62 Harvard Street Brookline, MA 02130 617-734-1577 www.gatewayarts.com About Gateway Arts Gateway is a unique, three-pronged service of the Vinfen Corporation that includes the Gateway Arts Program, the Gateway Crafts Store, and The Gateway Gallery, located at 60-62 Harvard Street in Brookline Village. The Gateway Arts Program, established in 1973, is a vocational arts service of the human service corporation Vinfen, serving more than 100 artistically talented adults with disabilities. Gateway was originally established to fill the gap created by the deinstitutionalization of state schools. The award-winning artisans produce original, high quality crafts and fine art with guidance from a staff of professional artists. Profits from sales are returned to individual artists. About the Art Facilitation Project Funded in part by the Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family Foundation’s Special Assistance Initiative Ten Gateway artists with special challenges were chosen to participate in the Art Facilitation Project. Over a three year period, these individuals received special assistance from an art facilitator on a one-to-one basis. They were scheduled in an area where there were no more than 4 participants per session. Their abilities were assessed as well as their special needs, and a program was instituted to insure an outcome which capitalizes on their individual strengths as artists. They produced a body of work which was ultimately shown in a special exhibition. The Art Facilitation Project was intended to advance the careers of the artists involved. Professional portfolios, biographical materials, and resumes were developed to help with the placement of work in shows and on Gateway’s website. This journal was produced to document the Art Facilitation Project and to serve as a resource for individuals working with artists who have disabilities and particular behavioral challenges. The artists’ stories in this journal have been reproduced with the permission of the artist or their guardians. No portion of this journal may be reproduced without the specific authorization of Gateway Arts. ©2009 Gateway Arts/Vinfen. All rights reserved.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………….……..1

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………….......2

Yasmin Arshad…….……………………………………………………………………….4

Nancy Cunningham.……………………………………………………………………..…7

Becky Geller………………………………………………………………………………10

Joe Howe…………………………………………………………………………………13

Donna Johnson…………………………………………………………………………...16

Robert Kirshner…………………………………………………………………………..19

Carl Phillips……………………………………………………………………………….22

Carmella Salvucci………………………………………………………………………….24

Roger Swike……………………………………………………………………………….28

Christina Taylor…………………………………………………………………………...31 Sample Biographies…..…………………………………………………………………... 34 Sample Resumes……………………………………….………………………………….36 This publication is dedicated to the memory of Robert Kirshner, who died in February 2009.

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Acknowledgements We thank the Shapiro Foundation for their leadership in supporting our three year Art Facilitation project dedicated to developing the artistic careers of 10 promising artists with significant challenges at Gateway Arts. In line with the foundation’s goals, it provided ‘…direct assistance to individuals with disabilities’ by ‘…increasing access to and participation in…the arts.’ The success of the project was remarkable for these individuals, in a number of different ways: development of independence, improved communication, refinement of artistic skills, increased ability to exhibit and sell their work, and an overall jump-start for sustainable careers in art. Gateway Arts is grateful to all of the individuals, public agencies, and foundations that provided the initial and matching funding to allow this project to proceed to its ultimately successful completion:

The Greater Boston Office of the Department of Mental Retardation took a leadership role by contributing a significant portion of the required matching funds.

The Cabot Family Charitable Trust and the Virginia Wellington Cabot

Foundation supported this project with additional matching funds.

The Gateway Advisory Committee dedicated their fundraising efforts through its annual event, A Taste of Gateway, to fill the remaining gaps.

Individual families stepped forward and provided matching funds to

supplement this grant. The sustainability of the personal and career gains of these 10 artists was a major focus of the project. And, in fact, many of the artists have grown to levels where this is possible without the extent of the individual attention provided. In cases where some continuing one-on-one focus was deemed necessary, families have provided additional funding to retain and build on the demonstrated success already achieved. This project has produced a model that will not only be used for other subsets of the 100 artists we serve, but for other organizations similarly dedicated to the use of art as careers for adults with disabilities. We hope this Art Facilitation Journal will be a useful tool in this effort. We will endeavor to sustain the gains made by the core group and to develop proposals for other under-served individuals with disabilities, economic and language barriers; and allow them to develop careers of significance and lives of happiness and pride. Rae Edelson, Director of Gateway Arts

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Introduction

Gateway Artist Bo Hill Wong In 2004 one of Gateway’s star artists, Bohill Wong, died at the age of 70. He had emigrated from Hong Kong thirty-five years earlier. A man with special needs, he was placed in a nursing home in Massachusetts. An astute social worker noticed that Mr. Wong liked to draw, filling scraps of paper with pictures of birds, flowers and Chinese women. She thought of Gateway as a natural day program placement because of its focus on making art and crafts as a vocation. Over time, Bohill attained an independent way of life and his career as an artist flourished. In fact, he became the first Gateway artist to have his work exhibited and collected in New York’s “Outsider Art” market. Gateway also flourished, through the vision of its director Rae Edelson. The day-program has become the preeminent art center on the East Coast serving over one hundred artists with disabilities with art studios, an on-site crafts store and a fine art gallery. As Bohill Wong aged he was faced with a series of illnesses, but in spite of this he insisted on attending Gateway Arts on a daily basis. Accommodations had to be made and facilitators who worked with

him had to devise new ways to aid his creative output. All of this took time and more staffing, which meant additional funding. The story of Bohill Wong is similar to the stories of other artists at Gateway Arts: artists who have been working successfully for many years, building careers and living fulfilling lives. Artists who, because of age, illness, debilitating limitations or unwanted behaviors, require greater supports in all aspects of their lives, including more focused facilitation for their artmaking. We at Gateway found ourselves addressing the challenges of finding funding to serve these artists whose careers were waning because of the difficulties they were facing.

Project Coordinator Scott Alberg with Gateway Artist Nancy Cunningham

It was at this time in late 2003 that the idea for the Art Facilitation Project began to take form. Ultimately funded with major support from the Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family Foundation’s Special Assistance Initiative, the project designated ten Gateway artists who would receive individualized supports over a three year period. This included artists like Roger Swike, who was facing a life threatening illness which caused him to stop making art all together. Roger had

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been someone who drew constantly and had enjoyed considerable success in Boston and New York. Other artists whose careers had skyrocketed in the 1990s found their careers diminished in part by side-tracking behaviors which became exacerbated by age. Also, there were young artists with obvious innate talent, like Christina Taylor, who because of limitations in communication could get left behind in the very busy studio environment.

