Painting Their Way to an Inclusive World
By Kailee Baylor
Though she has never spoken a word, Mikayla’s Voice is now being heard.
Without specially adapted equipment or the fine motor skills to paint with her hands, Mikayla Resh, a young woman who was discovered to have severe, permanent brain damage at only 5-days-old, has learned to create large acrylic paintings using just the wheels of her wheelchair.
In the spring of 2009, when Mikayla was only 14, two art classes at Nazareth Area Middle School taught and helped her to apply acrylic paint to large canvases with her wheels. The two works that were created that day, titled “One World. Many Friends.” and “The Road to Helping Hands,” are now on permanent display at the school.
Modeling itself after that initial painting project, Mikayla’s Voice, the nonprofit created by Mikayla’s mother, Kimberly Resh, developed an inclusive painting program called Wheels of Friendship to give other children the same opportunity.
“Our goal is always to include students with disabilities and their peers at school when we create these paintings,” Kimberly says. “It’s important to show the kids that everyone can be included… but the beauty is really in the process.”
Resh also emphasized the importance of having the works on permanent display in the schools in which they are created. “Being able to see those paintings all the time reminds them [the students and faculty] that they are a school that supports inclusion.”
In an effort to highlight the importance of inclusion, the Wheels of Friendship program has started a traveling exhibit, where patrons of all walks of life can experience the magic these children create.
If you’d like to see work from the program, several paintings will be on display in the Hallway to the Arts on the first floor of the Banana Factory from Dec. 18-Feb. 7. Mikayla and her mom will also be on hand at PEEPSFEST® presented by Just Born Quality Confections Dec. 30 and 31 working with guests to create their own unique works of art.
