artAbility 2024-25 In its eleventh year, artAbility continued to provide a social and artistic outlook for adults with disabilities in the Moscow area. Emily Pearson took over from Alena Ramkissoon as Project Coordinator and led participants through six workshops over the course of the academic year. All workshops featured a nature theme, starting off with Tule Weaving and Natural Planters. Gia Paul showed participants how to make mats and planters using tule reeds and other natural materials. Gia returned for workshop number two. This time, she showed participants how to make canoe planters out of tree bark. Special Effect Watercolor rounded out the first semester’s workshops. The second semester started with Painting with Nature, where participants learned how to make brushes and inks out of natural materials. This was followed by Plein Air Oil Painting, led by Matt Aiello. This two part series had participants on campus, painting the natural landscapes surrounding them. In usual artAbility fashion, the year was capped off with our annual Showcase. Another success, it featured artwork from all participants throughout the year. We were also able to display results from our artAbility mapping project, which started at our ten-year anniversary Showcase. It displayed all of the memorable moments community members have shared about participating in the project. Workshops Tule Weaving, Sept 29 Canoe Planters, Oct 13 Special Effect Watercolor, Oct 27 Painting with Nature, Nov 19 Watercolor Weaving, Nov 7 Plein Air Oil Painting, Mar 23 Plein Air Oil Painting, Mar 30 Enter the Showcase Meet the 2024-25 Project Coordinator Fun fact about this year’s Project Coordinator – she learned about the CDHD and our student trainee program by acting as a natural support at previous artAbility workshops! Emily Pearson will be taking over the Project this year. She officially joined our team of student trainees last spring. She’s originally from the Boise area and is currently working on her elementary education degree with an endorsement in special education. Emily is excited to lead the Project as she loves the community that artAbility creates for its participants. She's looking forward to taking an active role in cultivating the positive energy the Project is known for. September workshop (PDF) October workshop (PDF) October workshop (PDF) November workshop (PDF) March workshops (PDF)