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Paonia Art Show Highlights Ability

A new art show in Paonia seeks to challenge the way people think about individuals with disabilities. 

It’s Friday evening in Paonia, and the Blue Sage Gallery is open late for its new art exhibit.

"The show is for people that have disabilities," SanniCeto, an artist with work in the exhibit, says. "And, it is called “Normal is a Dryer Setting” because normal is different for everybody. Autism would be by my normal," she says. 

For Sanni relating to others is a challenge. That’s why she draws. 

sanni ceto, blue sage gallery
Credit Laura Palmisano / KVNF
/
KVNF
Sanni Ceto poses with her drawings on display at the Blue Sage Gallery in Paonia.

"Art is mostly how I prefer to communicate my ideas about things that are important to me," she says.  

RhodaYago, another featured artist, suffered a traumatic brain injury as a child. It affects her ability to speak.

Rhoda likes to trace, draw and use a lot of color in her art.

"[I have a] lion painting and then a butterfly and Bambi and Mickey Mouse [works on display]," she says. 

Carter Keegan is a photographer.

"The work I have displayed, mainly it focuses on the natural world of animals and humans with animals [and] bringing that human, animal connection together," he says.

Sanni says the art exhibit isn’t about showcasing disabilities. It’s about highlighting the skills of the artists.

"[It shows] that we do have talent and that we do have something to offer to the community expressed through our artwork," she says. "The only true disability, in my opinion, is society failing to recognize the abilities that disabled people have and give. 

The show runs through April 4 at the Blue Sage Gallery.  

Laura joined KVNF in 2014. She was the news director for two years and now works as a freelance reporter covering Colorado's Western Slope. Laura is an award-winning journalist with work recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists, Colorado Broadcasters Association, and RTDNA. In 2015, she was a fellow for the Institute for Justice & Journalism. Her fellowship project, a three-part series on the Karen refugee community in Delta, Colorado, received a regional Edward R. Murrow Award.
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