Artists with disabilities shine at Sandal Gap Studio
9An art studio in the Memorial area is giving young artists with intellectual disabilities a place to shine.
Sandal Gap Studio was inspired by 19-year-old Sevy Eicher, a talented artist living with Down Syndrome. Sevy, who is non-verbal, was adopted by her parents from Bulgaria when she was 12 years old.
"Sevy, when she first came home to us, had a lot of trouble just integrating into our family and communicating with us," said Sevy’s mom, Lisa Eicher. "It was just a hard time for all of us. And then she started painting, and art kind of became her way of communication and kind of therapeutic for her, and she started really opening up to us."
After Sevy’s mom discovered her incredible talent for art, she created an online art gallery for her. Her Instagram page quickly gained thousands of followers, and Sevy now has collectors all over the world. She even has a wait list of thousands of potential buyers, hoping for a piece of her art. It was Sevy’s sister, Ace, who came up with idea to create an art studio for other people like Sevy.
"I thought that there are other people like her that could express themselves through art," said Ace. "It’s just the best to see them express themselves."
"Sevy’s art kind of led us to create this space where art is just kind of the equalizer for all people, because everyone can create, so art is just sort of the vehicle for inclusion," said Lisa. "Because of her, we’ve created this space that is kind of changing a lot of people’s views on disabilities and I’d like to say we’re kind of changing the world a little bit over here."
Ace and Lisa opened Sandal Gap Studio about five years ago, and now have nine full-time artists working with them. All have intellectual disabilities, including Down Syndrome and autism.
"I am very proud of the art that I made," said Kate Weir, an artist at Sandal Gap. "My parents are so proud of me. I’m very happy I get to follow in my mom’s footsteps and be an artist like she is."
Sandal Gap also hosts art auctions and parties where the artists can see their pieces on display.
"When the artists see their work up on the walls and people admiring it, it brings them so much joy," said Lisa. "It brings everybody so much joy, but it makes them happy to see people admiring their work and taking their work home and getting into bidding wars. They definitely get it. They know that they’re doing big things."
For more information, visit Sandal Gap Studio online.
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