LENOX, Mass. — Local nonprofit organization Community Access to the Arts (CATA) partnered with Mass Audubon's Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary to showcase artwork created by artists with disabilities.

 

The exhibit, titled “Light Through Leaves,” features approximately 60 pieces from about 50 artists, all based on landscapes they observed during field trips to the sanctuary and surrounding Berkshire County. The works are currently on display in the sanctuary's barn.

 

Chris Watford, CATA's communications director, described the long-standing collaboration.

 

 "CATA and Pleasant Valley have been partnering for opportunities for our CATA artists with disabilities to come explore the grounds here at Pleasant Valley and to make artwork inspired by the landscape of the Berkshires, and then culminate in an art exhibit here at Pleasant Valley that's showcasing the work of our artists with disabilities, with the community," he said.

 

The artists visited the grounds to learn about the sanctuary and the local natural environment.

 

"A lot of the CATA artists are from the area, have been coming here for a while. They really, I think, are impacted by their visit here and meeting with the educators who are sharing information about what's happening seasonally, what's specific about what's happening right now in the Pleasant Valley location," said Kara Smith, CATA program director.

 

The exhibit is free and open to the public. All artwork is available for purchase, with artists earning a commission from sales. The pieces offer the community a chance to see how the artists uniquely perceive the local landscape.

 

CATA Executive Director Margaret Keller highlighted the unique perspective the artists bring. 

 

"What I love about this show is that you see these incredible vistas and landscapes, but also your eye is drawn to the very details that are calling out to our artists to be noticed,” she said. “And I think there's something so incredibly beautiful about our artists helping to guide our eyes, the eyes of those of us out here in the community to beautiful, amazing things that we might have missed on our own walks through these very trails."

 

CATA continuously implements new art programs; this year's additions include photography and tactile models, allowing visitors to feel the textures captured in the photographs.

 

"We're providing new workshop opportunities for artists with disabilities responding to the needs and interests that they're having by developing new programs that are meeting those needs, and then the public gets to experience it here through in particular, the some of the photography is a relatively new program at CATA, and that has really blossomed the type of styles of photography that our artists are exploring," Watford said.

 

Mass Audubon Regional Director Becky Cushing Gop cherishes the partnership, noting the depth of engagement it provides. 

 

"I think our partnership with CATA it's a deeper engagement than a casual visitor. You know, we have lots of casual visitors to the all persons trail. It's beloved by many with CATA, every year have had an opportunity to, like, revisit a spot on the all persons trail and engage with some CATA artists. Year after year after year, we get to learn and see this beautiful place that we all love through the eyes of the CATA artists and the CATA faculty. So I think for us it's that reciprocity and learning and seeing the property in action. I mean, this is the whole purpose of Pleasant Valley: it's access to nature for people and a place for wildlife and flora to thrive," she said.

 

CATA partnered with the Bloomberg Connects app, a platform often used by museums. 

 

"CATA is working with them to create a kind of behind-the-scenes experience for visitors at the exhibit. So several of the works have QR codes. You can scan and learn more about the artist. You can see photos of the artists at work, you can watch video interviews with the artists. So we're looking for those opportunities to really bring the community closer into CATA's work, to bring our artists and community closer together," Gop said.

 

Watercolor artist Cindy Schuyler said she had fun picking the colors for her floral piece. 

 

"I love to do flowers, and I decided that I would do a beautiful flower. So I kind of figured, well, maybe a little bit of the white, red, and bingo," she said.

 

Photographer Eric Schumann captured a rock he found on the trail that reminded him of Balanced Rock. 

 

"I thought that would be a good picture, because it looks like somebody would sit on. Some ways it reminds me, except for the fact there's only one, a balanced rock," he said.

 

Artist Kellie Ward created a simple sketch with colored pencils and encouraged community support.

 

"Just come you'll be amazed that the works, because some of our artists are also visually impaired, and you'd be amazed that someone who's blind, at what, someone who's blind, can actually paint without actually seeing anything," said artist Kellie Ward.

 

The gallery also includes leaf prints and clay work. The exhibition is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Nov. 18.