Cobb Close-Up
Tucker McQueen - AJC Staff
Thursday, February 23, 2006

'We are the exception to the rule'

Jim Slattery, the resident artist at the Cobb and Douglas Community Services Board, helps people with developmental disabilities find more meaning in their work and lives.

Works done by disabled people at the board's three centers, in the Bridge to Community Art Project, are popping up in homes and galleries in Cobb County and around metro Atlanta.

A local homeowner recently commissioned a mosaic tile turtle for the bottom of his swimming pool. And an art gallery appraised one of the center's larger paintings at $2,600. Slattery said the next goal is to do art in public buildings, offices and lofts.

"No one would ever guess that the work we do here is made by people with disabilities," Slattery said. "We are the exception to the rule."

Slattery, who says he has severe learning disabilities himself, understands the people at the centers in Smyrna, Austell and Douglasville. He teaches staff members at the centers how to work with clients and develop their artistic skills.

The clients, who come to the centers daily, work on projects together and get 60 percent of any profit. That gives them something for their work, but not enough to affect the disability benefits they may receive, Slattery said.

On a recent rainy morning at the Smyrna center, a small group worked on wooden trays that they covered with mosaic tile. In another room, a dozen artists worked with a pattern to create a brightly colored mosaic angel.

Finished pieces line shelves in a shop at the front of the center. Pottery bowls and dishes sell for a few dollars and "See Rock City" birdhouses for about $18. Folk art paintings are more expensive.

Nancy Brooks-Lane, director of mental retardation and developmental disabilities for the Community Services Board, said the program is part of a national change in mental health care. The clients at the three local centers aren't segregated from the rest of the world. They are out in the community, selecting supplies for projects and visiting galleries.

"When they are viewed as different, it causes them physical and emotional distress," Brooks-Lane said. "Our mission is to eliminate stigma."

The artwork is sold at the Smyrna Excel Center, 770-434-7911; the Austell center, 770-948-1411; and the Newdirection Center in Douglasville, 678-214-0291.