Art works
Rebecca Nosella displays her greeting cards for sale at a recent event in Vancouver celebrating International Day of Persons with Disablities.
On Thursday, October 14, posAbilities proudly presented the 6th Annual Art Show for BC Artists with Developmental Disabilities at Heritage Hall in Vancouver. Drawing the largest crowd to date, this show featured 365 pieces of art and 143 artists. Sales were brisk and the artists continued to astound regular participants with new offerings and expanded portfolios.
While many of the artists on display have taken part in the show for several years, there were also some new ones exhibiting their work. Rebecca Nosella, 19, is one of those artists.
Rebecca first began expressing herself through art in Grade 7 with the assistance and encouragement of her education assistant, Leah Drumm. As she finds it difficult to use brushes, Rebecca’s work is done using everyday objects such as pot scrubbers, feather dusters, squeegees and other items. She also enjoys using her hands, fingers and arms too. She has taken a class at the Shadbolt Centre in Burnaby where students from middle school up to university work on their own projects with the support and guidance of an instructor. She has framed and sold several of her pieces and is beginning to sell greeting cards featuring her art. She is currently making 150 of the cards for the holiday season.
The art show provided Rebecca with a chance to showcase her work to the community. “It was such an inviting environment,” says Rebecca’s mother Vicki. “People would just walk off the street and were amazed with the work they were seeing. A lot of people there were really intrigued with Rebecca and what she could do.”
Many of the guests recognized Rebecca from the biography and picture next to her work and made a point of finding her and telling her how much they liked it. “The acknowledgment from person to person and artist to artist was amazing,” says Vicki. “It was a great way of showing what Rebecca can do. She really got a feeling of the evening.”
For Ray Tai, another artist displaying his work at the show, art plays an important role in his life. Ray is in his third year of studies at Emily Carr University of Art and Design and has also attended the art show for the past six years. He paints in acrylic and sometimes with oils and enjoys doing landscapes and abstract paintings.
Ray Tai shares two of his new landscapes at the 6th Annual Art Show.
“When I’m working on my art, I feel calm. I always listen to music at the same time and it helps me focus and concentrate,” says Ray, who is inspired by the works of Picasso, Jackson Pollock and Georgia O’Keefe.
For Ray, the art show provides a chance to meet with people and also to see the works of his fellow artists. “I’ve learned from other people’s work but I try to make my paintings my own,” he says.
Ray says he’ll be busy next year completing his final year of studies at Emily Carr but still hopes to have time to attend the show with some new work.
The annual art show was made possible through the contributions of the artists, guests, sponsors and many volunteers. To learn more about the event, please visit www.mapcl.org/Artshow.
