By Micah Cho

WKTV Intern

Creating colorful and breathtaking abstract paintings was never Wesley DeVries’ plan. He was a hardworking Grand Rapids area resident who took art classes for fun. But after getting diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy in 1996, he needed a way to loosen up and stay active.

Art became more than just a pastime, it became a journey of discovery.

The public can join in the journey at the Frederik Meijer Gardens And Sculpture Park “Process and Presence: Contemporary Disability Sculpture” exhibit. Opening as part of the latest ArtPrize regional show, artists from around the world are featured in the show that’s set to last until Jan. 6, 2019.

Meijer Gardens’ ArtPrize exhibit focuses on disability sculpture

The show, among other aspects, is meant to highlight how a person can change while a disability progresses. And DeVries’ entry is a perfect example of that.

DeVries’ artistic transition and discovery, in part, was that the tools of his artistic trade became, surprisingly, part of his continuing journey. As part of the DisArt Project for ArtPrize, which teamed with Meijer Gardens for the exhibit, DeVries submitted the tools he uses to make his abstract paintings: credit cards.

Because of his disease, DeVries only has a little bit of time to paint before he has to rest. So quick and sporadic movements are used to start and finish a painting. And because paint brushes are too difficult for DeVries to use because of his disability, he decided he would adapt a trick from a family member who used playing cards to paint his mailbox. While playing cards became soaked too quickly, the plastic credit cards worked perfect.

But what he had found was that the colorful cards became, and continue to be, an unexpected artistic byproduct.

“I’m not looking to finish a credit card,” DeVries said in a video interview with WKTV “… My paintbrushes are my happenings.”

And what is happening next for DeVries? He said he hopes to do a special demonstration for ArtPrize 11.

“(Maybe I can be) suspended from a ceiling with bungees and then swooping around and painting on a large canvas for (the next) ArtPrize,” he said, joking, maybe; but maybe not.

For more information about Meijer Gardens visit meijergradens.org . For information about DisArt’s 2018 Process and Presence season of events, visit disartnow.org .