"Flowerbox Window #2" by Jessica M. Keller, mixed media

Celebrating 10 Years of Creativity and Passion

Wendy Dimick is a high school art teacher in South Weber, Utah. One night, a few years back, her husband came home and discovered his wife lying on the floor with her head next to a canvas — trying to paint.

When the bewildered man asked what she was doing, Dimick replied that a new student in her class painted this way, and she wanted to experience the unique perspective for herself.

"Dusty Jeans" by Nancy Gale, pastels

The student was Elsha Stockseth, and the reason she paints that way is because she's affected by type 1 spinal muscular atrophy (also known as Werdnig-Hoffmann disease). At age 18, Elsha weighs a mere 24 pounds, and has the use of just one arm (her right).

Which is one more arm than is available to Dan Beacome. Beacome, of Alma, Mich., is affected by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and is unable to use either hand. So he paints with the brush clenched between his teeth.

But the unique styles of painting employed by Beacome and Stockseth — as remarkable as they are — aren't the real story here. The real story lies in the paintings themselves.

'But the Walls Look So Bare'

It was the summer of 1992, with outside temperatures well over 100 degrees and Telethon preparations under way, when MDA moved into its newly constructed national headquarters building in Tucson, Ariz.

The building had stark, bare walls coated with white paint so brilliant it almost hurt the eyes.

The original plan was to decorate the new building with a combination of Jerry Lewis memorabilia and art created by children at MDA summer camps. These pictures would brighten MDA's new building with their color, while serving to remind employees and visitors of the human core of MDA's mission.

Today, on the eve of its 10th anniversary, the MDA Art Collection consists of more than 270 pieces, representing all 50 states. The ages of the artists who've created these beautiful, thought-provoking works range from 2 to 82, and the Collection now contains everything from watercolor, oil and acrylic paintings to pencil-and-ink drawings, photographs, mixed media and sculptures.

'Hey, These Are Pretty Good!'

MDA field offices were simply asked to encourage submissions of art for possible inclusion in the Collection. The only "rule" was the art had to be original, and the artist had to be affected by one of the 40-plus neuromuscular diseases in MDA's program. The age restriction was quickly dropped.

Andrew Cameron of Fort Worth, Texas, who is affected by Becker muscular dystrophy, was only 9 when he became the first artist to answer MDA's request. He submitted a festive piece called "Amusement Park" — a collage he'd created in a school art class.

The three-dimensional piece comprises brightly colored strips of construction paper, some folded to create steps, and others looped into designs that resemble Ferris wheels.

Following Cameron's example, the Collection now features well over 100 pieces created by children — including a dozen pieces that were group projects.

Les Wolley and 'Mystical Peaks," acrylic, 4 x 6 feet

The Late Les Woolley and His 'Mystical Peaks'

Les Woolley was a 27-year-old former World War II paratrooper in 1950 when he noticed that the muscles in his hands were becoming steadily weaker. Some 16 years later he learned he had an unspecified form of muscular dystrophy. Ten years after that, he received a formal diagnosis of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

During those years of uncertainty regarding his condition, Woolley began to paint. As his muscles continued to weaken, his desire to paint intensified.

"Painting helped me release my anger," he recalled in a 1986 interview. "I began to believe that I could overcome my illness with my art."

Soon, Woolley found that he no longer had enough strength to hold a paintbrush. So he did what most painters affected by neuromuscular diseases do when confronted with the progressive loss of muscle strength and control: He developed a new way to paint.

The new technique, called the "drip method" — or, as his students described it, "the throw, flow, blow, drip and plop method" — soon won critical acclaim for Woolley's work, enabling him to support himself as a full-time artist.

"Sunflowers" by Jennifer Pattison, mixed media

When he wasn't painting, Woolley served as special arts coordinator for the Long Island, N.Y., Board of Cooperative Educational Services, working extensively with children with disabilities. He was also very active with MDA.

Two years after Woolley's 1990 death, MDA President Robert Ross received a letter from Louise Beyer, curator of Woolley's Centerport, N.Y., studio, which read:

"I know that Les Woolley would have been delighted to choose a painting for your Art Exhibit, so I am doing it in his place. He had named it "Mystical Peaks,' and I trust you will find it as beautiful as I do."

The painting was one of the first adult works to be accepted, and is one of the most popular pieces in the Collection. MDA was surprised when Beyer advised that the piece should be insured for $10,000.

