"We are capable, and we are here."
Throughout history, people have shown a remarkable ability to overcome challenges with resilient innovative ingenuity and healing. Individuals with disabilities, both visible and invisible, defy society’s labels and continue to thrive in their creative endeavors, despite facing obstacles that many individuals unaffected by disability or neurodivergency might not fully understand.
The Accessible Artist, curated by Danielle Ellie Nielsen, provides a space for artists with disabilities to share their art and fine craft that, by nature, speaks of or to the experience of the artist’s disability. This may be the challenges the artist faces, or a celebration of their disability. The artists’ diagnosis or identification may be physical, mental, developmental, psychological, or otherwise invisible. Given the pressures of society to conform and fit a particular standard of behavior and functionality, this exhibition allows them to express themselves fully, free from the constraints of shame, guilt or fear.
Brookfield Craft Center would like to thank Young’s Fencing, located in Ridgefield CT, for their generous sponsorship of this exhibition, and making this possible for so many artists.
Mary is one of the top figure models for art classes across CT. Through different challenges she has faced, Mary’s work is a reflection of how “we don’t stop to think of what that person is going through; we just seem to want to tease, discriminate, and make fun of them. I rose above my disability.”
A mixed media 3D sculpture in which Barbies™ portray the pain inflicted on individuals who do not appear the same as others. This piece shows the importance of supporting one’s self-worth in a life faced with traumatic events.
The Cutting Board
24”x18”x14”
Mixed Media; Air drying clay, magazine clippings, acrylic painted foam, gel pen, Barbies™, glue, found objects
2024
Matt Bronocio
Matt is a member of SPHERE CT, located in Ridgefield, CT. SPHERE’s mission is to enrich and enhance the lives of adults with disabilities through education, recreation and the arts while fostering and nurturing relationships between our members and our communities.
Mezuzah One
7”x2.5×1.5”
Cone 6 Stoneware
2024
Mezuzah Two
5”x3”x2”
Cone 6 Stoneware
2024
Rabbit and Flowers
8”x10”
Mixed Media; Acrylic on canvas board, paper, marker
2024
Alan Brooks
Alan has been drawing his whole life. But whether it is just for fun or for building a portfolio, Alan’s skill with a pencil displays creative craftsmanship. Alan was born with congenital cataracts and his corneas were removed at birth. This has presented a few issues when it comes to visual art. Memories of childhood and being enamored by comic books inspired Alan to create worlds that anyone could go to. “So poor eyesight or not, it is what brings me joy and I intend to just keep creating art.”
Dancing in the Kitchen
11”x17”
Pencil, Bristol Board
2023
Clever Girl
11”x17”
Pencil, Bristol Board
2024
Night of the Satyrs
11”x17”
Pencil, Bristol Board
2024
Wendy Clery
Based in Brookfield, CT, Wendy Clery works in acrylic, watercolor, digital, and mixed mediums. She finds inspiration in the feminine divine and the daily lives and strength of women. Her most recent series focuses on goddess figures as an expression of the universe, holding power in an imperfect existence. Ms. Clery lives with multiple chronic illnesses that can affect her ability to hold what many consider to be a regular job due to unpredictable symptoms. This impacts her subject as well as her medium from time to time, particularly when pain is overwhelming. Thankfully, art does not require a specific schedule and creativity can be applied in many different ways.
Book and Cover
30”x12”x8”
Mixed Media; Acrylic on plastic base, with brown paper and acrylic sheeting 2023
How the Light Gets In
48”x24”
Mixed Media; Canvas, acrylic, thread, gels
2023
Alder Crocker
Alder H. Crocker is a tetraplegic, 85% paralyzed from the upper chest down, with no use of his fingers, the result of a freak accident in 2018. Miraculously, he awoke from surgery with the ability to paint – the beneficiary of Acquired Savant Syndrome – as the accompanying traumatic brain injury had uncovered latent artistic ability. Alder’s fascination with the globally diverse artistic styles that comprise the origins of visual communication, especially hieroglyphics and symbology are reflected in all of his work. He is a lifetime member of the Silvermine Guild of Artists.