Installation of Becky Geller’s work at the culminating exhibit, Indomitable Spirits

Because of his proven track record of successfully facilitating the artwork of artists with disabilities, Scott Alberg was made the main facilitator and coordinator of the project. He documented the artists’ work photographically, creating portfolios, biographies, and updating the resumes of all ten artists. He collected the data and created the quarterly reports throughout the project. He authored the narratives in this facilitation journal which relate the special challenges and successes of the artists. One of his goals has been to create individual facilitation models which can be maintained after the completion of the project. We are pleased and gratified

by the success of this project. The individualized supports that these ten artists have received over the past three years have made an enormous difference in their lives as artists and their careers. I remember the proud look on Becky Geller’s face when she walked into the Phoenix Gallery in New York and saw her work exhibited. I think of Carl Phillips and the confidence he exhibits as he works using his very own tool box with materials meant just for his work. I have been continually surprised over the past three years when reviewing shows and sales to see how often the names of these ten artists appear. As well as being exhibited at the Gateway Gallery, their work has been shown in New York at the Outsider Art Fair and the Phoenix Gallery and in Boston at the Berenberg Gallery and the Trustman Gallery at Simmons College. A number of these artists’ works have become some of the most collected artwork at Gateway, and waning careers have received a new boost. The culminating exhibition running throughout the summer of 2008 in the Gateway Gallery with examples of work by all ten artists was exciting and successful. Titled “Indomitable Spirits,” it was a testament to the resilience and enormous talent of these artists. Stephen DeFronzo Artistic Director, Gateway Arts

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Yasmin Arshad

Yasmin Arshad is a prolific artist who has received much commercial success at the Gateway Gallery and Gateway Crafts Store. Yasmin has always integrated her numerous preoccupations into her artwork. Constantly occupied with notions of time, numbers, names, and colors, Yasmin has developed a body of work over the years which participates in many of the stylistic characteristics of “Outsider Art” while at the same time being entirely original and new. While her use of color and her idiosyncratic application of line can both charm and seduce the viewer, what makes her art so significant and important is the way she manifests her enjoyment of and conviction in her daily obsessions with the objects she creates. Counting and a highly subjective notion of time are at the core of Yasmin’s work. She receives great joy in the activity of listing the years chronologically, starting with the year 2000, over the course of many sheets of paper, or asserting the number 129999 as a kind of ultimate chronological idea

(129999 represents all of the months and all of the years in one number). The majority of Yasmin’s work is a very controlled and considered working through of her obsessions, which often employs the grid or a predetermined use of color (Yasmin has certain colors that she likes to work with). Entering into the Art Facilitation Project, Yasmin’s most pressing challenge was the way in which she easily gets sidetracked from her artwork and would tend to perseverate on non-productive ideas and behaviors. During these moments one saw Yasmin drift from utilizing her obsessions in the making of her art. She instead would let these obsessions take her away from her work. The goal set was to focus her on her interest in time and calendars. Watches, calendars, and other “time-related”

Yasmin Arshad in front of her work at the opening of Inside the Outsider World at the

Trustman Gallery, Simmons College, Boston, MA, Spring, 2008

129999, Marker on rag paper, 2005

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supplies were given to Yasmin to work with. She began to create assemblages with these materials, decorating wooden boxes and other objects. Yasmin was very taken and involved in this work, and did not get distracted as she often would in other studio areas. There she would draw out her ideas into grids and lists, while during her facilitated time she was working directly with the material objects that preoccupied her.

After a couple of months, Yasmin began to integrate more and more materials into her assemblages, specifically wire, wood, and found objects. It was becoming clear that a new and different body of work was slowly emerging, characterized by its improvisation and spontaneity. Yasmin was no longer fixated on grids and time and lists, nor was she as dogmatic about what she was doing and how she was going to do it. In

other areas Yasmin has her work all planned out in her mind before she makes it. During her facilitated sessions, Yasmin takes a more “lets see what happens” approach. She is very focused in the studio and once settled into an area, can work in a very productive way. If she gets distracted, it does not take much to humor her back into working or refocusing with playful prompts like “Yasmin, are you sleeping over there?” or expressing enthusiasm for available materials. Yasmin’s attraction to the physicality of the materials and the excitement of using new materials in different ways has really opened up the kind of art she is able to make. Most importantly, it has served to focus her on the task at hand and keep her from distraction. The work Yasmin has done over the past three years with facilitation has

Bird Movie, Paint marker on wood, 2008

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had a wonderful effect on her work in all areas of the Gateway studio. Her portfolio has grown very deep and is full of unexpected works which integrate a variety of found objects and engage in the third dimension. In the past Yasmin was content to work primarily on paper, or to treat found objects as a mere ground for what she wanted to draw. Now she approaches her artmaking with a more materialist approach where the object or thing is just as important as the drawing. She now practices sculpture as much as any other genre. The idea of taking ownership over objects is one that holds special importance for Yasmin and her process. When she finds something she likes in the studio, it becomes hers, and integrating it into an assemblage is a way for her to possess it. Her art is highly personalized in this way, whether it is on paper or sculptural. There is a sense one gets when working with Yasmin that to a certain point her art is an extension of who she is as a person. Clearly artmaking is very important to Yasmin, both as a way in which she can visually express her ideas of the beautiful and profound to the world, and as a means through which she can manipulate, control, and make something out of the time and materials that constitute her everyday life.

Untitled, Mixed mediums, 2007

Ladder, Mixed media on wood, 2007

Untitled, Paint marker on wood, 2008

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Nancy Cunningham

Nancy Cunningham considers herself to be a writer even before she considers herself to be a visual artist. She has authored four publications over the past four years. Nancy’s main concerns as a writer are twofold; one, to tell a story that is fun and engaging to the reader, and two, to articulate through her characters an expression of her personal situation in the world, her preoccupations and passions. The sophistication of Nancy’s work stems from her being able to integrate the fictional with the autobiographical. For Nancy, the writing of novels has been a means through which to explore and meditate on the ethical and moral issues she encounters in her everyday life with characters that consistently occupy the position of someone on the outside or the periphery of societies’ norms. An anonymous alien, an unemployed cat, a renegade Easter bunny, and a cat with an attitude and drug

problem are the kinds of characters that populate Nancy’s fictional worlds, each character struggling to come to terms with their own radical difference from a society characterized mainly through its rules and disciplinary restrictions. When the Art Facilitation Project began three years ago, Nancy was struggling with being able to focus on completing a long-term project. Though she had great ideas coupled with the passion and energy needed to do the work, she was not able to stick to a specific idea or project and develop it. Nancy is capable of coming up with a

great idea every five minutes. It became important to find a way to keep her on task and committed to a specific topic if she was ever going to write a novel with the depth and complexity that her imagination deserves. Starting with 2005’s The Unemployed Cat That Goes Out of Control, Nancy began to write her novels with the

Nancy Cunningham at Gateway Arts, 2005

Cover of Secret Storm of the Rabbit, 2006

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help of a detailed outline that she would spends weeks developing with her facilitator. This process starts with a couple of “brainstorming” sessions at which time Nancy will hone in on what topic or idea she would like to write about. Characters, places, and theme will all be discussed at this time. After the main elements of the story have been decided on, then a couple of weeks will be spent hashing out the storyline. The kind of questions Nancy answers at this time include, “what is the progression of the storyline (what happens first, second, and third),” “what is the main problem in the story and how is it solved?” and “who are the main characters and what kind of traits make them unique and distinguishable?”

Once this “rough” outline is established, then work on the real outline

begins. Often about a couple of pages, this outline will specify in as detailed a way as possible the development of the entire story and will be constantly referred to during the creation of the actual novel. All of the key ideas, characterizations, and major developments of the novel are created during this step. In the creation of her outline Nancy in effect writes her novel. She then composes her novel over the next couple of weeks or months, always leaning on the outline for focus and to point toward the next step. The novel is dictated by Nancy to the facilitator by moving down the outline, bullet by bullet, and by building on the ideas described. Because the story is already decided upon, Nancy can then focus on description of scene and depth of character. Breaking the process into four steps (brainstorming, rough outline, final outline, and composition) is a way to slow things down for Nancy so that she can spend the necessary time developing her ideas and maximizing her creative potentials.