"Silent Thoughts" by Brent Gauthier, pastels

Walls of Gold

Ariane Berman is a recognized New York artist, with works featured in the permanent collections of such prominent venues as New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Not only is Berman blessed with incredible talent, she's also affected by limb-girdle muscular dystrophy.

And the combined value of the three pieces she donated to the Collection — "Patio," "Teddy Bear" and "Shawl" — is also in the $10,000 neighborhood.

Receiving valuable works donated by such accomplished artists helped to define the real meaning of the MDA Art Collection: as a showcase for the talents of a broad range of artists. The Collection underscores an important fact: While a neuromuscular disease can rob a person of strength and coordination, it can't steal that person's talent, spirit and inner strength.

People like Les Woolley and Ariane Berman, along with such other professional artists as Milda Vizbar, Audrey Falk, Adele Feigenbaum, Sebastian Spreng, Paul Topkin, Harry Taylor and Lynette Battles — aren't just people with neuromuscular diseases who happen to be creative. They're really gifted artists who also happen to be affected by neuromuscular diseases.

And if the Collection's pieces by children are any indication, the best is yet to come.

The Blackhawk Museum in Danville, Calif., is showing its second exhibit of works from the MDA Art Collection.

Teaching Kids About Art

Prominent New York artist Milda Vizbar has won numerous awards for her work as an artist, designer and art instructor. She illustrates children's books, and has published two books featuring her own humorous drawings.

Affected by Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Vizbar not only has donated several pieces to the Collection — including works that have appeared as part of MDA's annual Holiday Wishes card series — she's also volunteered her time to conduct art workshops for children with neuromuscular diseases.

Following Vizbar's example, world-renowned marine life artist Wyland conducted a similar workshop at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu in April 1994. Wyland started by creating an "empty" undersea scene. Then he helped each of 11 Hawaiian children and young adults served by MDA to create an undersea creature to populate the scene. Not only did Wyland donate his time and considerable talent, he also provided the supplies used and underwrote all shipping costs.

Elsha Stockseth and "Giraffes at Sunset," watercolor

The finished product, titled "Under the Aloha Sea" and signed by Wyland and each young artist, has been valued at $15,000.

In August 1999, the MDA summer camp at Center Moriches, N.Y., (called Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck) was the site of an art workshop conducted by 3-D artist Charles Fazzino. Sixty New York City-area children helped Fazzino create "Summer Camp in the City," a stunning 3-D mural that combines self-portraits of participants with an array of well-known New York City landmarks.

Fazzino, who serves as an MDA national vice president, underwrote the costs of the workshop and the creation of the piece, which is valued at $60,000.

Not All Value Can Be Measured in $$$

The works of art in MDA's Collection are not — and never will be — for sale. Not at any price. They're shared with the public via MDA notecards, Holiday Wishes cards, in traveling exhibits and in tours of MDA headquarters.

"Amusement Park" by Andrew Cameron, construction paper collage

And all artworks are donated to the Collection by the artists.

"I was asked if I would consider 'loaning' one of my paintings to the MDA Art Collection," Dan Beacome recalls. "But after all MDA has done for me, there was no way I could 'loan' a painting; if they wanted it, they could keep it."

Beacome asked friends and relatives to choose which painting to donate ("I'm afraid I'm not a very good judge of which of my works are good," he says modestly). "'Old Barn' was an almost unanimous choice."

As the Collection draws closer to its 10th anniversary, its influence continues to reverberate throughout the MDA community.

For example, William Ross of Yonkers, N.Y. — whose watercolors titled "Heaven on a Summer Night" and "Twilight in Paradise" were accepted by the Collection this fall — is also affected by ALS. He says that seeing Beacome's "Old Barn" on an MDA-issued notecard — and reading that it was painted by a mouth-wielded brush — has inspired him to take up mouth painting, as well.

Young MDA Artists Grow Up

Craig Wilderman of Wadesville, Ind., had just entered high school when his two pieces in digital media, called "This Baby Shines" and "Autumn," were accepted by the Collection.

"I wasn't really thinking about much when I made them," he recalls. "You know how it is when you're in high school — you sort of have other priorities."

(left)"Batman" by Gerardo Jiminez, colored pencil drawing (right)"Autumn" by Craig Wilderman, digital media

Wilderman, who has spinal muscular atrophy, was prompted to send his work to MDA by friends and family. Even when his pieces were accepted, it still didn't occur to him that he was actually very talented.

