Stone Belt Art & Craft Artists Create from their Own Vision
In honor of Disability Awareness Month, the Indiana Arts Commission is hosting an exhibit of mixed media mosaics created by the artists at Stone Belt Art & Craft in Bloomington. This is their story.
Carolyn Abbitt wasn’t really interested in the Art & Craft program at Stone Belt in Bloomington. One of the original clients of Stone Belt, she wouldn’t even step foot into the art room. Eventually, she began helping staff separate donated materials such as yarn, fabric, and sequins and slowly became more comfortable being there. Now one of Stone Belt Art & Craft’s best selling artists, Carolyn sometimes creates three whimsical animal-themed 
pieces a day. “Carolyn has gained self-confidence, she’s happier, and she comes into the art room everyday and goes right to work,” says Larry Pejeau, Director of Sales and Marketing at Stone Belt.
Stone Belt was started 50 years ago in the basement of First Baptist Church in Bloomington by 9 families who wanted to provide educational services for their children with developmental disabilities. Their mission: to prepare, empower and support persons with developmental disabilities and their families to participate fully in the life of the community. Since then, Stone Belt has grown to include residential services, day services, life training, an outpatient clinic, volunteer work in the community, and their Art & Craft program.
Stone Belt Art & Craft began as a small community outreach project, where Stone Belt client drawings were transposed onto large banners. These banners were placed in public areas, such as Indiana University and Bloomington City Hall, where anyone walking by could contribute to the banners by adding donated yarn and fabric to create unique mixed media mosaics. Each banner was carried to different locations until they were finished and hung in downtown Bloomington. “People were asking if they could buy one and it started from there and evolved tremendously over the years,” says Pejeau. Tremendously indeed, you can now purchase framed mixed media mosaics created entirely by Stone Belt clients. “Patrons will soon be able to purchase mixed media mosaics online or can 
commission one of the 30 Stone Belt artists to create family portraits and pet mosaics. Our artists have even created things for corporations…they completed 85 mosaics for a company to give as Christmas gifts last year,” explains Pejeau. Each time a piece is sold, the artist gets a commission for drawing the original concept and the artists who fill in the drawing with donated materials receive an hourly wage. Stone Belt only receives a small percentage of the sale to support the program and purchase supplies. One artist, Sandy Gaskins, has made enough money to purchase her own bedroom suite. These mosaics have expanded the horizon of possibilities and items Stone Belt Artists sell now include note cards, oil paintings, watercolors, pastels, 3 dimensional sculptures, leather bookmarks and wooden patio furniture and birdhouses.
All of these ventures come back to that initial mission statement created 50 years ago. “Allowing our client artists to create from their own vision has really been a transformative power. And it breaks down barriers within the community, as well,” says Pejeau.
You can take a look for yourself by visiting the Stone Belt Art & Craft exhibit on display at the Indiana Arts Commission located at 150 W. Market Street, Suite 618 in Indianapolis now through May, 2009. For more information on Stone Belt Art & Craft, please visit http://www.stonebeltartandcraft.com/.
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