When I got there, Annie said there was an open half of a table next to "Mel". I sat down next to a girl named Melelani (what a beautiful name!) who has Downs Syndrome. As soon as I put my stuff down, she turned to me and asked if I could hold her ring finger and pinky together on the canvas on which she was working. She was doing a painting for her little brother's birthday party, and wanted to trace her hand doing the Vulcan "Live Long And Prosper" hand gesture from Star Trek. I told her I could absolutely help her.
She is such a great person - very friendly, just started talking to me immediately, just like we were old friends. Actually, the whole class was like that - almost immediately upon arrival people started coming up to me, hand out, introducing themselves. There was some really great artwork, too, as there is in my class. I'm just really impressed at the level of artistry in this area, that most people will never even know about.
Annie showed me a bunch of paintings that her Friday night class at the Turner Center did. This particular class is made up totally of developmentally challenged people. I tell you what, though, these paintings were so very inspirational to me. These amazing students don't worry about trying to paint in a certain style, or with specific colors, or what anyone really even thinks of their work. They paint because they love to paint - it makes them happy. And that's really all that matters. I think more of us need to take a lesson from them!
Tonight's stroke is a tribute to these wonderful people, and everyone who just paints because it makes them happy! Just about all of the pieces Annie showed me prominently featured all sorts of neon colors (which I'm just a sucker for anyway), especially neon pink.
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