‘From Paper to Person: A Journey of Self-Expression’at Danny’s Place, Acton
ACTON, MA – When artist Shoni Hallock-Martin makes art with middle-schoolers at Danny’s Place in Acton, she’s intent on it being a very tactile experience. “Art is really getting smushed aside in this digital age,” she said. “I want these kids to get their hands dirty!”
And as the Stow artist well knows, making paper can get messy.
Shoni (who uses only her first name professionally) has designed her weekly program, titled “From Paper to Person: A Journey of Self-Expression,” to revolve around teaching 12- to 14-year-olds how to make and work with paper.
“We’re using pulp to make paper and the pulp is almost like mud or sand,” she explained. “Just having that stuff plopped down in front of them sometimes inspires the kids to make other things besides flat sheets of paper. One girl wanted to make a 3-D wolf sculpture out of the pulp, and I said, ‘Go for it.’ ”
Shoni’s fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade students have fashioned their handmade paper into personalized journals. They are also building unique little “mini-me” figures out of papier-mâché. The 12-week course will conclude with a final gallery presentation in mid-December.
And all the while, whether they realize it or not, these nine students are also learning more about themselves – knowledge that just might ease their transition to adulthood.
“From Paper to Person” was created for Arts Elevate, a pilot project supported by the Greater Lowell Community Foundation (GLCF) and designed to improve the health and wellness of adolescents in Greater Lowell.
“Making art helps you explain, yourself,” said Shoni. “This whole project is about working with paper to work out their identities.”
Launched this fall, GLCF’s pilot project, titled Arts Elevate: Embedded Community Artists for Youth Wellness in Greater Lowell, places four artists in 12-week residencies at nonprofit organizations in Concord, Lowell, Groton and Acton (at Danny’s Place), explained Jennifer Aradhya, GLCF’s Vice President of Marketing, Programs & Strategy. The Arts Elevate initiative was developed for Greater Lowell with lead funding from the Barr Foundation through its Creative Commonwealth Initiative.
“Danny’s Place was an ideal partner because they already understood what we’re trying to prove through Arts Elevate – that creative expression is a wellness strategy, not just an enrichment activity,” said Aradhya. “Shoni’s program shows how hands-on artmaking can become a vehicle for self-discovery during a developmental stage when young people are actively forming their identities.”
Making books, and especially journaling, helped Shoni when she was an adolescent. “Thinking about making art with young teens and improving their mental health, I remembered that I had started a ‘gratitude journal’ when I was about 11 and how much it helped me.
“There’s just something fun about making your own book and having this whole world encapsulated into an object that you can carry around with you. It’s nice to write down your thoughts – even small things as simple as, ‘My hair looked good today,’ ”
Shoni has kept up her gratitude journal as an adult. “I do it at the end of every day, right before I go to bed. It’s a time to reflect on things that made me happy. It lets me express a sense of appreciation before I go to sleep.”
This combination of lived experience and artistic creativity is what makes Shoni a good fit at Danny’s Place, explained Executive Director Katie Gorczyca. “If you’re asking the kids what they like about Shoni, they’d say, ‘She passes the vibe check,’ ” said Gorczyca, laughing.
“She’s young and has all this energy. She brings with her, not only artistic expertise, but her own stories of how art has helped heal her,” explained Gorczyca. “She certainly understands the power of art.”
Established in 2006 by the family of Danny McCarthy, who was killed in a car accident during his junior year in high school, Danny’s Place is a nonprofit, youth-services organization based in Acton.
Gorczyca, who is Danny’s sister, became executive director in 2018, and has a background in mental-health counseling and expressive therapies. Danny’s Place provides programing for ages 3 to 18 – from preschool to high school – in Acton, Boxborough and surrounding towns, she said.
“Our programs fall under three core areas: mental health & wellness, self-exploration & life skills, and leadership & community building. We serve more than 300 kids per year, and provide 45 to 50 programs annually, said Gorczyca.
“We do a lot of things and serve a big range of kids,” she added. “We like to say Danny’s Place is a third place: It’s not home, it’s not school. It’s a place where kids can come and meet each other, grow in confidence, and discover their authentic selves.”
While Shoni’s Arts Elevate classes are a new program for Danny’s Place, the concept of embracing and combining the creative process with youth wellness is not, Gorczyca explained. “That’s very much what we try to do all the time.”
Participating in Arts Elevates seemed like a great opportunity, she said. “We’re not doing clinical work with kids. We’re doing that upstream, preventative mental-health and wellness work. Our goals aligned so well with GLCF’s goals for this pilot project – it just felt like a true partnership.”
Ideally, it’s a collaboration that will continue to grow and benefit others, said GLCF’s Aradhya.
“The partnership with Danny’s Place demonstrates something crucial for our toolkit: You don’t have to start from zero to benefit from embedded artists,” Aradhya explained.
“Organizations already doing wellness work can deepen their impact by intentionally integrating professional artists. Shoni’s experience shows how that collaboration enhances both the artistic quality and the therapeutic value of youth programming.”
For more information about Danny’s Place, visit: https://www.dannys-place.org
For more information about the Greater Lowell Community Foundation Arts Elevate program, or to support this initiative, visit: https://www.glcfoundation.org/arts-elevate/.
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CAPTION: From left, Danny’s Place Programs Manager Kaeleigh De Silva, artist Shoni Hallock-Martin and Executive Director Katie Gorczyca participating in a full day Arts Elevate training program in August.
