It’s Wednesday afternoon and Christine has just begun to paint a jungle landscape worthy of the French master Henri Rousseau.
She says nature is her favourite subject and that her favourite animal is the shark, “because it’s independent, strong, swift and social, just like me.”
Christine is one of 40 artists suffering from developmental disabilities who meet during the week in an old classroom of the former Immaculata High School – now the Bronson Centre – as part of H’Art of Ottawa, a Centretown-based community group.
Lin Rowsell, the group’s executive director, says the program, now in its sixth year, fills a gap in the services offered to adults with developmental disabilities.
“The program provides a means for the artists to develop a language because a lot of them have difficulty expressing themselves: their ideas, dreams, and opinions,” she says. “This is a place where they feel safe, secure and comfortable, and where they are supported and respected as people and as artists.”
Christine’s paintings, as well as those of her peers, were exhibited at Gallery four.seven.nine, a posh industrial space on Sussex Drive in the shadow of the American Embassy, from Oct. 3 to the 9.
The exhibition marked the second time the group had shown at the gallery. Two years ago Rowsell approached the gallery’s director, Joel Pleet, and proposed what she hoped would be the group’s first exhibition at a professional gallery.
Much to her delight, and that of the artists, he agreed. The show was a success and Pleet returned all of the profits to the group.
This time, H’Art of Ottawa submitted 70 pieces to the gallery, including paintings and whimsically decorated chairs, which Rowsell calls functional art.
“What Joel’s doing is just a perfect example of support in the community for these artists,” she says. “He’s reaffirming that they are worthy of having their art shown in a professional gallery, which, unfortunately, isn’t the way everyone sees it. He helps to put our artists on an equal footing.”
“I just thought that they were doing good work,” says Pleet.
“I saw the sense of purpose their work gave them and how they were building their self-esteem, and I thought, ‘if a business can’t take one week off to give back to the community, then what’s the point?’”
The artists’ days begin at 9:30 a.m., when they arrive in their studio in groups of eight. Under Rowsell’s supervision and with the support of two instructors and two volunteers, the group discusses a theme, such as their dreams.
Afterwards, the artists brainstorm in their journals. Then it’s time for the artists to transfer their ideas onto the page as a drawing.
After this comes the final stage: the artists, using their drawing as an inspiration, paint a picture.
On the table in the centre room sits a painting, done in yellow and orange that spells out exactly what H’Art of Ottawa is all about: Art is Made of Heart.