The Hatter’s Return
48”x36”x2 ”
Semi-gloss latex over acrylic on canvas
2021
Visions 2023
36”x48”x 2”
Semi-gloss latex over acrylic on canvas
2023
Moonsigns
36”x36”x 2”
Semi-gloss latex over acrylic on canvas
2022
Owen Haldin
Owen Haldin is a 19-year-old autistic high school graduate from New Milford, CT, who currently attends Litchfield Hills Transitional Center. Inspired by Star Wars, trains, planes, battleships and anime, his process involves acting out his characters and recording the dialogue, designing the action and movement on an iPad using ProCreate, creating 3D Lego and paper models, and shooting movies. Owen is a long-time summer student of Robotics and Beyond, a STEM-focused educational program in New Milford where he learned 3D modelling and printing, graphic design and animation.
Union Pacific Model Train
Mixed media; Legos, paper, Marker
Year: 2024
Dragon Pilots Reenactment
3D drawings on paper using markers
2024
Star Wars Fleet of Manners (trailer)
ProCreate Animation
2m 24s
Mark Just is a musician and painter who was born in Arlington, Virginia. The arts were always a huge part of his life. As a child, he loved being outdoors and listening to the music of great guitar players like Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page of Led Zepplin, and Paul Stanley of Kiss. In the late 90’s, he taught himself to play the guitar, performed on stage in a band, and owned a music store with a friend. In 2012, he had a car accident caused by a seizure that began a ten-year recovery journey. Though Mark had to relearn many things including the guitar, today he is thriving and continuing his artistic path through playing music and now painting. These creative practices have improved his memory, relieved stress, and provided a new sense of accomplishment.
Mark’s work was accepted but not displayed.
Lifetime Journey
16”x20”
Acrylic on canvas
2024
Cameron Kirke is a member of SPHERE CT, located in Ridgefield, CT. SPHERE’s mission is to enrich and enhance the lives of adults with disabilities through education, recreation and the arts while fostering and nurturing relationships between our members and our communities.
Blue Composition
11”x14”
Acrylic on canvas
2024
Jen Krout is an artist and jewelry maker from Bristol, CT. Jen primarily draws her creative inspirations from nature and the macabre to produce one-of-a-kind art pieces. As a stroke survivor, she experiences a challenging vision impairment called Hemianopia, which disrupts visual pathways. Jen’s exceptional talents span a variety of mediums that include jewelry making, sculpture, painting, and drawing.
A New Outlook
11”x14”
Acrylic on canvas
2024
Mary has a deep love for Mother Earth and all of her creatures on this planet. Mary advocates for saving any endangered animals of poaching, and highly encourages replanting forests wherever possible. This inspires her in all of her art, and she finds herself painting all domestic and wild animals, and is inspired by natural forms such as trees, butterflies, mushrooms and the ocean for years reminded of time spent with her father in nature.
Mary was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis 12 years ago and it’s settled in her hands. She’s had 7 spinal surgeries, and has found relief in painting. “My painting skills have changed over the years as I was once a fine painter, I now paint Abstract, Expressive or Primitive works. My decline in my hands opened me to a new world of adaptations. I experimented with new tools and found they work well with my disability. I enjoy creating whimsical stories in my art with this magical world. Many of my paintings tell personal tales of healing.”
Spring Goddess
11”x14”x2”
Mixed Media; Acrylic on canvas, yarn, material, flower application
202424
Rachel is a 25 year-old woman with autism, an intellectual disability, and a seizure disorder. She has very limited language skills. When she picks up a paintbrush, she is incredibly focused and clear in her color and brush choices. Her verbal and physical tics are non-existent while she is engaged in painting. She has a clear vision of what she wants to create and defines when it is ‘done.’
Swirl
16”x20”
Acrylic on canvas
2024
Grace Miller-Kaggwa’s one-of-a-kind art pieces incorporate traditional needlework alongside the vibrant use of color. Despite being affected by hemiparesis, her creative talents put a spin on images of historical figures and icons, as well as express her brain injury rehabilitation journey. Grace expressed a heartfelt parallel between the challenges of her subjects and herself.
Based off of Steve McCurry’s 1984 photograph of Sharbat Gula.
