Class Volunteer Guidelines at OSLP Arts & Culture Center
Our Mission
OSLP Arts & Culture Center breaks down barriers to participation in the arts for people of all abilities and builds bridges to a more diverse and inclusive community.
These barriers include but are not limited to: communication, physical, and financial barriers. We do our best to modify tools and curriculums, and create a safe and welcoming environment for all.
Attendance
Please be punctual and show up to your scheduled volunteer time. If you are not feeling well, please stay home. The health of some of our artists is fragile and we need to be diligent about protecting them and ourselves from contagious diseases. A simple cold might develop into a much more serious health issue for an artist here. If you are running late or must miss a shift, please contact the Studio Manager, Kailey Ruiz, at 541-636-3119.
Open Studio
As an Open Studio volunteer, your role will be to support the Open Studio Instructor and studio artists helping to create a safe, supportive environment. Duties could include preparing materials for use, cleaning up at the end of open studio and working with artists individually with their creations, among other things. Please communicate with the staff regarding tasks and duties. Please wear clothes that you don’t mind getting paint on, as messes are fairly common. We also have aprons available for volunteers to protect their clothing.
A typical introductory phase for volunteers could be characterized as a “hang out and observe” period. It’s essential for volunteers to get to know staff and artists/participants before assisting. On some days you might be bouncing all around from one person to the next, on others there may be a specific artist/participant that staff will want you to work with.
Quality not Quantity
Our objective in Open Studio is for artists to engage in a process-related, creative experience with focused intent and a clear goal for learning. Try encouraging participants to further develop their skills, by either looking through our library of art books for inspiration or instruction or talking with our Open Studio Instructor about how to assist this student in their learning process. We want to guide our artists in developing strong, finished pieces of artwork while enjoying the creative process.
Our studio aims to use materials responsibly, and urge participants to create their best work. Rather than give an artist a new sheet of paper or board each time they request it, you could suggest that they add more detail or color to a piece they are currently working on. Remember to keep an encouraging tone.
How to give help
We’re here to assist the artists with their art-making without interfering with the work. If you want to demonstrate a technique, use a piece of scratch paper rather than using the artist’s work itself. Feel free to demonstrate new ideas, techniques, and use of mediums to those you feel could benefit.
Different participants will want/need different levels of help. If you see someone not participating, think of ways you can try to engage and cultivate their interest in what is going on. Our goal is to make sure everyone feels and has the opportunity to be included. Some people may need tools to be adapted to better meet their specific needs so that they are better able to participate.
Confidentiality
You must read and sign the Confidentiality Agreement and Protection of Client Rights. If at any time you breach this agreement, you may be dismissed from your volunteer duties. Please share and speak about the art being produced at the Arts & Culture Center, but do not share personal information about the artists with others.
Promoting Creative Independence
A main objective of the Arts & Culture Center is to promote creative independence. The following are a few example scenarios and appropriate responses:
Support Staff: “John wants to paint a picture of a bird”
Respond to John: “Okay, John. I’ll show you where some photos are of birds and you can pick out a few that you like”
(Always address the artist when they are the subject of the request.)
Artist: “I need more black paint”
Response: “Do you know where the paints are?”
Artist: “No”
Response: “Let me show you and next time you can get it yourself”
(Have artists get supplies themselves if they are able to.)
Artist: “What color should I use for the house I drew?”
Response: “Let’s look at your choices. If you use this yellow, it will create high contrast and stand out. If you use this dark green, it will have low contrast and not stand out as much. What would you like better?”
(Rather than tell the artist what to do, explain their options and give them a choice.)
Artist: “I need help drawing this face.”
Response: “Okay, let’s practice together on this piece of paper”
(Never draw or paint directly on an artist’s artwork. Always practice on a different paper. An artist’s work should be their own creation (unless you have decided to do a collaborative piece.)
Clean Up
Before you leave for the day, please return materials to the appropriate location. Clean brushes or assist the artist in doing the above tasks if they are not capable. If artwork is wet, keep it on tables to dry overnight.
Storage of Artwork
Each artist has their own cubby which is labeled with their name. Dry artwork that is still in progress is to be kept here. All finished artwork can be moved to the art storage area off of the gallery.
Feedback
We are very open to volunteer feedback and we want to hear about your experiences, ideas, and suggestions. Please share these thoughts with OSLP Arts & Culture Center staff, but please refrain from doing so during classes as that time is meant for the artists.
Participants
Please refrain from referring to the people who come to the Arts & Culture Program as “special” or any other similar outdated and offensive term. Designations for people with disabilities within and without the social services vary and often change. The consensus among people here is that they prefer to be called participants or artists. The fact that some of the participants/artists have disabilities shouldn’t need to be part of discussion. While we don’t ignore disability, we do avoid placing our focus on it to the exclusion of everything else. With this in mind, if one of the participants/artists wants to work on a project that specifically addresses aspects of having disabilities then we will, by all means, assist them with that goal.
If someone asks you where you volunteer, you could say “I volunteer for the OSLP Arts & Culture Center, an inclusive program that provides arts opportunities for individuals with and without disabilities”.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask our staff.