Cat, Acrylic on ceramic, 2007

Cover of The Unemployed Cat That Goes Out of Control, 2005

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Depending on the day, Nancy will have a more or less easier time focusing on the outline of the story. Sometimes she will offer new ideas that she would like to include in the story. It is important to try to stick as closely as possible to the outline Nancy has developed so that focus on the story is maintained and tangents are prevented from being pursued. Discretion should be utilized with the incorporation of new ideas into the outline. After the completion of a novel, Nancy then likes to illustrate pivotal scenes in a variety of ways. She has utilized watercolor, ball point pen, and ceramic to visually describe her characters and scenes. The humor and charm found in the pages of her books finds its visual equivalent in the artwork Nancy creates for the purposes of illustrating her novels. Nancy has truly reached maturity as a writer during the past three years. She has created a series of written works that clearly articulate a voice that is original and fresh. During this time Nancy has developed a real sense of what she is about as a writer. The positive encouragement, coupled with the great interest and acclaim received from Gateway collectors for her books, has bolstered her ability to pursue her writing with great confidence and increasing ambition.

Cover of The Ups and Downs of Talking Back, Scratching Your Teacher, and Doing Drugs, 2007

A Stern Farmer, Watercolor on rag paper, 2006

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Becky Geller

Over the course of the three year Art Facilitation Project, Becky Geller has worked with a variety of mediums in Gateway’s fabric area. She has created large scale soft sculptures, a hand sewn book made of fabric and felt, embroidered on bags and pillows, painted T-shirts, and a silk purse. Becky’s goal over the three year grant period was to overcome her difficulty focusing on a long-term project, and to create a hand sewn book about her former camp counselor Chad, who is often featured in many of her ballpoint pen “dialogue drawings.” With the help of one-to-one facilitation, she was successful in reaching this goal while also making great strides in the development of her studio practice.

There has been a significant increase in Becky’s studio productivity over the past three years. Through positive encouragement and patient instruction, she has learned to overcome difficulties related to either personal motivation or technique. Often in the past Becky would stop working when she would encounter difficulty executing a technique while sewing. She would become despondent and lose focus on her artwork. Facilitation has focused on getting Becky to ask for help when these

situations arise. Early on it was learned that part of her difficulty in seeing long term projects through was her inability to ask for assistance. Toward the end of the three year period, she became more able to ask the facilitator for help, which in turn resulted in a significant increase in her studio productivity. Becky has also learned to work for longer periods of time without a break or without a loss of

interest. Previously she would work for ten minutes in the fabric area, and then stop due to a difficulty, and work on a jigsaw puzzle (one of Becky’s passions). Sewing can be a very frustrating medium to work with (unlike drawing, which is very natural for Becky), so her attention can be limited. Now she is able to continue making art for over an hour without needing much one-to-one attention.

Positive encouragement is also crucial to breaking through some of the motivational problems that have hindered Becky’s studio work. Arriving at the studio looking to work on jigsaw puzzles instead of completing her projects, it would usually take some redirection in the form of positive encouragement to get Becky focused on her art. “If we work a little longer on this piece we can get this done….it is already looking really good,”

Mother Wasp, Stuffed fabric and other mediums, 2006

Becky Geller (left) with Marcella Stasa, artist and curator at the opening of Magnificent Obsessions at the

Phoenix Gallery in New York City, 2007

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would be an honest and effective way of building up Becky’s enthusiasm and confidence. While she has always been an artist with lots of ideas, it was crucial to build her self-confidence to execute those ideas in a medium of her choosing and see the projects through to completion. Becky enjoys the high quality work she is capable of producing.

Becky’s success in the fabric area has carried over into the other Gateway studio-areas. Over the past three years we have witnessed Becky’s work becoming more elaborate and embellished, a definitive indicator of her increased confidence. She has continued with the dialogue drawings she is mostly known for. These drawings continue to feature the standard format: a conversation between two people which results in an invitation to a chain restaurant for food, drinks, and the continuation of the chat. The people featured in her drawings are often her acquaintances. She has always

been interested in integrating her personal life into her work. She has successfully executed a series of soft sculpture dolls based on family members and friends, including her mother and father, and Chad. Becky has shown a great interest in basing her soft sculpture work on characters or people found in her dialogue drawings. She has also tended to incorporate a lot of new materials into her art, such as beads, gems, and glass jewels. Works such as her “Mother Wasp” and “Brown Devil” sculptures, the Chad book, and the dolls of her family testify to how tactile her work has become, with the physicality of the object itself being just as important as the narrative ideas behind its creation. This newfound commitment to the physical object has resulted in the development of an oeuvre characterized by both a diversity of medium and integrity of spirit. Becky’s work can be uncompromising in its provocations and melodrama, and this sensibility has only

Untitled (Those Air Planes go down hard Man oh Man), Ink on paper, 2005

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been emboldened by her burgeoning confidence.

As her work has developed, Becky’s exhibition opportunities have become more numerous and prestigious. She showed for the first time in January, 2008, at the Berenberg Gallery in Boston’s South End. She also made her New York City debut in 2007, exhibiting in a group show at the Phoenix Gallery entitled Magnificent Obsessions which was curated by Boston area artist Marcella Stasa. A number of Becky’s dialogue drawings and assemblage works were featured at the Gateway Gallery in the summer of 2007. This was the first time her drawings and assemblages were exhibited together and in great number. Gateway Arts is currently producing an artistic monograph detailing the body of work she has developed since first attending Gateway Arts.

Becky has grown as an artist tremendously over the past three years. Her work in the fabric area has provided the opportunity to learn crucial skills in not only artistic technique, but most importantly in how to productively handle difficulty and challenge. This newfound ability to persevere through difficulty has enabled her to express herself more fully and with increased assurance. Fortunately, we are already beginning to see the results of this confidence in the boldness and conviction of her artwork.

Micky Geller, Stuffed doll with other mediums, 2006

Chad, Stuffed doll with other mediums, 2005

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Joe Howe

Joe Howe has focused exclusively on his small ceramic sculptures over the course of his studio time in the Art Facilitation Project. Joe has always been an artist with a consistent approach to art making, whether working with ceramic, found wood, or paint. His practice is oriented toward the tactile and physical qualities inherent to his materials. Mostly non-verbal, Joe seems to enjoy the intuitive creation of form with his hands, whether in ceramic or wood, and takes great pleasure in the repetitive layering of acrylic paints that manifest the surface of his abstractions. The meaning of Joe’s work is elusive, though his pieces seem to be at least loosely related to his fascination

Untitled, Acrylic on ceramic, 2006

Joe Howe at Logan Airport

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Untitled, Acrylic on ceramic, 2006

Untitled, Acrylic on ceramic, 2006

Untitled, Acrylic on ceramic, 2006

with travel and going, as Joe says, “far far.” Prior to the beginning of the project, Joe’s studio productivity had been compromised due to variety of physical ailments, mostly related to aging. One-to-one facilitation has focused on helping Joe work through some of these challenges in order to re-establish his productivity at his usual baseline level. Any difficulty in the studio Joe may experience can usually be traced to some kind of health problem that he is struggling with. Joe might occasionally show less energy and this is due, more often than not, to the strains of a physical rehab program or medical treatment. Previously, and over the past three years,

Joe consistently experienced problems related to his vision. He had multiple examinations and treatments. A shift was slowly occurring in his ceramic work at this time which saw Joe creating pieces characterized by thicker and “blockier” forms. These forms were blatantly heavier than usual, and overall the work lacked the tension between solidity and grace that had come to be Joe’s signature over the years. A major problem arising from this work was the difficulty of firing it in the ceramic kiln. Some of the pieces Joe was creating were so thick that they risked exploding during the firing process. Facilitation began to revolve around assisting Joe in the creation of thinner or less dense pieces of ceramic sculpture. This entailed showing Joe how to punch holes in the bottom of his larger ceramic pieces so that they do not explode in the kiln, or pointing out to him that he might want to “thin out” his ceramic forms. Joe understands and appreciates the importance of these techniques and always responds well to this kind of facilitation. While typically never engaging in a long-term project, Joe does work and re-work his pieces over the course of

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Untitled, Acrylic on ceramic, 2007

multiple sessions. Each piece takes around 6-8 hours to complete. Joe’s work takes shape over the course of three stages, which can be characterized as the construction, refinement, and finishing stages. In the construction stage, Joe decides on the form his sculpture will take. This is where any representational content will be decided. During the refinement stage, Joe will rework his basic forms by smoothing out the surfaces with his hands. Joe very much enjoys the tactility offered by the clay. Joe can spend nearly an entire three hour period on this stage of work. Once the clay has air dried and been fired, Joe then begins the

finishing stage which involves the monochromatic layering of acrylic paint onto the surfaces of his forms. This process can also take a couple of hours and is very consistent with how Joe finishes the wooden constructions he creates at home and in Gateway’s folk art area. He knows what he wants to work on and comes to the studio looking forward to seeing his ideas materialized.