18”x24”
Mosaic on wood
Frida Kahlo
18”x24”
Mosaic on wood panel
Keven currently holds three quarters of a BFA in Photography. Keven has exhibited internationally in London, at the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury, has had a one woman show, a photojournalism piece on the homeless for John C. Daniels, the former Mayor of New Haven, CT, and exhibited locally especially with the Ridgefield Guild of Artists. “Eclectic is how I see my photographic endeavors. Whatever is intriguingly captured, after passing my perusal, is hopefully delivered for viewing. I rarely enhance or alter a full frame photograph.”
Future experimenting will be in black and white street photography and abstract cold wax collage.
Fairfield Hills
16”x20”
Photography
2021
Purple Iris
16”x20”
Photography
2020
LaRey Pablo is an incredibly talented self-taught painter and collage artist. With wide-ranging skills in a variety of mediums, LaRey is an inspiration to many of her friends from the brain injury community. LaRey takes inspiration from iconic imagery while adding her own unique and creative twist. As a stroke survivor, LaRey experiences hemiparesis and expressive aphasia which has an influence on her creative process and expression.
Grey Untangled
18”x22x” in frame
Collage on cardboard
2023
Untangled Trio
7.75”x 28”
Paint on wood, skateboard
Greg Pastore, a Massachusetts native, was a ski instructor and supervisor while gearing up for a career in chemistry. Chaos and order characterized his life, and going “all-in” was his philosophy. He currently believes this mindset is what led him to ski recklessly one day in 2013 which caused a stroke. Today he finds order in his recovery that offsets the underlying chaos. As a writer he enjoys using words to express himself and visual art is a new medium he finds worth exploring. He looks forward to the days when his progress leads him back to the mountain.
Yin & Yang
11”x14”
Acrylic on canvas
2024
Shanon describes art as a way for her to process the world, “whether it was the small miracles of everyday existence, or the much more complex challenges of dealing with my mental health journey and discovery, or the very real fears and grief I have experienced. Art has been both an outlet and balm to soothe my mind.”
Shannon’s uncle passed in 2022 from alcohol addiction related illness. His wish would be to consumed by carrion birds. Since this was not possible, she processed his death and fulfilled his wish by creating this painting of her favorite tattoo of his, juxtaposed with a griffon vulture.
For Scott
24”x24”
Acrylic on canvas
2022
Sean Santori of Ridgefield, CT, is 25 years old who was born with a disorder of the corpus callosum. In addition to being neurodivergent, Sean has Dysgraphia, a disability of written expression, which affects the ability to write. From birth to three, through high school and even college, Sean hated “Arts & Crafts” and he would be angry if presented with a pen and paper. He much preferred using the iPhone technology we have available today. Until, one summer, the family enrolled in a painting class in which the instructor came to their home and provided private instruction. Sean painted that day for three hours straight and he created an abstract horse which hangs in the home of a beloved neighbor. In 2023, Sean forged a new relationship with another artist, and she introduced him to mixed media, a combination of spray paint, pallet knives, acrylic paints, and markers to create another canvas. Sean’s piece, “The Red One,” was honorably displayed at Queen B Coffee Company, located on Main Street, Ridgefield.
The Red One
2’x4’
Mixed media; Spray paint, pallet knives, acrylic paints, and markers, canvas
2022
Under the Sea
18”x24”
Mixed media; Acrylic paint, pallet knives, canvas
In this collection of work, Nicholas captures the feeling of fleeting youth as a teenager who has autism. In his teenage years, he’s almost been forced into masking his nuerodivergency in attempts to appear ‘normal’. “This collection is the experience of me acknowledging my childhood after it has already left me, making me feel abandoned and left behind, grasping at what youth is left in me. “Self Portrait”, shows how masking in those years has left me sitting idly, staring into the life I could’ve lived. Surrounded by the remnants of others who grew up in front of me, I stand in shock looking at all that’s left, and how alone I really was. In “Progression”, I visualize what it feels like to move forward into adulthood. In such a scary unfamiliar place finding the right way to go isn’t linear. Sometimes we aren’t ready to move forward, but we have to keep moving.”
