Madeline Stolp, Junior Art and Sociology major, shares about their internship at Elizabeth Gregory Home in Seattle, WA
Hello all! My name is Madeleine Stolp and I am a junior art and sociology double major. This summer I have had the pleasure of bringing art to the Elizabeth Gregory Home in Seattle, Washington. The Elizabeth Gregory Home (EGH) is a non-profit women’s shelter that seeks to accommodate the needs of women experiencing homelessness in the Seattle area.
One of the needs EGH was having difficulty accommodating was the need to be creative and use art as a safe outlet for self-expression. This summer I have been working to engage clients with a variety of art practices to expand their comfort with various materials and techniques. I also make art packets with pre-prepared materials for clients to take with them and I have facilitated a collaborative project to celebrate pride month.
EGH pride sign, clients worked together to color in each letter of the sign.
I have found that the clients enjoy seeing art done by themselves and others hung up in communal spaces. It’s important to celebrate their work, both to encourage the artist who made it and inspire others to give it a try. Many clients are hesitant at first because they claim not to be an artist and/or haven’t used the materials that we are using in a particular project. I try to remedy this by making my projects accessible for all skill levels while guiding them towards an end result they will be happy with. My most successful project by far is a watercolor project I did where I made these design outlines then traced them in glue. Watercolor is beautiful but oftentimes very difficult to control. Once the glue dried it acted as a barrier to prevent color from bleeding and making a muddy picture.
The space we do art in only recently became available to clients; it was the kitchen before. My first day I organized art supplies from donations in the now communal space to make them more widely available. The hope is for clients to go in on their own time and use the materials outside of the projects I do with them. It was slow going at first but as clients became more familiar with room and supplies through my projects, a few of them would go in and work on something outside of my time there. Even when I’m doing a project, there are some clients that have in mind something else they want to do, and I actively encourage them to explore that idea and do what I can to set them up with any materials they may need.
It has been wonderful to see more faces returning to my projects and confidence growing in their art abilities. This experience has made me think more about my long-term goals by allowing me to try out something I may like to do in my future. My majors of art and sociology have been blended in this internship allowing me to make connections between the two that I wouldn’t have before. I look forward to what the rest of the internship holds in store for me and am grateful for the experiences I have had so far.
Me standing next to art the clients have made during my projects.