Using visual art to change lives

By Kathie Wagner
VSA Wisconsin

This summer VSA Wisconsin and Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center (MJTC) teamed up to form a new program partnership in which youth at MJTC worked with an artist and the facility’s recreational and speech therapy staff to learn ways to express themselves through art. Operated by the Department of Health Services, MJTC is a secure correctional facility located on the grounds of the Mendota Mental Health Institute. It serves the mental health needs of male adolescents transferred from institutions operated by the Department of Corrections, Division of Juvenile Corrections.

VSA Wisconsin, the state organization on arts and disability, designed and conducted a 30-hour program, which resulted in the creation of a mural that will be installed at MJTC.

During workshops, the students used familiar objects, materials and tools in new ways. To begin, VSA teaching artist Leslie Iwai encouraged the students to see the unique in the everyday. She asked them to create works of art using kitchen spoons, strainers and rolling pins. Next, the students learned “even marks have a voice” when they drew images with India ink. They drew familiar objects and found diverse ways to express the object with tools that they created. 

Iwai also helped the students explore printmaking using foam impression board. The following week she asked them to form a thought and create something with air dry clay. She then asked the students to draw an image of what they had made the previous week. In subsequent sessions the students used canvas, yarn, string, hole punches and more to explore their creativity. 

During each workshop, Iwai asked the students to write descriptive words and sentences about their artwork and then introduced them to the concept of making connections, which included working collaboratively on projects. All of the students created stunning works of art by working to their fullest potential. Throughout the program, the students learned to identify and express their feelings appropriately and honestly. They also developed positive relationships with peers, authority figures and other adults.

Rachel Fregien, a speech-language pathologist at MJTC, said this about the program. “I find myself getting emotional about the connections and positive moments we saw during groups. This is really something special. I think you do a wonderful job of bringing in your expertise all while teaching these boys valuable skills about communication, self-expression, vulnerability and connecting with others.”