Thank you for your interest in volunteering with the Arts & Culture Center!
Our Mission
OSLP Arts & Culture Center breaks down barriers to participation in the arts for people of all abilities and builds bridges to a more diverse and inclusive community.
These barriers include but are not limited to: communication, physical, and financial barriers. We do our best to modify tools and curriculums, and create a safe and welcoming environment for all.
Attendance
Please be punctual and show up to your scheduled volunteer time. If you are not feeling well, please stay home. The health of some of our artists is fragile and we need to be diligent about protecting them and ourselves from contagious diseases. A simple cold might develop into a much more serious health issue for an artist here. If you are running late or must miss a shift, please contact the Studio Manager, Kailey Ruiz, at 541-636-3119.
Open Studio
As an Open Studio volunteer, your role will be to support the Open Studio Instructor and studio artists helping to create a safe, supportive environment. Duties could include preparing materials for use, cleaning up at the end of open studio and working with artists individually with their creations, among other things. Please communicate with the staff regarding tasks and duties. Please wear clothes that you don’t mind getting paint on, as messes are fairly common. We also have aprons available for volunteers to protect their clothing.
A typical introductory phase for volunteers could be characterized as a “hang out and observe” period. It’s essential for volunteers to get to know staff and artists/participants before assisting. On some days you might be bouncing all around from one person to the next, on others there may be a specific artist/participant that staff will want you to work with.
Quality not Quantity
Our objective in Open Studio is for artists to engage in a process-related, creative experience with focused intent and a clear goal for learning. Try encouraging participants to further develop their skills, by either looking through our library of art books for inspiration or instruction or talking with our Open Studio Instructor about how to assist this student in their learning process. We want to guide our artists in developing strong, finished pieces of artwork while enjoying the creative process.
Our studio aims to use materials responsibly, and urge participants to create their best work. Rather than give an artist a new sheet of paper or board each time they request it, you could suggest that they add more detail or color to a piece they are currently working on. Remember to keep an encouraging tone.
How to give help
We’re here to assist the artists with their art-making without interfering with the work. If you want to demonstrate a technique, use a piece of scratch paper rather than using the artist’s work itself. Feel free to demonstrate new ideas, techniques, and use of mediums to those you feel could benefit.
Different participants will want/need different levels of help. If you see someone not participating, think of ways you can try to engage and cultivate their interest in what is going on. Our goal is to make sure everyone feels and has the opportunity to be included. Some people may need tools to be adapted to better meet their specific needs so that they are better able to participate.
Confidentiality
You must read and sign the Confidentiality Agreement and Protection of Client Rights. If at any time you breach this agreement, you may be dismissed from your volunteer duties. Please share and speak about the art being produced at the Arts & Culture Center, but do not share personal information about the artists with others.
Promoting Creative Independence
A main objective of the Arts & Culture Center is to promote creative independence. The following are a few example scenarios and appropriate responses:
Support Staff: “John wants to paint a picture of a bird”
Respond to John: “Okay, John. I’ll show you where some photos are of birds and you can pick out a few that you like”
(Always address the artist when they are the subject of the request.)
Artist: “I need more black paint”
Response: “Do you know where the paints are?”
Artist: “No”
Response: “Let me show you and next time you can get it yourself”
(Have artists get supplies themselves if they are able to.)
Artist: “What color should I use for the house I drew?”
Response: “Let’s look at your choices. If you use this yellow, it will create high contrast and stand out. If you use this dark green, it will have low contrast and not stand out as much. What would you like better?”
(Rather than tell the artist what to do, explain their options and give them a choice.)
Artist: “I need help drawing this face.”
Response: “Okay, let’s practice together on this piece of paper”
(Never draw or paint directly on an artist’s artwork. Always practice on a different paper. An artist’s work should be their own creation (unless you have decided to do a collaborative piece.)
Clean Up
Before you leave for the day, please return materials to the appropriate location. Clean brushes or assist the artist in doing the above tasks if they are not capable. If artwork is wet, keep it on tables to dry overnight.
Storage of Artwork
Each artist has their own cubby which is labeled with their name. Dry artwork that is still in progress is to be kept here. All finished artwork can be moved to the art storage area off of the gallery.
Feedback
We are very open to volunteer feedback and we want to hear about your experiences, ideas, and suggestions. Please share these thoughts with OSLP Arts & Culture Center staff, but please refrain from doing so during classes as that time is meant for the artists.
Participants
Please refrain from referring to the people who come to the Arts & Culture Program as “special” or any other similar outdated and offensive term. Designations for people with disabilities within and without the social services vary and often change. The consensus among people here is that they prefer to be called participants or artists. The fact that some of the participants/artists have disabilities shouldn’t need to be part of discussion. While we don’t ignore disability, we do avoid placing our focus on it to the exclusion of everything else. With this in mind, if one of the participants/artists wants to work on a project that specifically addresses aspects of having disabilities then we will, by all means, assist them with that goal.
If someone asks you where you volunteer, you could say “I volunteer for the OSLP Arts & Culture Center, an inclusive program that provides arts opportunities for individuals with and without disabilities”.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask our staff.
Thank you for your interest in volunteering with the Arts & Culture Center!
