March 6, 2017 | People
Established to cultivate a positive journey of healing and support for patients at Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital, part of Main Line Health, Art Ability is not only a program that provides the opportunity for artists with disabilities to explore their creative minds, but it also offers them the chance to showcase and sell their final products online at art-ability.org. Here, we spoke to four incredible artists about how the program has changed their lives, and the inspirations behind some of their awe-inspiring artwork.
Well-versed in the arts, Philadelphia-based artist, Linda Fry Goschke, has experiences in set design and production, fashion design, graphic arts production, commercial printing, writing, and teaching. She earned her Masters degree in Education and Printmaking from Philadelphia College of Art (now University of the Arts) in 1985, and her teaching certificate for Graphic Arts from Temple University in 1988. However, a traumatic brain injury from an automobile accident in 1993 forced her to temporarily suspend her professional career, while she relearned how to speak and concentrate, as well as how to create art again. With the support of family and friends, Goschke was able to return to school and earn a Master of Fine Arts from Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 2002.
What made you get involved with art?
LINDA FRY GOSCHKE: I'm not sure what first inspired me to create art—it's been a part of me since I was coordinated enough to hold a crayon or use paint. It is my way of looking at, experiencing, and understanding nearly everything. It is my record, my study, a way of planning, playing, learning, touching, being involved, and sharing. I feel empty inside if I'm not creating. It is part of my soul and [it] nourishes my spirit. It is also a way to create or change my environment. Understandably, if art is how I examine the world, it is the way I feel I can best communicate to others what I have discovered.
How has Art Ability changed your life?
LFG: Art Ability has given me opportunities to meet other artists with similar struggles, to exhibit in a variety of settings, to meet viewers and patrons who are genuinely interested in living with art and meeting artists, and practical support in limited marketing of my work. I enjoy seeing the work and development of artists who return to the show each year and speaking with them. The awards competition is one incentive to keep trying to be better each year.
I have always wanted my art to be beneficial to causes and people in need. Showing and selling my work and encouraging others to buy works through Art Ability helps me to meet that goal. The Art Ability staff have always been helpful and understanding of the unusual needs of disabled artist participants. The additional exhibition opportunities they find throughout the year are encouraging and increase the audience for our work. The honor of being a featured artist was a much-needed and very welcome boost to my morale and audience exposure. That was a pleasantly challenging and exciting year for me. Art Ability makes me feel as though I am part of something important and meaningful, while recognizing my work [and me] as uniquely individual. That is a very special experience.
David Gerbstadt, who hails from Berwyn, PA, first discovered art as an undergraduate at Millersville University, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1993. He began creating large quantities of artwork and selling it in Old City Philadelphia, which soon gained a loyal following. Things changed dramatically on December 28, 2007; Gerbstadt was run over by a tractor trailer, and was pronounced dead in the ambulance. Over a period of nine hours, he received CPR and 40 units of blood—he was brought back to life. Since his accident, Gerbstadt has lived with post-traumatic stress disorder, and struggles with constant pain. Today, Gerbstadt's work is included in private collections in over 15 countries including Italy, Germany, Poland, and England. He is also a motivational speaker with considerable media coverage in local newspapers, magazines, and television, and is a full-time artist. Currently, his focus is on welding sculptures.
What inspires your art?
DAVID GERBSTADT: What inspires me to make art has changed since I first started showing in 1993. The first show was at Mt. Gretna Outdoor Art Show in the summer of 1993. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I arrived; there were 500 art vendors that weekend and 20,000 people came just to buy art. My pure love for making something on paper and canvas out of my head brought me pure joy and happiness. Over years, the idea of inspiration came in several forms: Conversations I overheard in the streets of Philadelphia, parts of songs, and my own words were written into drawings, collages, and paintings.
My accident with the truck brought a dark, long depression and trauma, which taught me many lessons, and I guess [that] inspired me to continue making art in order to heal and get better. The main lessons I learned were that everyone in the hospital was there to help me get better. From the cleaning women to the orderlies to the doctors and nurses. One doctor told me the nurses were the angels of the hospital. I learned I was loved as human being and as an artist—what I did mattered. These lessons came out as phrases in my art: "You Are Loved," "Choose Joy," "Be Kind."
