Finding Reprieve Through Art
By Michelle Madden
Photographs by Ryan Lavine
When you get to the top of the steep, white steps at the Village Center for the Arts (VCA), you are greeted by an imposing, glass-paned purple door that looks like you should pull on the handle, but you’d be wrong: You push. The sign says, “This is our Norman door. Google it.” A tone of play is set even before entering. Once you do enter, look for the large fish tank containing three resident turtles. If you wish, bring them some worms. You can feed them yourself. Delight and whimsy is at the soul of VCA, where children and adults are invited to dive deep into the ocean of possibility that art provides.
The husband-and-wife team of Jayson Roberts and Sharon Kaufman founded VCA 25 years ago. Sharon had previously run Escape to the Arts in Danbury, offering classes like Art for a Quarter, where at 2 am—yes am—she would drive around the projects, encouraging kids to step away from poverty, crime, or simply boredom, and join her to create art at her studio.
Serving community is at the core of VCA. One of the most magical experiences is Open Studio, where you grab a bucket and wander through the Corridor of Imagination, “shopping” for supplies. Floor to ceiling, shelf after shelf, box after box sit buttons, pom-poms, feathers and marbles, pinecones, woodchips, fabric, and yarn. Fill your bucket, grab a glue gun, and for as long as you wish, let creativity take flight. “If you can imagine it, you can create it here,” says Roberts with glee. Oh, and all this is yours for just $12.
The Unexpected Artist program allows a student to come in anytime for free and work on a school-designated project—science, geography, history—accessing any materials they wish.
Another drop-in opportunity, for those short on time or patience, is the off-the-shelf pottery. Select a premade ceramic piece (a bowl or a bird perhaps), paint it with acrylic, and take it home the same day.
An added delight for acrylic painters is that, when you’re done, you bring your palette to the Splat Wall, which is just like it sounds: a huge wall where you splat or smear the remains of the pallet. “How many layers are there?” I ask. “Thousands,” says Roberts. “One area got so thick, it broke off. I’ve kept it as a cross section of all the artists that have come through here.”
Ready for more than a one-off? Take a class in printmaking, cartooning, creative writing, or pottery. “I come with my son every Friday after school to do pottery with a group of moms and kids,” says Brita Lombardi, who has been coming for two years with a group of friends. “Miss Sharon is exceptional at not only teaching but motivating and guiding.”
“We believe children should be treated not as little kids making art, but as emerging artists who just happen to be kids,” says Kaufman—a sentiment that has changed the lives of thousands. —villagecenterarts.org