Joe is very focused, as long as he is healthy and alert. There can be times however where this focus can wane, and it is here where Joe might require extra engagement from the facilitator. As

mentioned before, this is almost always due to health issues or fatigue. All that is needed is a quick “hello” or asking a questions like “how is the sculpture going, Joe?” He is able to then get right back to his work. Joe has worked through a variety of difficulties over the course of three years. His work in ceramic complements and informs his pieces in wood and on canvas. Facilitation has assisted Joe with maintaining his baseline performance in the studio.

Despite his health struggles, Joe has managed to execute artwork that continues to fascinate his viewers. He is certainly an artist that can be described as “having a vision,” evidenced in both his drive to create work and in his sculpture’s unusual and paradoxical ability to convey a sense of openness and even uncertainty through solidity and weight. While diminutive in size, the ceramic works possess a sense of scale that far exceeds their relatively small dimensions. This is partly due to the fact that while essentially abstract, the ceramic works still allude to objects in the world that hold a significant interest for the artist, such as couches, boats, and most importantly, the airplane. It is because of his object’s ability to convey a sense of something else, without actually representing it, that one is able to locate within it the artist’s preoccupations with travel, expansiveness, and going “far far.” Certainly the elusive nature of his work’s meaning and signification finds its parallel in the artist’s own wanderlust.

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Donna Johnson

Donna Johnson began the Art Facilitation Project with significant verbal communication barriers that consistently prevented her from fully taking part in the art making experience offered at Gateway Arts. Donna was unable to communicate her needs to her facilitator due to difficulty in pronouncing the necessary words. It was a struggle to communicate with Donna regarding the progress of her work, to make suggestions regarding the direction pieces take, and for her to be able to assert what she feels is best for her own artwork. These difficulties resulted in Donna coming to the studio seemingly unconfident and passive. A successful artist, or any worker, always has to feel confident in being able to pursue their professional practice with a full capacity to communicate with others, assert their needs, and thus be fully present. Donna’s main challenge and goal was to get to this point. Innately, Donna is a very talented artist. Often preferring to work on small to medium sized sheets of watercolor paper, Donna has developed over the years a very recognizable style; she utilizes either a recurring circular motif in the

service of an all-over engagement with the image’s pictorial surface, or a repetition of letters grouped loosely into grids, their respective small deviations activating the composition of the piece. She also will work on folk art items, such as jewelry boxes, plaques, and wooden sculpture. When individualized facilitation began, Donna found herself in a small group with a dedicated facilitator. This allowed her the opportunity to delve more deeply into the motifs found throughout her extensive portfolio and to concentrate on creating pieces that were more layered, denser, more deeply explored and developed. But having access to this focused time would not prove enough to help Donna achieve a greater sense of professional independence and

accomplishment. What would be needed was an intense attention to Donna’s language difficulties with an eye toward her artistic development. In order to achieve her goal, the focus at the beginning of the three year period was less on artmaking and more on developing a vocabulary for working within the studio and in other important aspects of her life. For the most part, the first year and a half was dedicated to work toward those aims. Donna worked one-to-one with a facilitator to rehearse the use of certain words when shown a picture of a relevant object. Images of

Donna Johnson in the Gateway studios, 2007

Untitled, Paint marker on wood, 2005

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paintbrushes, markers, paper, various colors, were shown to Donna and the pronunciation of the verbal signifier practiced. Often times Donna had difficulties in the pronunciation of the correct word, in which case the facilitator developed gestural cues that would let Donna become aware that she needed to more carefully pronounce the word.

At the beginning of the grant period, Donna would simply show up for studio without the desire or ability to actively pursue her expressive media, unconfident in asking for things, and overall very passive in her approach. After a good year of concentrated work on the verbal barriers, Donna began to emerge not only as a more actualized artist, but as a confident person. While in the past securing materials for Donna

meant presenting her with options and soliciting a yes/no response, now she was becoming more and more able to ask independently for the materials she needed. She was also developing the confidence to address staff by name, and assert the direction her artworks would take through being able to express her desire to use a certain color, a different kind of paper, or a different marker or brush. All along the way Donna was consistently encouraged to explore materials she had not worked with in the past, and also to become more self-directed in the studio. The acquisition of greater verbal skills played a huge role in giving Donna the level of confidence needed to make these significant professional advances.

Untitled, Watercolor, pencil on rag paper, 2006

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Not having the language skills necessary to communicate within the art studio created a lot of difficulty for Donna during her career. In the years before the project and the language work, Donna would consistently get very frustrated, sometimes resulting in a despondent refusal to work or engage with her peers. It has been years since we have seen this kind of behavior from Donna, and can reasonably expect not to see it again. Now a typical work period for Donna entails showing up at the studio, approaching the facilitator with her needs for materials, acquiring those materials in the studio on her own, and working independently for the entire studio time. The successes achieved during this time have not only resulted in Donna solidifying an artistic identity but have also bolstered her confidence in other aspects of her life. Over the past three years a very successful strategy and learning tool was developed that has and will continue to help Donna break through her barriers toward a more full and productive artistic life.

Untitled, Paint pen on paper, 2006

Untitled, Marker on paper, 2008

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Robert Kirshner

The Art Facilitation Project has seen Robert Kirshner make a sizeable shift in his artmaking. Recognized for his pencil drawings of urban structures, train stations, and trucks, Robert has shifted his artistic concerns toward more quiet and minimal depictions of objects or images that hold a certain interest for him. Most of the work is on small paper, no larger than 11x14 inches, and the content will often feature still-lives of fruit, small objects, vehicles, and occasionally writing (often taken from the daily headlines or the weather report). These newer works do not possess the frantic energy found in the depictions of industrial buildings and urbanity that has put Robert on the map as a self-taught artist of significance. They instead are spare, hushed, and seemingly motivated by a concern for communication with others.

