Thanks to kindness and commitment, 24-year-old Jody Hanna has been able to expand her creative abilities.
Born with optic nerve hypoplasia, Hanna is blind.
A stem cell procedure in early 2012, funded in part through community funding, failed to return Hanna鈥檚 sight, but the irrepressible young woman has found a way to use her fingers to 鈥渟ee鈥� her artistic creations come to life at Inclusive Arts on Hudson Avenue.
鈥淭his is a small business so I couldn鈥檛 offer employment, but I said if she wants to come in and make things, I鈥檒l give her a section to sell her stuff,鈥� says owner Barb Belway of her response to Employment Service Centre job developer Carol Albrecht鈥檚 request. 鈥淪he started one day a week for a couple of hours and now comes in twice a week.鈥�
Hanna has her own little section, with her artist statement on the wall, and sold several items before Christmas.
鈥淪he鈥檚 super outgoing and friendly and likes chatting with people,鈥� says Belway. 鈥淗er things are quite beautiful and intricate; she takes a stretch canvas and applies items to create collages 鈥� very mixed media.鈥�
Belway says Hanna鈥檚 creations are dependent on her song of the day.
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鈥淗er very first one was a tribute to Michael Bubl茅鈥檚 It鈥檚 a Beautiful Day,鈥� she says. 鈥淪he took beads, buttons and paper. It鈥檚 very tactile and you鈥檙e supposed to feel it because it鈥檚 Jody鈥檚 expression of it.鈥�
With clay donated by Belway, Hanna is making her own buttons and beads in colours she chooses.
鈥淚 ask how does it make you feel? That鈥檚 the way she chooses, the way she experiences the concept of colour,鈥� Belway says.
鈥淲e discuss what would you like the project to feel 鈥� cool, wintry or hot summery, of sun and the beach? That鈥檚 kind of how I understand she views colour.鈥�
Belway encourages people to support Hanna by buying her various creative pieces of work.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not a charity; you鈥檙e getting something beautiful with a lot of love put into it.鈥�
The store does not take any of the proceeds from Hanna鈥檚 work. She takes home 75 per cent of her sales, with the remaining 25 per cent going to the Canadian Institute For the Blind.
For her part, Hanna is happy to report she is no longer bored and, while she likes working with clay, she much prefers her collages.
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鈥淭hey feel good, textured. There鈥檚 all sorts of textured things on it, with lines, ridges, stripes, bumps and pom pom balls, puffy bumps, sparkles, grooves and divots,鈥� she says with enthusiasm. 鈥淚鈥檝e been staying happy.鈥�
And that encourages Belway, who says a big part of what she does is to offer a place for people with special needs, who are under-represented, to enjoy creating art.
She has clients from Kindale, Shuswap Association for Community Living and Canadian Mental Health who are having fun and developing self-worth through projects that include painting, working with clay, ceramics, handicrafts and making seasonal objects.
鈥淭here鈥檚 always something you can do.鈥�
Albrecht meanwhile, says Belway is helping people with various barriers and giving them 鈥渙ne more step鈥� to find employment.
鈥淯nless you鈥檝e met Jody and seen her work, it鈥檚 hard to know all the things she can do,鈥� Albrecht says, praising Belway for her generosity and willingness to teach Jody new things. 鈥淏arb is phenomenal, so giving of herself and her talents.鈥�
Belway, a longtime artist, says she enjoys many aspects of art, including painting, sculpting, stained glass, pottery and drawing.
And anyone can take advantage of the art opportunities available at Inclusive Arts: daytime and evening pottery classes (hand-building and wheel), walk-in ceramic painting, weekly craft/seasonal projects, Kid鈥檚 Club, daytime classes for home-schooled kids, Saturday morning kid crafting, coffee and colouring with weekly prizes, along with a coffee and tea bar.
Inclusive Arts is also a gift shop featuring products and works by local artisans, pottery made on-site in the studio, art supplies, art colouring books, jewelry and novelties.
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