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.
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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