Workshop Clients Create Original Calendars

Artist Albert Greenlief and Lynda Stoneham, director of the Artists' Open Studio Inc. of Christie Lane Workshop, show off the organization's 2009 calendar

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The 2009 Artists' Open Studio calendars, featuring art created by adult clients of Christie Lane Workshop and Industries, have found quite an audience.

"The calendars are a fundraiser, but they've really turned out to be more than that. It's a way to represent the artists," said Director of Artists' Open Studio Lynda Stoneham, a 22-year veteran art teacher at Christie Lane.

The calendar project is in its third year and has become quite popular with the local artists at Christie Lane, an adult workshop for people with mental retardation and developmental disabilities.

Each month of the calendar includes a photograph of the artist as well as their artwork, whether it be a painting, drawing or ceramic or clay creation.

"It's getting harder to find room ... We need more months," Stoneham said.

Typically, the Christie Lane clients who "have an interest in working with their hands, work independently and create something that represents their ideas and creativity" in Stoneham's studio, she said.

All work must be original. "There's no coloring books or anything like that. Everything must be original," Stoneham said.

Some of the clients prefer painting while others are interested in other mediums such as textiles, she added.

About 40 calendars are sold annually in the program, said Stoneham. "They're most popular with parents, staff and those who are close to our program," she said.

All proceeds generated by the calendars, which sell for $10 a piece, are used to purchase more art supplies for the studio, Stoneham said.

This year's calendar's cover was designed in honor of a Christie Lane artist who died last year. "Each year, it's been about the artists," Stoneham said.

The 2009 calendar features 19 client artists who created a variety of art projects for the calendar, Stoneham said.

It's printed in full color at the studio on an ecologically friendly printer, Stoneham added.

A handful of the clients are chosen to help Stoneham assemble the calendars, she said.

The Artists' Open Studio was designed to "provide a supportive environment for adult artists with mental retardation or developmental disabilities," according to information provided by the agency.

The studio is supported by the Huron County Board of Mentally Retarded and Developmentally Disabled to pursue their clients' interests in the visual arts. The workshop clients sometimes work alongside practicing local artists from the community who are invited at the studio, according to the agency.

Artists participating in the studio retain the ownership of their original art and may choose to keep, display or sell their art through the studio, according to the organization.


The Artists' Open Studio Inc., has received partial funding from Huron County MRDD, Christie Lane, Fund for Huron County, Citizens Bank, Fisher-Titus Medical Center and private donors, according to the information provided. Contact Christie Lane for more information.

This article was published with permission from The Morning Journal
http://www.morningjournal.com/general-news/20090221/christie-lane-artists-workshop-clients-create-original-calendars