Overcoming challenges to create beautiful art

From Aug. 17 to 31, the walls in the multimedia room at the Kirkland Library will be covered with exceptional art by two exceptional artists from across the western region of Montreal.

Sonya Kleinsteuber of Lachine and Shelagh Culley of Beaconsfield will be showing mixed media works they have produced over the years despite the challenges they face every day.

Kleinsteuber, who is in her 30s, is completely dependant on a walker and a wheelchair. Since she was 13, she has been suffering from Chronic Pain syndromes and inflammatory diseases like arthritis, which can cause activities like sitting in a chair to become agonizing. She has also survived two comas and a stroke in the past few years.

“I am sick neurologically, rheumatologically, cardiologically, etc.” she said.

Kleinsteuber, who is currently working on two novels, turned to art and writing when her poor health prevented her from continuing an academic career in medical research. Despite the challenges she has faced all her life, her oil and acrylic paintings of Canadian and European landscapes reflect a passionate love for life and people.

“I think every individual is incredible and any ordinary person has the potential to be extraordinary,” Kleinsteuber said, adding she wants to send a strong message through the upcoming exhibit. “I am making a statement that challenged people can have high aspirations and can accomplish something in life if they are given the opportunity...We who are diagnosed with long term illnesses, be it physical or mental, or have physical or mental disabilities, are forced to choose lives with lower quality. But what I am trying to prove is that we don’t have to adjust to a life like that. There is still promise of a better quality of life.”

Kleinsteuber will be selling some of her paintings during the exhibit, giving all proceeds to St. Mary’s Hospital Centre, which she says has helped her immensely throughout her life.

Although not directly setting out to make such a statement, Shelagh Culley’s art proves people with disabilities can create beautiful things. Culley, 43, has Down syndrome and has been expressing a true talent for colours in her drawings, paintings, and embroideries for most of her life. In 1993, her uncle introduced her to the various techniques of oil painting, which she has used to create numerous works including her recent abstracts. She has also regularly contributed to the West Island Association for the Intellectually Handicapped (WIAIH)’s Christmas card campaign and annual Special Artists display with the Lakeshore Association of Artists.

“She doesn’t know why she’s doing it or how she’s doing it,” explained Culley’s mother Sasha. “She just does is. And invariably she’s right in combining colours.”

This will not be the first time the Kirkland Library has displayed art by people with disabilities. According to library director Evlyn Payton-Tayler, anyone with skill and determination should be able to show the world what they can do.

“If someone shows talent, persistence, or ability and is a creative person, they should have an opportunity to exhibit if they want to,” she said. “We have a whole range of talent that comes through the door.”

Sonya Kleinsteuber and Shelagh Culley’s mixed media art exhibit will run at the Kirkland Public Library, 17100 Hymus Blvd., from Aug. 17 to 31. For more information, call 514 630-2726.