In the last couple years, what has inspired me mostly was seeing chef Gordon Ramsey speak and tell a little of his story [about] how he went from being a troubled youth to a world class chef. He says, "Use fresh quality ingredients and give the customer a good meal at a good price, and they will tell their friends and come back." I create art using good materials, and pour my love and joy in the work, offering the art at a fair price for all to enjoy.
How has Art Ability changed your life?
DG: Art Ability has changed my life by showing me that I am not alone as a disabled artist, and that some disabilities are hidden or not so noticeable. I am proud to be among a group of artists from around the world who are in the largest disabled art show in the USA. When I first applied to the show, I brought in a newspaper article about my accident and art. I told them I was sure if I qualified to be a disabled artist. The staff at Art Ability smiled at the headline of the newspaper article and said, "No worries David, you qualify."
Hailing from Chadds Ford, PA, Caitlyn Buckalew is a painter who classifies her style as "abstracted reality." Buckalew was very athletic in her childhood and loved sports—but at the age of 13, she was diagnosed with a herniated lumbar disc. Over the next few years, Buckalew developed degenerative disc disease, which progressively worsened as she got older. She had a laminectomy at 16 years old, and had two artificial discs implanted when she was 21. Though she has lived with chronic pain for the past 10 years, Buckalew has always said, "Art is a great way to deal with chronic pain and the depression that comes along with it." Currently, Buckalew is interested in pursuing a career in Art Therapy, and is grateful at the chance to create and share her work with others.
What inspired you to get involved with art?
CAITLYN BUCKALEW: Being in chronic pain, life gets a little dark and sometimes difficult to see any kind of happy ending. I began painting and drawing at 13 when my back problems started. I used to play a lot of different sports but when my disc herniated—I was unable to do anything physical. Painting was therapeutic for me and it allowed an outlet for the anger, pain, and sadness that consumed me at an early age. So I’d say that life has inspired my art: All its complexities, all the beauty, pain and all the colors, and most importantly, all the people that surround me. I capture the duality of life. You never truly know good without knowing bad, or really appreciate light without experiencing darkness.
How has Art Ability changed your life?
CB: Art ability is a great program. And I believe other places should have more shows like these. For people with any kind of debilitating injury or condition, this may be their only way to express themselves. These people need this outlet to just stay level, have some hope, have something more than just the pain to create or even just look forward to. Being a part of this program also gave me real appreciation for the other artists as well as for the life I do have. Getting to meet some of the other artists helped me realize I need to stay motivated do everything I can to improve my own life, and to cherish it even when it hurts.
As an artist with pervasive developmental delay, Philly-based Daniel Neufeld can draw, paint, and photograph. He finds inspiration in nearly everything, from museum exhibits and nature to architecture. Neufeld enjoys creating colorful pieces in pencil, charcoal, pastel, pen and ink, watercolor, acrylic, and oil paint. He believes art "has helped me express myself by producing pictures to show that I can be understood when it comes to subjects I’m not clear or familiar with," especially because of his disability. He studied Fine Arts at Bucks County Community College, and has exhibited work in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Currently, Neufeld is also focused on printmaking, comic book art, and animation, and enjoys cooking, singing, playing the cello, and making and editing films when he's not working on his art.
What inspires your art?
DANIEL NEUFELD: I gained skills and talent in art through my mother, who happens to be an art teacher. I also grew up getting inspiration from images in art history and technique books. They helped me learn to see some things in the world differently and creatively in a unique way—maybe not as much as my mother and a number of other art teachers or professors did, but still did the trick.
How has Art Ability changed your life?
DN: Art Ability changed my life by [giving me the chance] to meet such wonderful people who turned out to be patrons totally interested in the field(s). Some of them have actually bought a number of my paintings and prints. The Art Ability gig also helped me in gaining more ideas and opportunities to display my own work at many other places in addition to the exhibition at the Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital.
To view additional works, and to learn more about the artists, visit our online gallery at art-ability.org. 414 Paoli Pk., Malvern, PA, 484-596-5607
