rotman on his three paintings, including one prominently displayed in Lambert’s office.

Other artists present included Jay Feldman, Dore Scolnick, Roy Gottilla, Bobby Drang, and Marcie Schuldiner.

Lyn Sanders, director of the Matheny Arts Access Program, said that when she saw the artwork on display, “I sort of began to tear up a little because it’s the first time that I’ve seen paintings — finished paintings — that I had never seen before. I always am amazed. These [artists] have so much to offer.”

Daniel Vallejo, Matheny’s art project coordinator, also praised the program for “opening the doors for other people with disabilities.”

“This is not art therapy,” he emphasized. “If this is offered to individuals with disabilities, they will respond to the power of art and it will affect them the same way it affects any other artists.

“As an artist, I know my art is unique, no one else can do it; they are telling us the same thing. And this is their legacy.”

As others discussed such legacies, artist Jay Feldman savored a plate of hors d’oeuvres. “I enjoy painting,” he said. “I love to do it,” a sentiment he expressed in a poem he wrote in the WAE Center’s poetry workshop:

It makes me feel happy
and good inside
and cheerful
and relaxed.
Inside my heart
I see color.

Proceeds from sales of the artwork go to the individual artists and the JSDD.

For further information, or to arrange an appointment to view the artwork, contact Schneider at 973-325-1494, ext. 13. For more information on JSDD, visit JSDDMetrowest.org.

Ron Kaplan can be reached at RKaplan@njjewishnews.com.