Robert is mostly non-verbal. He utilizes his drawings to facilitate conversation, often drawing a picture of

Robert Kirshner at work at Gateway Arts, 2007

Spring, Colored pencil and pencil on paper, 2007

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something in order to communicate about it. He is always looking at pictures, pointing to them, and using images to engage the people around him. It appears that to a certain extent the drawings themselves function for Robert more as utilitarian objects than as aesthetic or even possibly expressive creations. These motivating tendencies have had certain consequences and raised certain problems in regards to Robert’s production as a professional fine artist. At the beginning of the project, the biggest challenge facing Robert and his career was the way in which he would often continue to rework or recirculate drawings until they were practically destroyed. During a work period he would begin and usually even finish a drawing. Sometimes he would put it into his portfolio, stash it somewhere in the studio where no one can find it, or take it home. Upon returning to the studio the next day he would take the drawing back

out, erase most of it, and then draw something over it. Robert has certainly on occasion gotten a wonderful piece out of this reworking technique. He also has ruined many pieces due to tears in the paper, smudging of pencil, and a general overworking where the image is practically obliterated. The challenge was to work with Robert so that he would “complete” work. A system was developed between Robert and the facilitator which features two aspects. The first aspect of this system is found in Robert’s keeping of two portfolios on site, one for his finished artwork and another for his works in progress. Usually Robert will be asked by the facilitator if he is done with a drawing at the end of a studio session. This will give Robert the opportunity to say whether the drawing is complete or not. Sometimes it is, and sometimes it isn’t. The other aspect of this system is found in Robert’s use of a toolbox of supplies. The pencils, erasers, colored pencils, and

Untitled, Crayon, colored pencil, and pencil on paper, 2005

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pens found in this toolbox are Robert’s alone to use and are geared toward providing him with professional and archival materials to work with. The implication of the toolbox is that these are “professional” supplies, geared toward him alone. It adds a kind of seriousness or professionalism to his work periods in the studio and to an extent reinforces the difference between making “art” on the one hand and drawing to fulfill other communicative needs on the other. The time provided by the Art Facilitation Project was instrumental in facilitating this transition toward a more professional and independent approach to artmaking. Robert is consistently focused on his drawing in all areas of the Gateway studio. Robert has a significant investment in his work which grows out

of the dual role it plays in his life, both as a form of expression and a form of communication. Robert’s process brings up the issue of how an artspace like Gateway and the facilitation process negotiates the competing aims of an artist of high regard who creates work for both the purposes of art and for other personal needs. Robert’s goal to “complete” work certainly brings this issue into sharp focus, but by no means resolves it. It appears as though this tension will be fully present so long as Robert continues to create art within a professional work studio like Gateway. The process of creation employed by Robert is as multi-various and complex as he is as a person. The energy, vitality, and urgency found in his work grows out of the duality at the core of his process.

Flower, Colored pencil and pencil on paper, 2007

Snow Shower, Pencil on paper, 2008

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Carl Phillips

Carl Phillips entered the Art Facilitation Project with a developed and personalized body of work that expressed his deep seated fascination with a variety of pop cultural phenomena. Using mainly magic markers, Carl would draw characters and artifacts such as Matchbox cars, Dick Tracey, and Batman, amongst others. Carl keeps a personal notebook with collaged cut-outs from magazines, comics, and newspapers of images that he likes. This book is Carl’s main resource when creating his drawings. Since the beginning of the Facilitation Project, Carl has focused almost exclusively on depicting a variety of superheroes on paper. Interestingly, Carl has a preference for images of superheroes taken not from their respective comic books, but instead chooses to draw images taken from advertisements and other promotional materials (such as DVDs, toys, video games etc.) associated with the superhero’s product line. These are often

the cut-outs that one finds inside of his notebook.

This work exhibits a couple of significant shifts in media, style and approach. Carl works mainly on a rag printing paper of significant weight and archival qualities. The professional challenge facing Carl at the beginning of facilitation was not so much one of productivity but of being able to work with the professional tools of the trade. Carl came to Gateway used to working with magic marker and pencil. Magic marker is not known for its lightfastness or archival stability. As Carl’s work grew more popular, as his sales increased, and he began showing at venues outside of Gateway, it became more and more important to begin using better materials in the creation of his art. The fear was that collectors would become

Carl Phillips at a Gateway Arts Halloween party, 2007

Untitled, Marker on paper, 2007

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disappointed as they saw their purchase fade before their eyes in a matter of a few years. It became important for Carl to take some time and transition his use of materials. Individualized facilitation helped Carl use different materials and ensured his comfort with them. During this time Carl has learned to use and reload a mechanical pencil and has begun using both permanent Sharpie markers and PrismaColor markers. These are the tools of the professional graphic artist. Carl has kept his own personal toolbox with these materials and enjoys the independence that this provides in the studio.

Carl has also begun to work in a slightly different style. Previously, his work was much more detail oriented than it is now. Carl is working in a way that puts more emphasis on the pop and energy of his drawings than on anything else. He employs an idiosyncratic technique of cutting down his paper to the size of the previous sheet he worked on. The borders of his paper are always cut in an uneven way that tends to activate the artwork’s edges and personalize each piece at the same time. Previously Carl’s drawings would maintain fidelity to his original source, in a way transcribing the original image through his own style.

Creative Kryptonite, Marker on paper, 2007

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Now he uses a kind of cut and paste technique which finds him taking characters from various images he likes and drawing them together onto a page, thus creating a brand new image. It is a much more original and personal way of working. All together Carl works much more independently and much quicker. Work that used to take him about a month now takes only a week. Facilitation has assisted Carl with these advances through positive encouragement and pointing out how these changes in his work are truly wonderful.

The quality of Carl’s work has improved significantly over the past three years. Carl has always worked from a place that is highly personal. His work is the result of his channeling his obsessions into art. Carl’s work combines a pop sensibility of the graphic artist while never losing the touch of his own hand. Carl’s

personality is all over his work, despite the fact that he bases his drawings on found materials. The one-to-one facilitation provided has been extremely successful in jump-starting Carl’s career. He has had the opportunity to not only grow more used to using professional materials, but develop a significant portfolio of unusual potential.

Comic Book Cartoon Guide, Marker on paper, 2007

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Carmella Salvucci

Three years ago, Carmella Salvucci

entered the Art Facilitation Project as a very accomplished and recognized painter. She had exhibited nationally and internationally while at the same time generating a following among serious art collectors in the Boston area. Certainly one of the most recognized and appreciated artists to work at Gateway, Carmella has developed a reputation as an inventive colorist whose cityscapes, in watercolor, consistently capture both what appears essential to a specific locale as well as what the imaginative possibilities of a scene might be. Carmella’s cityscapes are based on found photographic imagery taken from books. Completed over the course of many weeks, the cityscapes depict places long thought familiar, yet now made strange through Carmella’s subjective choice of color and reinterpretation of size and scale.

At the beginning of the project, Carmella’s main challenge was the attention she needed in the choice of subject matter. Staff would always have to work closely with Carmella in the selection of her images to ensure that she

chose a picture that would allow her the greatest latitude in creative reinterpretation on top of being an image that would prove saleable. While she certainly enjoyed the financial and critical success derived from her cityscape images, Carmella was not inclined toward selecting images on her own. If left without coaching, she would usually paint a single house in a garden. These paintings, though unique and colorful in their own right, lack the complexity of her more ambitious cityscapes. Individualized facilitation focused on building Carmella’s ability to independently choose her subject matter in a way that reflects her stature in the market. During the first half of the three year period Carmella would go through a book of Boston images with a staff person and collaboratively tease out an image that could be successful. Over the past year and a half Carmella became more able to choose images on her own. The current process of image selection begins with Carmella going through a

Carmella Salvucci at work in the Gateway Studios, 2006

Lighthouse, Watercolor on rag paper, 2006

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book of images by herself and at her own pace. She will often choose around three images that she is interested in turning into paintings. These three images will then be discussed with her facilitator so as to ascertain which image might work best. Sometimes Carmella expresses an interest in changing the composition or scale of the original image to suit her fancy. Other times a change of color to a building or a shift from a daytime scene to a night scene might be discussed.

