- November 29, 2024
-
-
Loading
Loading
Though Very Special Arts Volusia is no more, Barbara Wolfson will continue to fight for artistic recognition for the special needs community.
Barbara Wolfson is holding a piece of paper with a very long list artists that will be involved in her upcoming exhibition. She reads off each of their names, and recalls the stories of their lives. Some longer than others, but each given with an anecdote so personal, you know she heard it first-hand. She doesn’t need to look at her notes, or even take too much time recollecting her thoughts; these stories are memorized on her heart. These are the stories of her friends.
“Marcia Bobbitt, it took her six years to exhibit with us,” Wolfson said. “She had cancer of her arm when she was in college, and she was an art major. It was amputated. She didn’t think she had a disability, though it’s difficult for her to do things. So I said ‘Marcia, yes it’s not earth-shattering but what has art done for your life?’”
Bobbitt, who refers to Wolfson as the “heart and soul” of their community, said it took her a long time to be confident enough not only work with her left, less dominant hand, but also display the art she had been creating since her amputation. It was both Wolfson and her students at Mainland High School that gave her the final push to join Very Special Arts Volusia.
“It gives us an opportunity to inspire other artists that are struggling with similar issues,” Bobbitt said. “Barbara was after me for years, but when you’re disabled, you don’t want to pegged as disabled. I didn’t want to be in a group for just disabled artists. But I would see some of my students that had graduated, and they would come up to me and say ‘You are such an inspiration to me.’ So I thought if these kids could get something out of it, maybe I could help other people too.”
It’s that type of motivation that has encouraged Wolfson’s drive to continue even after she got word that Very Special Arts Volusia would no longer be Very Special Arts Volusia.
According to VSA — the program’s new name — Regional Director Pat York, the Volusia chapter has closed due to a lack of county funds. The organization will still continue to provide opportunities for the special needs community, just not at Barbara Wolfson-level.
“Barbara did a lot of extra stuff that the state does not provide,” York said. “Her exhibitions, the theatre program and the talent show, she did all that through the county. She really has gone over and above for Volusia way more than most counties.”
A PTA mom who had always been involved her children’s school activities, Wolfson first became involved with the special needs community in 1985, when the superintendent of schools asked her to serve on a state committee to represent gifted students. She went on to serve as the county director for Very Special Arts for over 20 years.
“I was a duck out of water,” she laughed. “But it’s a very giving community. I just felt so fortunate to work with so many parents of exceptional people who see the big picture and don’t get bugged down by politics. We’re the people who just keep on plugging.”
Though none of her four children are disabled, she grew up with a cousin who was mentally handicapped, and saw the effects it had on her family. She experienced the therapy art can have on those with medical issues, when she was diagnosed with stage four cancer and had to stay in the hospital.
“It’s about focusing on what you can do,” she said. “The fact that I had done so well I attribute it to working with the special needs community. I’m a troubleshooter, not an arts person.”
Karen Ann Patton said Wolfson approached her three years ago, when she was going through radiation at the hospital for breast cancer and her husband had just had a stroke. Though she does not have a mental or physical handicap, Barbara opened her art exhibits to those who’s troubles need to be expressed. Patton was happy to sign up.
“It gives people an incentive to try their hand at art and forget their problems, which happens when they’re painting,” Patton said. “It really is very important for people with problems to let go of them and get involved.”
Though York said the VSA hopes to continue to help Wolfson with her projects, she will have to rely on other sources of contribution to continue what she’s done.
Wolfson has a few ideas on what she’s planning to do next, but she’d rather keep them to herself for now. She will continue to organize events like the popular Talent Night, and is currently curating an art exhibit at the Ormond Beach Performing Arts Center that will run for a few months this year.
“I will continue to promote opportunities for the people I’ve worked with all of these years,” Wolfson said. “I believe in what it does.”
What programs will VSA still offer?
For more information, visit www.vsafl.org or email Pat York at [email protected].
