NORWALK, Ohio – An art class has turned local students into business entrepreneurs.
Now, their work is up for sale.
Students at the Christie Lane Workshop will showcase their work in the eighth-annual “Visions Revealed” arts exhibit from June 15 to July 20 at Norwalk High School.
“We make stoneware. We make art pieces,” said Bill Young, director of the workshop’s Artists’ Open Studio. “Pretty much the clients make whatever they wish to make and we help them get there.”
The workshop helps provide work and services for people with developmental disabilities.
But for 23-year-old Ashley Payne, it’s become a place where she can put her passion on display – not her special needs.
“People say my motor skills aren’t very good,” said Payne, who is wheelchair-bound, “but I still paint beautiful things without saying ‘I can’t do this with my motor skills.’ But if I try hard enough, I can do it.”
Payne’s paintings will be among the 150 pieces of art featured at the gallery.
“I’m excited for it to start,” said Linda Anderson. “I like to get my hands dirty, and I like playing with the clay and design my own things.”
Anderson, 50, has been a part of the workshop for several years. Her ceramic bowls and vases will also be showcased.
“I got a light purple down here,” she said pointing to a near-finished vase, “and a light purple down here on the leaves and a light pink on the flowers.”
If one of Payne or Anderson’s pieces sell, they’ll get half of the commission and the workshop keeps the other half. Projects like the gallery help keep the program afloat.
The workshop has gained a lot of momentum over the years, with people from around the world buying from the class, said Lynda Stoneham, director of the Artists’ Open Studio.
“One of our most successful projects are tiles, and they’re stoneware tiles,” Stoneham said. “Some of them have recycled glass in them. They’re very well-received.”
Some area businesses have invested in the tile pieces, which range from impressions of buildings and greenery to American icons.
“In honor of Amelia Earhart and the 75th anniversary of her disappearance, we have created this tile,” Stoneham said. “The tiles are made here in our studios by our art client artists and this one is a brand new one.”
Regardless of how well the gallery does, many said they’re excited to finally let their skills truly shine.
“I learn more from them more than they do for me,” Young said. “Just the open-ended-ness of the quality things we make together.”
“I’m ready,” Payne added. “Just that I can do it. I can do anything my mind’s set on. I like showing people that I can do things just like anybody else.”
The Visions Revealed Exhibit opens from 1 to 7 p.m. on Friday, June 15, at Norwalk High School, 350 Shady Lane Drive. The gallery will remain open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon until July 20.
The gallery will have a closing event from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, July 20, featuring an “Evening at the Arts” theater and dance performance.