Over the course of three years Carmella’s art has undergone some significant changes. In some of her other studio areas, Carmella began working with acrylic paints on canvas. Having previously only painted with watercolor, the acrylics posed a new challenge in the application of paint and in her approach to color. She does not mix her acrylics,

choosing instead to apply the paint straight from the tube. Of course a main characteristic of acrylic paint is its saturated color. This characteristic has proven to be very influential on Carmella’s current approach to watercolor. Carmella has stopped mixing her watercolors, instead choosing to apply them with the quick brushstrokes she employs with acrylic. Facilitation has supported her with this new technique through positive encouragement and pointing out the noticeable difference between the color saturation in some older work compared to newer work. Previously Carmella would linger over her colors, sometimes resulting in muddier and dull areas of the watercolor. During the past couple of years this has presented itself as less and less of a problem. Carmella has also begun to choose images

Untitled (in progress), Watercolor on rag paper, 2008

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that reflect this slight shift in style and approach. The images she now chooses to paint are less complex in small detail. She seems to now prefer scenes that lend themselves to subjective color choice and reinterpretation of scale.

Facilitation has also focused on helping Carmella use her time in the studio more efficiently. Carmella clearly enjoys working in the studio but sometimes struggles with arriving on time. She also finds it difficult to set up her supplies quickly. Once an image to paint from has been selected, facilitation mainly entails making sure that Carmella gets to the studio and sets up. It can sometimes take Carmella close to 20 minutes to set up her workspace as she gets distracted by conversations or goings-on around the studio. Asking her to go a little faster or an offer of assistance can help. Saying something like, “You get the water and I will get your book,” often works in getting Carmella to move a little faster (which is

especially important on days she is late to studio).

Over the past three years Carmella has maintained responsiveness to her commercial success while also being able to evolve stylistically. She has developed greater independence in now being able to select appropriate photographs to base her work on and continues to improve on using her studio time more effectively. With one to one support Carmella has been able to take great steps towards self-actualization and independence within the studio. Carmella has never been short on imagination or originality. With the skills learned during the past three years Carmella is more ready than ever to begin an exciting new chapter in what has already been an illustrious career.

Untitled, Acrylic on canvas, 2006

Untitled, Watercolor on rag paper, 2007

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Roger Swike

For roughly ten years previous to the Art Facilitation Project, Roger Swike developed a reputation as one of the most original and prolific artists to have worked at Gateway Arts. He would work on his drawings non-stop throughout the day, constantly producing with a manic, furious energy that would only begin to be approximated in the dynamic complexity of his compositions. Roger’s drawings would consistently feature a cacophony of signs and pop cultural references, juxtaposed with numbers, hastily drawn pictures, and scrawled text. Throughout his endless series of drawings Roger would recycle his imagery in a constant redistribution of the symbols of his obsessions and passions, each drawing resulting in a kind of cognitive map of our pop cultural landscape.

During the year and a half just previous to the beginning of the Art Facilitation Project, Roger’s health took a

Roger Swike, 2006 Untitled (Girl), Ball point pen on

paper, 2007

Adventures of Super Bubble, Ball point pen on paper, 2007

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turn for the worst. Plagued most of his adult life with kidney problems, Roger began dialysis and the wait for a kidney transplant began. The day to day fluctuations in his health took a serious toll on his output in the studio, and for the first time in his life, Roger completely stopped drawing. Roger was a logical choice for inclusion in the project because the individualized facilitation offered could focus on finding ways Roger might be able to work again. Production for Roger did not slow with the onset of his sickness, it completely stopped. It was therefore unreasonable to expect Roger to return to his usual baseline of in-studio production. The goal was set for Roger to begin to produce work again, in whatever quantity or quality he was capable of.

Over the course of the three year project, Roger certainly has accomplished that goal. During the worst of his

sickness, Roger had no interest in doing work. He would often sleep or listen to the radio if awake. Roger would surround himself with his artwork during this time, constantly reading it and looking it over, but he would never work. One could tell during this time that the obsessions that had driven Roger for years were still lurking somewhere in the artist’s psyche, yet due to a lack of physical energy they could not be expressed.

Facilitation during the time Roger was sick would entail consistent urging to do work and attempts to stimulate interest in creating new pieces. Showing and talking about artwork he had completed in the past with the artist was one way to stimulate activity. Roger’s creative motivations can never be questioned, but again, facilitation would consistently reach its limits due to the artist’s health. About a year and half ago Roger’s health began to improve due to various treatments and with that came a drastic increase in

Untitled, Marker and ink on paper, 2007

Untitled, Crayon and ink on paper, 2006

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productivity. Though he did not approach his artmaking with the same level of intensity witnessed in years past, it was a wonderful achievement for Roger to begin working again.

With this newfound health, energy, and productivity also came concerns that required a shift in what kind of facilitation Roger would receive. Roger needs to be monitored constantly due to his compulsion to steal food and drink. His health issues dictate that a certain prescribed diet is followed, as well as limiting his intake of water throughout the day. Roger sometimes has difficulty following the doctor’s recommendations in regards to his food and drink intake, and therefore needs to have someone with him, or at least keeping an eye on him, throughout his time in the studio. Facilitation thus focused on keeping Roger safe. Now that he was working again, redirection away from temptations that could prove harmful to Roger became key in helping Roger continue his

studio successes. Roger is very aware of the risks to his health, and if someone is there to remind him and say, “you do not want to drink that, you might get very sick,” or “Roger, you need to remember your rules,” then he is able to refocus himself on his artwork. To stay focused throughout a three hour studio period Roger does need breaks. Roger likes to get up and move around the studio. If the facilitator can take Roger around the studio on errands to the phone, computer, or copier it can be a nice respite and result in refocusing him onto his artwork when he returns to his desk. It is truly a testament to Roger’s seriousness as an artist that he has been able to withstand the effects of dialysis and his failing kidney and still be able to create artwork of a high quality. There were moments when Gateway staff felt Roger might never pick up his ball-point pen and markers again. The facilitation provided gave Roger a point of stability and support during an incredibly difficult time in his life. Once some of the health issues bettered, then Roger’s almost instinctual motivations as an artist took over. There is no need to expect or even desire for Roger to get back to his previous level of artistic production. He seems to have created a new baseline for himself, and if the work he is creating now is any indication of things to come, then it seems like he has a lot of art left in him.

Hamburger Hot Dog Pizza, Ball point pen on paper, 2007

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Christina Taylor

Christina Taylor entered the Art Facilitation Project at about the same time she entered into the studio program at Gateway Arts. Immediately identified by Gateway staff as a young artist with unusual skill and potential, Christina was placed into the project so that she could receive the guidance and mentorship provided. Her challenge was at once prosaic and significant; at such a critical juncture in her career, and in possession of strong natural talents and an inherent proclivity toward art making, Christina needed creative direction and to develop points of focus. Her goal was to develop her work in abstraction on wood and a variety of other mediums. Christina entered Gateway doing work that was representational. Her early drawings and paintings focused on people, animals, and circuses. Engaging and bold in their use of solid color and economy of line and form, her early figurative works also possess a certain gravity of emotive and psychological suggestion. From the beginning Christina possessed a great degree of self-motivation. Her insistent focus might border on the obsessive and is unlike anything most Gateway staff have ever seen. At the start of receiving individualized facilitation, Christina almost

immediately began to work abstractly. Christina, who is mostly non-verbal, showed an immediate enjoyment for the way paint is applied, by either a paint marker or brush. She began to create a

body of work that would feature the layering upon layering of a single color onto the surface of her ground. This constant layering of the paint would result in the surface of her pieces to smooth out. Due to the severe flatness of these early abstract pieces, they took on more of a sculptural than pictorial sensibility. In this way her abstractions exist first and foremost as objects in the world more than pictures or compositions describing something other than the qualities and materials of their own making. It is also through this bold use of her materials and intuitive awareness of their inherent qualities that one can locate her unexpected potential and confidence as an artist. Her work possesses an assertiveness and an undeniability of its material condition, characteristics which, according to one of her facilitators, Peter Laughlin, might stem from the artist’s personal desire to be less than marginalized.

