Riverside Arts: Week 3

*names have been changed for client confidentiality

This week I was able to work with some of my clients that I have been focusing on, but I was also able to talk to other clients about working closer with them next week. One of the artists I've been working with for the past couple weeks is *Stacy. The first time I worked with Stacy I gave her watercolor paints. Stacy filled the entire paper with color in a matter of minutes. The paper became so wet that it started to deteriorate. I realized that watercolor may not be the medium for Stacy. I asked my supervisor if I could use a canvas and acrylic paint with Stacy. (Canvases are normally reserved for the advanced class). I got the okay and the canvas worked out SO much better. Stacy was able to blend the acrylic colors and her brushwork left amazing patterns in the paint. She still needs some guidance of when to switch colors or  some direction about placement of colors. But this past week I noticed great progress in Stacy's confidence when it comes to making art.

Another client I continued to work with is *Eric. Eric is the client who does "Face2Face" portraits. Together, we created our own Face2Face piece. Eric chose the topic of the elements, so this week we began our painting.

The Elements Face: Portrait in Progress

I've noticed that Eric has some trouble when it comes to boundaries. I've talked to my supervisor about this, and she said that his job coaches have been working on boundaries with him for a while now. She said his boundaries used to be worse and he's made great improvement. But sometimes I feel a little uncomfortable around him. He often says that my parents "adopted him" and refers to me as "sis". I feel like this is crossing a professional boundary. I've decided that I might have to talk to my supervisor to find a way to talk to Eric about boundaries and once I finish this painting I will try to work with other clients to create a little distance.

Everything else has been fantastic at Riverside Arts. This week we hung a show at the Northampton YMCA. This was a great chance to see Riverside Arts's involvement in the community and a chance to talk to my supervisor. I was able to bond with my supervisor by hearing how she got the idea for an art program at Riverside and learned about her early career as a potter. I feel like this time was a great way to create a strong professional relationship with my supervisor because now I can understand her passion for the program and the artists involved.

Part of the Riverside Arts show at the Northampton YMCA

Until next week. Cheers!