Mariah Joyce
Editor in Chief
A mental illness recovery center in Wooster that has been involved with the College for the past several years is holding an art auction this month.
MOCA (Motivating, Optimistic, Caring, Accepting) House is a recovery center in Wooster for individuals with severe and persistent mental illness. The organization serves around 75 people per month and has had interns from the College since 2011, mostly from the psychology department.
Emily Colwell ’18, MOCA House’s current intern, said the money raised from the art auction will go to benefit MOCA House, a non-profit, and the people it serves. All the art on sale was created by attendees of MOCA House’s art program, which is one of the organization’s peer support programs.
The event was organized by MOCA House volunteers Tom Wood, Connie Barnard and Melissa Csepel. Wood volunteers and teaches acrylic painting; he has provided guidance, direction, art supplies and art instruction. Barnard volunteers in the program and specializes in watercolor instruction. Csepel assists with instruction and is a featured artist in the auction.
“The art is a wonderful expression of whatever the individual is feeling or would like to portray,” said Colwell. “A key aspect that separates this art show from others that may seem similar is that all of the participants in this art event used gallery-grade canvases, including those composed of double-stretch cotton and Belgian linen.”
MOCA is a part of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). The auction will be held at NAMI’s building in Wooster, at 2525 Back Orrville Road on Tuesday, Nov. 19 from 5 – 8 p.m. The show contains around 50 pieces from 30 different artists, including some of the art instructors themselves. Starting prices vary per piece.
The auction itself is free and open to the public. Both NAMI and MOCA would like to invite the community, in particular, members of the College community to join them for an evening of refreshments, art and awareness for a cause that so often goes underrepresented. As one of the artists, Ryan, said in his art piece, “in humility we acknowledge that we are flawed and incomplete. So we band together in our brokenness to soar in unity and strength.”
Anyone who would like to attend but is having difficulty finding transportation should contact Colwell at her email, MColwell18@wooster.edu, sometime before 12 p.m. on November 19.