Christina Taylor in the Gateway Arts Ceramics Studio

Unfinished work in the ceramics studio

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At first, Christina did exhibit some hesitations within the studio in regards to using materials. Not inclined toward verbal communication, it was difficult for her to communicate her needs within the studio environment. Through encouragement and suggestion, Christina was more able to select her own materials and feel confident enough to experiment with new grounds and new ideas. During the eventual course of the project, she produced a wide array of consistently

interesting work not only on wooden plaques, but also on boxes, wooden letters, and small furniture. Christina was met with challenges during this time which she in turn met with creative

solutions. In one instance she was having difficulty reaching into the tight corners of her wooden objects with the paint marker. This would result in a discontinuous surface that was surely unacceptable to the artist and way outside her aesthetic sensibility. Christina developed the quite brilliant solution of emptying a little extra paint from the marker in the vicinity of the corner and then went in with a small brush to spread the enamel into the corner. Christina came to this solution entirely on her own and this example is a testament to the great precision, care, and dedication she shows toward her artmaking. Facilitation focused mainly on coming to terms with Christina’s creative process and in creating an environment in which she was able to explore materials as independently as possible. Verbal encouragement was always key in building Christina’s confidence. Knowing that the support from the facilitator is in place, Christina would have no obstacle to her exploration of materials and form.

Untitled Letters, Paint marker on wood, 2007

Untitled, Paint marker on wooden plaque, 2006

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Currently Christina is engaged in a variety of explorations that possess strong potential. She is currently in the process of painting wooden canvas stretchers ubiquitous to the studio in her signature style. These small pieces are subtle and unexpected. Fresh work such as this is a clear indication that Christina has in fact succeeded in finding an artistic direction and identity. Like all her work, the new work possesses a playfulness and humor while consistently maintaining a profound awareness of the creative potentials inherent to her materials.

Untitled, Paint marker on stretcher bars, 2008

Untitled, Watercolor on rag paper, 2005

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SAMPLE BIOGRAPHIES

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SAMPLE RESUMES ______________________________________________________________________

Rebecca Geller

Gateway Arts 62 Harvard Street

Brookline, MA 02445 (617) 734-1577

Current Employment

Gateway Arts, arts based work activity program for adults with developmental and other disabilities

Exhibitions

Indomitable Spirits. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. June 3, 2008 – August 23, 2008. Brookline Artists’ Open Studios. Group Exhibition. Gateway Arts. Brookline, MA. April 12, 2008. Heaven/ Hell, One Show – Two Locations. Group Exhibition. The Berenberg Gallery. Boston, MA. January 9, 2008 – March 1, 2008. 100 For 100. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. November 20 – January 12, 2008.

Holiday Windows at Barney’s New York. Group Exhibition. The Mall at Chestnut Hill. Chestnut Hill, MA. Copley Place Mall. Boston, MA. November 22, 2007 – January 1, 2008.

Magnificent Obsessions. Group Exhibition. Phoenix Gallery. New York, NY. October 2 – October 28, 2007.

5 Summer Installations. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. May 29 – August 25, 2007.

A Taste of Gateway 2007: Annual Fundraising Exhibition. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. April 5 – May 12, 2007.

Carnival. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. January 16 - March 24, 2007.

100 FOR UNDER 100. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. November 20, 2006 – January 6, 2007.

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Barney’s New York Warholidays Windows. Group Exhibition. The Mall at Chestnut Hill, Chestnut Hill, MA and Copley Place Mall, Boston MA. November 20, 2006 – January 4, 2007.

Loose Threads: An exhibition of fiberworks by Gateway Artists. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. Sept. 11- Nov. 11, 2006.

Taste of Gateway 2006. Group Exhibition. Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. May 8-May 20, 2006.

Everything Under the Sun. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. March 15 –April 29, 2006. Art For Under 100 Dollars. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. December 3, 2005- January 7, 2006. Holiday Window at Barney’s NY. Group Exhibition. The Mall at Chestnut Hill. Chestnut Hill, MA. 2005. Taste of Gateway 2005. Fourth Annual Fundraising Exhibition. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. April 4- May 14, 2005. More Art For Less Than 100 Dollars. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. November 16, 2004 – January 15, 2005. Holiday Window at Barney’s NY. Group Exhibition. The Mall at Chestnut Hill. Chestnut Hill, MA. 2004.

One Hundred and Under. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. November 10- January 3, 2004.

Happy Birthday Gateway. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA.

September 8 – November 1, 2003. Art for Under 100 Dollars. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA.

November 19, 2002- January 4, 2003. A Taste of Gateway. Group Fundraising Exhibition. Guest Curator: Beverly Bernson.

The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. March 25-May 4, 2002.

Salon Gateway. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. January 22-March 16, 2002.

100 Under $100. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. November

19, 2001- January 12, 2002.

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A Taste of Gateway 2001. Group Fundraising Exhibition. Guest Curator: Julie Bernson. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. April 2- May 5, 2001.

Small Wonders: A Big Show of Small Art by the Artists & Staff of Gateway Crafts. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. 1999.

Retail Outlets

Gateway Arts Store, Brookline, MA

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Roger Swike Gateway Arts, 62 Harvard Street

Brookline, MA 02445 (617) 734-1577 Current Employment

Gateway Arts, arts based work activity program for adults with developmental and other disabilities

Exhibitions

Indomitable Spirits. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. June 3, 2008 – August 23, 2008. A Taste of Gateway 2008. Annual Fundraiser Exhibition and Event. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. April 8, 2008 – May 17, 2008. Brookline Artists’ Open Studios. Group Exhibition. Gateway Arts. Brookline, MA. April 12, 2008. Inside The Outsider World: Gateway Arts at Simmons College. Group Exhibition. Trustman Art Gallery. Boston, MA. March 25, 2008 – April 25, 2008. Outsider Art Fair, 2008. Group Exhibition. Berenberg Gallery Booth, Park Building. New York, New York. January 24 – 27, 2008.

100 For 100. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. November 20 – January 12, 2008. Holiday Windows at Barney’s New York. Group Exhibition. The Mall at Chestnut Hill. Chestnut Hill, MA. Copley Place Mall. Boston, MA. November 22, 2007 – January 1, 2008

Magnificent Obsessions. Group Exhibition. Phoenix Gallery, New York NY October 2 – 28, 2007 Barney’s New York Warholidays Windows. Group Exhibition. The Mall at Chestnut Hill, Chestnut Hill, MA and Copley Place Mall, Boston MA. November 20, 2006 – January 4, 2007 Taste of Gateway 2006. Group Exhibition. Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. May 8-May 20,

2006. Everything Under the Sun. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. March 15 –April 29, 2006.

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Art For Under 100 Dollars. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. December 3, 2005- January 7, 2006. Autism to Aspergers: the Artistic Phenomenon. Group Exhibition. The Berenberg Gallery, Boston, MA. May 4- June 18, 2005. Taste of Gateway 2005. Fourth Annual Fundraising Exhibition. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. April 4- May 14, 2005.

