Communicating in a Different Way

FHSU art students make a difference in the community with a collaborative arts project

People sometimes pause when trying to pronounce Amy Schmierbach’s last name. No matter. To her students, she is affectionately known as Amy.

Schmierbach – which, for the record, is pronounced “sh-meer-bock” – is in her 19th year of teaching art at Fort Hays State University.

Students in her classes, particularly those enrolled in Social Practices in Art, will tell you they learn so much more than art. There is no hesitation when describing the life lessons they take with them when leaving Schmierbach’s classes.

Two years ago, Schmierbach successfully applied for the Arts Integration Program-Innovative Partnership Grant from the Kansas Creative Industries Commission.

That grant was matched by Developmental Services of Northwest Kansas (DSNWK), with whom Schmierbach formed a partnership. DSNWK serves community members with a variety of special needs, including autism, Down syndrome and other cognitive disabilities.

She was able to purchase a floor loom, three table looms and art supplies. Those funds also allowed for 500 hours of FHSU student assistance. Another floor loom was donated by Dr. Katrina Hess, and $1,000 worth of yarn was donated by The Shepherd’s Mill in Phillipsburg.

As part of her Social Practices in Art class, Schmierbach and her students meet with DSNWK clients twice a week at Employment Connections in Hays to collaborate on expressing themselves through color, texture and design.

“One of our duties as artists is to teach other people about art,” Schmierbach said. “I feel that my job is to bring this to the community, not to just be in my studio and doing art.”

Schmierbach and her students are doing just that in a big way.

The FHSU students and DSNWK clients weave colored yarn into art pieces. They also form collages from paintings, drawings and photography contributed by both the students and clients.

The collaboration has positively touched the lives of all involved.

“The individuals we serve love being able to interact with the FHSU students most of all,” said LaVonne Giess, Employment Services Manager at DSNWK. “The students ask them about their lives and what things they enjoy. You can tell that the students care about (the clients) and enjoy working with them.”

Megan Pfannenstiel, a Hays senior majoring in art history, was busy cutting yarn one day during the spring semester while helping a client.

David Werth meticulously pulled back the shuttle on a table loom and smiled. While working at another table nearby, Tyler Jones threaded the large wooden needle across strands of yarn on his loom and pulled the shuttle tight. Satisfied with his progress, Tyler repeated the process over and over.

“I think it helps me relax,” said Tyler, who was diagnosed with autism when he was 5 years old. “The students always tell me that I have good ideas, which makes me think of more new ideas. I love it.”

This was creating, communicating and making a difference – at its best. “This is more than weaving,” Pfannenstiel said. “Sitting here with David, we learn so much about each other.”

That concept of learning can sometimes come without uttering a single word, Schmierbach said.

In fact, working with an Alzheimer’s patient at a local nursing facility years ago is what triggered the thought of connecting her students with DSNWK clients.

“The woman didn’t have words, but we could pass the shuttle back and forth, and it was almost like having a conversation with her,” Schmierbach said. “It really sparked an interest, and it kind of grew from there.”

Schmierbach already had personal experience with this type of artwork while working with her 12-year-old autistic son, Austin.

“A lot of people can be artists. It depends on how you define that and how you define making artwork,” Schmierbach said. “Here, every person can bring in their own style.”

“You can tell that everyone takes great pride in what they are creating,” Giesse said. “They work together, sharing ideas to come up with a beautiful finished product.”

Completed art projects were framed and went on display for sale at the Hays Public Library this past spring.

Schmierbach’s goal is to generate enough funding through the art sale and private donations to enhance the project even more. She would like to bring in visiting artists and conduct workshops. Donations and sales of the artwork also could be used for framing and art supplies as well as shipping exhibitions of artwork.

Schmierbach hopes to hire two or three students to work with the clients several times a week and all year long.

Laura Krug, a junior graphic design major from Hays, would like to be one of those students.

“I love that we are involving a community of people who don’t traditionally make art,” Krug said. “Besides helping them, we are building friendships and learning from them. We want to let them know that what they have to say is important. They understand it’s important to have a voice, and creativity is their voice.”

Tyler’s foster mom, Tammy Dreiling, sometimes accompanies him to Employment Connections on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, “just to see how they are progressing.”

Dreiling said that Schmierbach has definitely been a positive influence in Tyler’s life.

“She really connects well with anyone,” Dreiling said. “She’s determined to make the world a better place – for everyone.”

Dreiling was not surprised when Schmierbach was honored with the Master Educator Award at the Foundations in Art Theory and Education Conference in Columbus, Ohio, this spring.

“I want to dedicate this award for each of my students over the past 20 years who were excited to try a new project,” Schmierbach said.

Weaving was new to Pfannenstiel, the art history major who said it’s “so relaxing, almost mesmerizing.” So, too, was interacting with the clients.

“I didn’t know that much about DSNWK before,” Pfannenstiel said, “but I have learned that when you connect with the client, it’s a feeling like no other. It’s neat to see other students when they first come in they kind of hold back. But now, they are all smiling and participating with everyone.”

Marisa Kistler, a junior from Spearville, admitted she was nervous when she first began working with the clients.

“I had never had that experience with disabled people before,” she said. “But this has been absolutely awesome.”

Kistler, an art education major, said this experience “has really confirmed that I want to teach art.”

“This has helped me see there is more than just traditional art,” Kistler said. “I think it will help me encourage my students to try different things.”

Krug already had an idea of the patience needed to work with people with disabilities. Krug, who transferred to FHSU from Benedictine College in Atchison in 2018, worked last summer as a teaching assistant for the Kansas State School for the Blind in Kansas City, Kan.

This particular art class has impacted her like no other.

“I thought this class would be more about performance art projects,” she said. “I now have learned that social practice art is more of a strategy of organizing community change by using art.”

This semester, Krug bought some clothing from the local Goodwill store and tore it into rags for a tapestry piece that she worked on together with Karen Thorns, who cannot speak.

“Through the weaving, we can still communicate,” Krug said. a

Krug and Karen took turns weaving the pieces of clothing on the tapestry loom. “You just kind of stop using words and start making things. We are learning a lot – about patience, about knowing how to communicate effectively with someone who might have difficulty communicating.”

Donations to support the Collaborative Arts Project can be made by contacting the FHSU Foundation at (785) 628-5620 or email foundation@fhsu.edu. For more information about the project or the sale of the artwork, contact Amy Schmierbach at ajschmierbach@fhsu.edu.