Our major snow event yesterday turned out to be a no show snow event ...just a day of rain and snow mixed and all in all, yucky weather; a good day to stay inside. Fast forward to today and imagine the lure of sun and bright blue skies punctuated by billowy white clouds; a definite invitation to take a long and very much overdue walk. Borrowing a clue from Norman, I decided to couple my walk with a purpose: I needed some deoderant. About eight blocks north is a dollar store; I remembered that I'd once seen the kind of deoderant I've used for 44 years: Tussy! Armed with my iPhone, listening to Mozart on Pandora, I turned on my MapMyWallk app - so cool; check it out and thanks Mary! and headed toward the store to get the deoderant. Arrived and no such luck.
On my return trip, I decided to walk back on the sunny side of the street 'cause it's a bit brisk, even though the temperature's in the mid 40s. And just after I crossed the street, I encountered this:
Naturally, my curiosity was piqued and in I went. Inside is a gallery and studio, Art Enables, a non-profit organization, featuring art made and in the process of being made by adult artists with developmental disabilities from the Washington DC metro area. Sixty percent of the proceeds from the art sold is given to the artist. The artwork - ranging from painted canvas, drawings, wooden birdhousees brightly colored with paints and design to fun one-of-a-kind shoes that have been turned into objets d'arte - is fascinating, colorful and of course, creative.
I plan to make a few return visits, buy a piece or two and donate some art supplies that I am never going to use. More importantly, finding this place and seeing the art inspires me to connect with my own art-making and creativity in a whole different way.
Ah yes, indeed art enables.