Progression
8.5”x11”
Photography
2024
Lesley’s explorative paintings capture an essence of nature and curious freedom. Lesley is a brain injury survivor and has her fractured T12, spine & dislocated her (c-4/5 reconstruction) neck and other sports injuries, including a motor vehicle accident. Recently, she has been diagnosed with Graves’ disease. Lesley describes her work and process as “life starting with wondrous eyes. Nature, art; creating and immersing. Such an elaborate challenging path. Curious, imaginative weaving elaborate achievements with imposing thwarts. I hope I successfully align with my duties, destiny, challenges to succeed at being the most bountiful me I can be. Forever flowing with at times imposing creative drive; hampered by exhausting pain and wanting to be honorable to share inspiration and be received excellently.”
11”x14”
Mixed media; Paper, colored pencil, acrylic, paint, watercolor, and canvas board
2024
My Brain and Mind Are Still Amazed.
12”x9”
Acrylic paint on wood panel
2024
I aim forward; I’m compressed and exploding. I look backward.
16”x20”
Mixed media; Acrylic and markers on stretched canvas
2024
Ray (they/he) is a disabled, queer artist and writer from Dallas, Texas to Stamford, CT, who has exhibited work across mediums such as relief printmaking, digital art, watercolor, and acrylic painting. He makes work surrounding his experience with disability and nature.
Slow Poke
11”x14”
Digital Art
2022
In Nature
10×10”
Digital Art
2023
Slow
11″x14”
Digital Art
Over a decade ago, Jennifer’s world changed suddenly and her vision resembled a television with poor reception. Jennifer has found sentiment in sunsets after her diagnosis of Visual Snow Syndrome and finds them to be a beautiful reminder to pause for a moment and breathe. Jennifer spent years re-learning how to function, read, and carry-on with her career with her new diagnosis. She took to photography, especially photographing sunsets to help ease her uncertainty and anxiety. Moreover, to capture beautiful moments clearly, that at times she couldn’t see with the naked eye.
Just Breathe
5”x7”
Photography
2019
AT Walker is a member of SPHERE CT, located in Ridgefield, CT. SPHERE’s mission is to enrich and enhance the lives of adults with disabilities through education, recreation and the arts while fostering and nurturing relationships between our members and our communities.
Shark I
10”x10”
Acrylic on canvas
2024
In 2019, after a rapid decline in health, Natasha was diagnosed with a rare connective tissue disorder, called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. With multi-system illnesses and significant spine injuries affecting her hand function, Natasha was “carried out of the life I knew. As my usual ways of creating became untenable, I taped paper to the floor and used my feet as paint brushes.”
While having regained some of her physical capacity since 2019, she still returns to this practice as a way of integrating her creativity with how medicalized her life has become. By creating in a way that is safe for her body, she moves with curiosity and joy, states that can feel elusive when chronically unwell, and discovers new storylines free from the constraints of injury, illness, and grief. This dance between what is injured and what is free becomes a practice in integrating the painful and sick parts of herself with the colorful and hopeful parts. “And for a moment, twirling in my home studio in my pajamas, I move beyond the limitations of chronic illness and am full of the possibility of being alive. With paint on my feet, I document it permanently.”
Danielle Ellie Nielsen
The Accessible Artist exhibition is a long-aspired first for curator Danielle Ellie Nielsen, a high-functioning/low-support needs autistic neurodivergent artist with multiple disabilities both physical, mental, and psychological, most comorbid with autism. Fueled by her own experiences and observations, Nielsen reflects how “The word disabled has too often been used to reflect insignificance. A person’s worth is not defined by their inability to perform at the stereotypical and predefined standards of society.”
Danielle Ellie is a WCSU graduate with a BA concentration in illustration and completed the full Kathwari Honors Program. She has worked with companies such as Tumblr Inc. and Amazon Prime Video, and practices digital illustration, creative writing and editing, and is currently exploring meditative crafts and fine art. Nielsen integrates her creative work with managerial and editorial organizational communications. Since April of 2023, she works at BCC as an arts administrative registrar and accessibilities coordinator, acting as liaison for individuals with disabilities as well as the point-of-contact for resolving inquiries regarding disability accessibility and ADA compliances.
