Creative Expressions Table
Hello everyone;
Welcome to the Creative Expressions table! Creative Expressions is a holistic program addressing the physical, emotional, cognitive and social needs of the people we support. It teaches skills and techniques that give individuals with disabilities and other challenges tools they can use to interact and engage with others in the community.
Our Art Program gives individuals access to a variety of mediums including drawing, painting, sculpture, book arts, printmaking, and digital animation guided by our art specialist to explore the unique mark each individual makes, influencing the world around them. Christin Lersch is our Art Specialist and has been with the agency for 15 years.
Music Therapy uses a wide range of musical experiences to promote the health and well-being of individuals by enhancing and transforming their lives. Nathan Merrill is our Music Specialist and has been at the agency for 5 years.
Horticulture at The Eberhardt Center greenhouse exercises all of the senses, from the smell of flowers and hands-on gardening, to enjoying freshly grown vegetables. Our horticultural specialist ensures individuals have year-round access no matter the weather. Chris Ellison is our Horticulture Specialist and returned to the agency at the end of last year in his new role.
Due to Covid-19, our classes were put on hold to keep the safety of the individuals that we support and our staff our top priority. However, much like the rest of the world, we were keeping the creativity flowing with virtual classes!
Christin created “Cat Toy Club” that met weekly to work on handmade cat toys that are being donated to Happy Tails. She also offered group and one on one classes to individuals.
Nathan hosts virtual Jam sessions several times a week. In the warmer months, he toured each of the houses and played outdoors. He also runs a group at Abbey Day Hab and the Silver Connections program weekly.
Chris rolled out “Nature’s Heroes” and has been offering in person classes to the individuals at Abbey Day Hab and the Silver Connections program weekly.
Chris and Nathan have also begun in-person classes for OARC residences at the Eberhardt Center.
By fostering creative development through the visual arts, music, and horticulture, individuals are encouraged to expand upon traditional methods of communication and explore alternate avenues of expression and interaction. Program participants are given the opportunity to create, build upon skills, express opinions, set goals, explore new media and engage in collaborative team building.
We invite you to have a “seat” at one of our virtual tables. The Creative Expressions team would love for you to “join” us! Additionally, we encourage you to participate in other ways such as our online auction, cash call, purchasing artwork or checking out our Creative Expressions video! We need your support now more than ever. The Wine Mixer is our second largest fundraiser of the year, and all the proceeds support our growing menu of services for the nearly 700 individuals that we support. However you choose to participate will help us recoup some of the dollars that we would normally raise.
Thank you!
(We recommend using Google Chrome to access the web page, as we have experienced difficulty with Internet Explorer)
Seats can also be paid for via check. Please make checks out to “The Friends of Ontario ARC Foundation” and mail to 3071 County Complex Drive, Canandaigua, NY 14424, Attention: Development. Please note in a letter or on the check which table you would like to “sit” at, or email this information to Shannon Twombly at stwombly@ontarioarc.org. Thank you!