More Art For Less Than 100 Dollars. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline,

MA. November 16, 2004 – January 15, 2005. Summer Salon. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. June 1-August 28, 2004. Brookline Artist’s Open Studio. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. June

5, 2004. Face Value. Group Exhibition. Curator: Helen Burns. Elizabeth A Beland Gallery, The Essex

Art Center. Lawerence, MA. June 18- August 20, 2004. Media Bliss: Gateway Artists Reference Popular Culture in their paintings, drawings, and

sculpture. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. January 19- March 13, 2004. 12th Annual Outsider Art Fair. Group Exhibition. Berenberg Gallery Booth. The Puck

Building, Soho. New York, NY. January 23-25, 2004.

One Hundred and Under. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. November 10 -January 3, 2004.

Art View 2003: Annual Exhibition and Auction. St. John’s Community Services. Washington

D.C. September 13, 2003. Shining Stars: Celebrating 30 Years of Gateway Arts. Group Exhibition. The Berenberg

Gallery. Boston, MA. September 10- November 1, 2003. Happy Birthday Gateway. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA.

September 8-November 1, 2003. Get It While You Can. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA.

June 16-August 30, 2003. 11th Annual Outsider Art Fair. The Puck Building, Soho. New York, NY. January 22-26, 2003. Art for Under 100 Dollars. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA.

November 19, 2002- January 4, 2003.

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Artists’ Market at the Store at the DeCordova Museum. Group Show and Sale. DeCordova

Museum Store. Lincoln, MA. November 16- December 31, 2002. Inside Outsider Art. Group Exhibition. The Diversity Gallery. Tufts Health Plan, Watertown,

MA. September 27-November 2, 2002. A Taste of Gateway. Benefit Group Exhibition. Guest Curator: Beverly Bernson. The Gateway

Gallery, Brookline, MA. March 25-May 4, 2002. Building Bridges: An art auction and sale to benefit people living with disabilities. Presented by

St. John’s Community Services. Chevy Chase, Maryland. March 9, 2002. Salon Gateway. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. January 22-March

16, 2002. Outsider Art Fair 2002. Art and Community Booth. Group Exhibition. The Puck Building,

Soho. New York, New York. January 24-27, 2002. Mind Matters. Group Exhibition and Auction. Sponsered by the National Alliance for Research

on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD). Cooper Union. New York, NY. January 18 -February 10, 2002.

100 Under $100. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. November 19,

2001- January 12, 2002. Salon Gateway. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. January 22-March 16, 2002. Outsider Art Fair 2002. Art and Community Booth. Group Exhibition. The Puck Building, Soho. New York, New York. January 24-27, 2002 Mind Matters. Group Exhibition and Auction. Sponsered by the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD). Cooper Union. New York, NY. January 18- February 10, 2002. 100 Under $100. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. November 19, 2001- January 12, 2002. A Taste of Gateway 2001. Group Fundraising Exhibition. Guest Curator: Julie Bernson. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. April 2- May 5, 2001. Outsider Art Fair. Group Exhibition. Margaret Bodell Gallery Ltd. The Puck Building, Soho. New York, NY. 2001.

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New Beginnings: Current Work by Gateway Artists. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. 2001. Celebration 2000: An Exhibition of Works by Artists with Disabilities. Celebrating 10 years ADA Achievements. Group Exhibition. Bayside Exposition Center. Boston, MA. 2000. Old and New Favorites: A Revolving Summer Exhibition of Gateway Art. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. 2000. A Taste of Gateway. Fundraising Exhibition. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. 2000. Exhibition of Gateway Art: Down Syndrome Fundraiser. Group Exhibition. Plaza Hotel. NY, NY. 2000. Clearing the Path: An Exhibition in support of Accessibility. Sponsored by the New England Foundation of the Arts.Group Exhibition. Royal Sonesta Hotel. Cambridge, MA. 2000. Intuitive Journeys: Artists from Gateway Crafts. Group Exhibition. Berenberg Gallery. Boston, MA. 2000. Community Pallette: Exhibition celebrating Developmental Disabilities Month. Group Exhibition. The Fernald Center. Waltham, MA. 2000. Future Shots: Outsider Art in the 21st Century. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. 2000. Facts and Figures. Group Exhibition. Margaret Bodell Gallery Ltd. New York, NY. 2000. Outsider Art Fair. Group Exhibition. Margaret Bodell Ltd. Booth. New York, NY. 2000. Small Wonders. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. 1999. Conference on Employment of People with Disabilities. Group Exhibition. Bottisham Village College. Cambridge, England. 1999. The Mall at Chestnut Hill. Group Exhibition. Chestnut Hill, MA. 1999. Drawn Voices. Group Exhibition. Christopher Brodigan Gallery. Groton School, Groton, MA. 1999. Outsider Art Fair. Group Exhibition. Margaret Bodell Ltd. Booth. New York, NY. 1999. The Ability of Art. Group Exhibition. Sawhill Gallery. James Madison University. Harrisonburg, VA. 1999.

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MERGE with the Mainstream. Group Exhibition. Very Special Arts Gallery. Washington, DC. 1998. Turning the Red Light Green. Group Exhibition. Bottisham Village Cottage. Cambridge, England. 1998. Baltimore Folk and Visionary Art Show. Group Exhibition. Baltimore, MD 1998. Massachusetts Department of Mental Retardation. Group Exhibition with photos, bios, and artwork. Ongoing display at Region VI Office, North Washington Street. Boston, MA. 1998. Outsider Art Fair. Group Exhibition. Margaret Bodell Ltd. Booth. New York, NY. 1998. Manhattan Transfer: Gateway Artists Take New York by Storm. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. 1998. Pure Vision. Group exhibition. Margaret Bodell Gallery. New York, NY. 1997-98. Outside In: Works by Outsider and Intuitive Artists with Disabilities from the Gateway Gallery. Group Exhibition. Lincoln Gallery, Beaver Country Day School. Chestnut Hill, MA. 1997. Pure Vision. Group Exhibition of New England Artists with Disabilities. Sponsored by Vinfen Corporation. Curator: Margaret Bodell. Federal Reserve Bank Gallery. Boston, MA. 1997. In Clay and On Paper. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. 1997. Outsiders Inside: Self-taught, Visionary, and Folk Art Fair. Group Exhibition. The White Tower Building. Chicago, IL. 1997. The Mall at Chestnut Hill. Group Exhibition. Chestnut Hill, MA. 1997. Drawing the Internal Landscape. Three-person Exhibition with Eugene Von Bruenchenheim and Joseph Yoakum. Exhibition space at Arts Media. Boston, MA. 1997. Outsider Art Fair. Group Exhibition. Gasperi Gallery Booth. New York, NY. 1997. Challenging Artistic Expressions, 6th National Juried Art Exhibition by People with Learning Disabilities. Group Exhibition. Goldhaber-Fend Fine Arts Center Gallery. Johnstown, PA. 1996. From the Outside In. Group Exhibition. The Fuller Museum of Art. Brockton, MA. 1996. Text and Texture: Painting with Words. Group Exhibition. The Gateway Gallery. Brookline, MA. 1996.

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Retail Outlets

Gateway Crafts Store, Brookline, MA Hobson Gallery, Ipswich, MA. 1998 & 1999

Awards

For excellence from the Ebensburg Center, Pennsylvania and The Royal Society for Handicapped Children and Adults, London, England, 1996