Mar 11, 2008 5:45 pm US/Eastern
A Stroke Of Artistic Genius For Special Children
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
A creative artist can sometimes paint a picture along the lines of a Jackson Pollock, or Pablo Picasso, even a Gustav Klimt or Wassily Kandinsky. But a special children's art therapy in Miami can produce works of art one would consider nothing less than rare and priceless.
Ilani "Lani" Gutman is an artist with special needs. "I cannot paint with my hands physically."
Lani is part of a program called Artistic Realization Technology, or ART.
She picks the canvas, the colors and the brushes, and then uses a laser pointer to tell her specially trained tracker where and what to paint.
"It's allowed me to express myself," explained Lani.
Maria Cristina Arrazola runs the program at Miami's Creative Children Therapy. When asked what she thinks the children get from this therapy, she explained, "The artists get a way to release what they have inside of them."
Many times these artists are not able to express what they have internally, and in art they are able to release their emotions, any frustrations, or joy that they may be feeling.
The result is often extraordinary.
Many of these artists use non-traditional tools like a spoon, or even a tennis ball, and the result can be something experimental, or something a bit more traditional, though one thing all the artists have in common is that their paintings come from a place deep inside.
Jean George Heraux is one of the program's most prolific painters. "I just come here and suddenly inspiration comes to me," he said.
His latest painting is titled "Looking Through Different Lenses."
Amy Rodriguez is trained to assist both artists, saying "If you have a vision in your head, and you try to get it out, imagine not being able to do that."
Some of the artists can't speak, some only blink, or move their head.
"That's the main training," added Rodriguez, "trying to connect with them, trying to get their vision out."
If you'd like to find out more or donate to the program, click on Miami's Creative Children Therapy, located at 12608 SW 88th St., or call (305) 412-4177.
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