Roarke goal: Seeing self in creativity

The art room of the Roarke Center in Troy was abuzz with activity. At one table, a man silently concentrated on gluing broken glass to a purplish background to create a collage. At another, a teenage girl painted a mask of her own face chocolate brown, while the middle-aged woman across from her painted a decorative plate.

Paula and the other 30 participants in the Roarke Center's art program were busy for a reason: They were preparing for a show of their work at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Chapel and Cultural Center in Troy. Titled "Textures of the City," the show runs from now through June 1.

Serving the poor

Located in the former St. Anthony's School building in Troy, the center also operates a food co-op that in two years has grown to resemble a successful mini-mart. People from about 100 households volunteer at the center to earn "points" that enable them to shop for their food choices.

A sewing program has stitched together a community of quilters who recently turned their talents to making baby clothes and pillows for the poor in Haiti. Every Wednesday, a 12-step recovery group meets at the center for those struggling with addictions. At the "Adult Learning Center," participants can learn English as a second language, study for a General Equivalency Diploma (GED) or gain valuable computer skills.

Human value

Often, those who come to the center need reassurance that they're valuable, as much as help with food or academics.

"They really need someone to say, `You can do this.' They've been told, `You're stupid,' or `You can't do anything.' Any criticism is taken very personally. We've got to do a lot of affirmation."

Being creative

"When I first came, I didn't feel as if I fit in," she said, narrowing her eyes at the memory. "But after you start getting involved in the program, you grow -- and it grows with you."

Her self-portrait was evidence of that. The face of a clown, it was divided into a happy and a sad half, jokingly decorated with blocks that represented "mental blocks" and screws attached to round objects -- "screwballs."

"I still have a ways to go, but I feel comfortable here -- secure, safe, accepted, happy," the artist said. "It improved my self-esteem."

Reassurance

* As Samantha showed off a complex, richly decorated mask she created of her face to be displayed in the "Textures of the City" show, she remarked, "I've never gotten a compliment about anything in my life." She hoped her family would attend the reception for the art show so that she could show them her self-portrait.

* Admilda chose "change" for the theme of her series of embossed prints. A year ago, "before I came here, it was the normal routine: Clean the house, take care of the kids," she explained. "Then I got interested in ceramics, printing. [The designs symbolize] the change I made in my life."

* Tammie never realized her own talent for art until she learned to make embossed prints of "found objects" at the center. Today, her work includes prints of soda-can tabs and even plastic-canvas grids that create a city skyline.

"It's a good program," she said simply, shaking her head as if in disbelief. "It taught me so much who I am."

Interaction

Adults aren't the only ones interacting at the center. Sister Florence Joseph, DC, set up materials for a mime class for participants in the center's new youth program as the sounds of the kids playing basketball in the gym echoed down the hall.

When the 12-to-15-year-olds have finished six lessons in the art of clowning, Sister Florence hopes they'll carry a banner in Troy's Uncle Sam parade and pass out tickets to the annual "Victorian Stroll." Center organizers said kids that age "spend too much time getting lost in the system."

Many programs

Plans are in the works for the Roarke Center to add a voter education program, which will explain the roles of local officials and major issues, and offer incentives to center participants who register to vote.

Other programs are always being considered. When center participants offered last year to plant a garden, Sister Hilary took them up on the offer. The fruits (and vegetables) of their labors will benefit the center's food co-op this summer. The director also hopes to collaborate with other religious orders in the future to address such issues as affordable housing.

Community effort

"I don't care if we serve a zillion people," the director stated. "We have to do what we do well."

As the art room settled down to murmured conversation, the slap of wet clay being formed and the gentle sound of paintbrushes on plaster, Sister Loretta agreed.

"They're looking forward to showing their work to people they've never met and sharing their experience," she said of the center's participants. Noting that the title for the self-portrait aspect of the show is "We the People," she added, "If we're looking at the textures of Troy, these people are the textures."

("Textures of the City" runs May 6-June 1, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at the RPI Chapel and Cultural Center, Troy. The show's opening reception is May 12, 7-9 p.m. Admission is free. Call the Roarke Center at 273-8351.)

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