"I didn't really take it seriously until one of my paintings turned up in Quest magazine," Wilderman recalls ("This Baby Shines" appeared in vol. 5, no. 3, 1998). "My mom opened it [the magazine] up and saw it there. It was pretty shocking to see that a national magazine had a piece of my artwork."

Earlier this year, Wilderman's "Baby" shone even more brightly at an MDA Art Collection exhibit held at the Owensboro (Ky.) Museum of Fine Art. Museum officials were so impressed they invited Wilderman to accept a summer job there, conducting art workshops for gifted children.

"Northern New England" by Edward Robinson, watercolor

With this kind of success under his belt, Wilderman has chosen a career in art, and is currently studying at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale with a view toward becoming either an artist or an art teacher. "I really liked working with the kids at Owensboro," he says.

Elsha Stockseth understands how Wilderman feels. After graduating from high school — first in her class — she now attends the Utah Career College in West Jordan and is pursuing a degree in multimedia/ computer graphics.

"I am only taking one class right now to see if I can handle it due to my limited strength," she reports.

She's also experimenting with a stipple technique, creating images by using a pen to put little dots on the canvas. She hopes the method will help to conserve her energy.

Both Wilderman and Stockseth report that they're working on new pieces to submit to the MDA Collection.

Coming Soon to a Gallery Near You

Luis Báez of Washington says he'd like to travel to MDA headquarters in Tucson to show his mother the two mixed media works he donated to the Collection, "Niña de Alicante" and "Paraguas."

But he'd better plan ahead and be sure his paintings will actually be on MDA's walls. Both were featured in an exhibit at the Sierra Arts/Metro Gallery in Reno, Nev., this fall.

"Niña de Alicante" by Luis Báez, mixed media

In fact, elements of the MDA Collection have now traveled to some 45 different exhibits across the country — meaning that some pieces in the Collection have amassed more frequent-flier miles than the artists by whom they were created.

The Dallas Museum of Art was the first to exhibit works from the Collection, in October and November 1992. Since then, works from the Collection have been displayed in airports, government buildings, art galleries, children's museums and libraries. The Collection has also appeared at conventions, an aquarium and even a casino in Las Vegas.

Of course, all pieces that aren't "on the road" remain on display at MDA headquarters.

Daniel Dunn knows a thing or two about the MDA Art Collection. As director of the prestigious Blackhawk Museum in Danville, Calif., Dunn helped exhibit the Collection in fall 1994 and was instrumental in arranging a return engagement that began Oct. 31 and continues through Jan. 13.

"We had such a good reaction from our visitors for the original exhibition in '94 that we're just really excited to do it again," Dunn says. "The MDA Collection is so broad and the appeal of that kind of collection for a place like this is that people — at all levels — will be able to see something that they can identify with."

Of course, Blackhawk won't be showing the entire Collection. At 270 pieces and counting, that simply wouldn't be practical.

"Tree of Life" by Christopher Cookson, oil

Each venue that agrees to exhibit part of the Collection gets to choose the individual artworks it will display. Exhibitors view only photographs of the artworks and select what to exhibit based on artistic appeal alone.

For example, when Beacome's "Old Barn" was selected for the first Blackhawk exhibit, the selection committee knew nothing of Beacome, his battle with ALS, or even that he painted with the brush between his teeth. All they had to go by was a photograph of the work itself.

For the current Blackhawk show, Dunn says, "I gathered four of my senior staff in a room, and we looked through a binder that MDA sent, containing photographs of the works. We started out by picking twice as many pieces as we could hold, and then had to narrow the list down."

After spirited debate, Dunn and his staff settled on a preliminary list — only to find that a couple of the works they'd selected were already on display somewhere else. The final list for the Blackhawk show contains 35 works from the MDA Collection.

"We looked at work on several levels — content, technical merit, appeal to a popular audience. We tried to be fairly eclectic with how we selected the works," he reported. "And I think our visitors will really appreciate and identify with the pieces we selected."

Dunn was pleased to see how far the Collection has progressed in the seven years since the first Blackhawk exhibit.

"When people ask me about this collection, I just say that not only is it a wonderful collection, but it's been in some of the best art museums in the country," Dunn says.

It's Your Collection

To celebrate the MDA Art Collection is to celebrate the very spirit of the MDA community. In a sense, the Collection belongs to everyone involved with MDA. It was created by the MDA community, and it continues to evolve and expand.

Some works from the Collection can be seen on MDA's Web site, at www.mda.org/commprog/art/. If you're planning a trip to Southern Arizona, call ahead to (520) 529-2000, and we'll arrange a tour for you to see the Collection.