Arts Fest spreads awareness of learning disabilities By Brendan McNally COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Jane Jantzer-Wilson used art at the Sidney Friedman Memorial Park Thursday to explain to the public something she says is almost impossible to understand learn ing disabilities. Jantzer-Wilson, a volunteer with The Learning Disabilities Association of Centre County (LDACC) for 30 years, said the organization’s goal is to advocate for children, parents and teachers, as well as to raise public awareness about learning disabilities. “It’s really hard to understand what a learning disability is if you don’t have one,” Jantzer-Wilson said. That’s why the LDACC’s Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts booth featured simulation exercis es that give people a feel for what it might be like to have a learning dis ability, she said. ran? Order Food @ powered by StateCollege.com • Delivery • Take Out • Dine-ln GOTO PSUCOU.EGIAN.COM In the simulation, visitors were asked to trace a simple star, with one catch they could only see what they were drawing through a mirror. While children played instru ments at the neighboring booth the Instrument Petting Zoo and others gobbled down snow cones and kettle com, parents couldn’t help but laugh at the trouble they had tracing toe star. Each visitor had different prob lems completing the task, while others couldn’t complete it at all. Jantzer-Wilson said toe exercise simulates a writing disability and shows people how frustrating a learning disability can be. While parents and teens were being baffled by the simulation exercises, young children got toe chance to transform a plain, white piece of paper into art with paint. Karen Anstett, another 30-year volunteer with LDACC, said she had toe four-foot yellow easels built for toe first year toe group partici pated in Arts Pest and has been using them ever since. - “It’s fun to watch toe faces to see how excited they are to paint,” Anstett said. Some of toe children were so young they had never painted before, she said. The LDACC provided toe paper, paint and palettes, while toe chil dren supplied toe art. “We see a lot of rainbows and flowers,” Anstett said. “And we get a lot of abstract art.” A laundry line hung from three trees where dozens of paintings were hung up to dry and display. After painting his first master piece, child Gavin Smarkusky came back for more, yelling to his mother, “Look, I’m finger painting!” At first, Smarkusky was shy to explain his artwork. But eventually he warmed to toe idea and talked about his paintings. “That one is finger painting,” he Arts Fest patrons gather among specially trained dogs. said. “And this one is colors and ing back again another year, drawings.” “I might,” he said with a smile Smarkusky added he liked that one event enough to consider com- To e-mail reporter: bwmsl47@psu.edu
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