Tusculum students help GVDC clients express themselves through art

A wall in one of the residential cottages at Greene Valley Developmental Center has been transformed into a kaleidoscope of color.

An eight-foot tall mural of pastel reds, blues, yellows, and oranges now stretches along a 35-foot long wall as the result of the effort of some of the clients who live at GVDC, with the help of a Tusculum College professor and student volunteers.

The mural is the latest project for a small group of clients whom Tusculum College art professor Tom Silva and his students have come to know and teach for the past three years. One day a week, Silva and the students, volunteering their time, have traveled to Greene Valley to help the clients learn how they can express themselves through art.

This volunteer program began a few years ago through a collaborative drawing exercise between Tusculum art students and the GVDC clients. This initial activity evolved into a printmaking experiment that evolved again into a greeting card making activity. For the better part of two years Tusculum students helped GVDC clients produce hand-made greeting cards that presented the artwork of the GVDC clients to the public.

Interactive activities between the Visual Arts Department and Greene Valley began early in the 2000-01 academic year. By volunteering at Greene Valley, Tusculum students "...gain a sense of accomplishment and valuable personal experience working with developmentally disabled individuals in a one-on-one setting," Silva said. "This is a point-of-view changing endeavor for both my students and for the clients at GVDC. A very powerful experience for everyone involved."

Recently one of the GVDC clients had a mixed-media art piece accepted into a regional art exhibition sponsored by the First Tennessee Bank, displayed in the Carroll Reece Museum on the campus of East Tennessee State University. This GVDC client and another joined two Tusculum students, Wanda Rahm and Melissa Gladwell, in having artwork accepted into the Appalachian Art Show on display at the Kingsport Renaissance Center. Silva is very proud of these accomplishments.

The GVDC Board of Trustees commended the group's efforts during a board meeting last November and has also recognized the work of Silva and his students.

The enthusiasm of the clients who work with the Tusculum students and Silva is apparent to visitors to Greene Valley. On a recent occasion, the clients bounded down the hall of the cottage to the mural in anticipation of painting, all happily greeting Matt Cook, the Tusculum student volunteering that day. After donning their smocks, the clients began to paint with encouragement and a little direction from Cook and Silva. A small crowd of staff members from Greene Valley stopped by to watch and give their encouragement. Direct caregivers of the clients report the progress of the mural has been followed by staff from each of the three shifts.