The Story Of My Life began two years ago with Greg Silvernail’s 43rd birthday party. When Christine Rucker and I showed up, one of his housemates was turning cartwheels in the front yard. Someone else was in the shower, belting out gospel songs. Greg’s family came, his mother, two brothers and a sister-in-law, and so did Renee, his longtime caretaker. As the party began, Greg was hiding – holding out for cake and presents. It’s hard to keep up with Greg because he is always on the go, from choir practice to the bowling alley to weekend trips to the arcade with his brother Henry, but the more time we spent with Greg, the more we learned about what it means to live in the moment.

 

This exhibit tells the stories of Greg and five other adults who live in community in one of several homes managed by Group Homes of Forsyth County, a non-profit organization that serves adults with developmental disabilities. You will meet people with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, brain damage and other disabilities, but we intentionally chose not to focus on their diagnoses. Instead, we sought to tell stories that explore their passions, their work and their relationships. Many of these are stories of faith.

 

The photographs you see here were taken by Christine Rucker, a photojournalist based in East Bend, N.C. Christine also worked with the six adults featured here on photographing their own lives. Through their photographs, you will see their family and friends and parts of the landscape that captured their attention – signs, a truck, the lines that run down the middle of the road.

 

As much as possible, we tell these stories through the words, images and artwork of the six featured adults. Relatives and caretakers fill in the missing pieces. Michelle Johnson, a journalist and multimedia editor, wove together interviews with photographs, video, and the sounds of daily life to produce the richly layered documentaries.

 

The sculpture and other artwork reveal what words cannot. The pieces on exhibit were created in collaboration with instructors from the Sawtooth School for Visual Art, after discussions with the six adults featured here about their interests so that each could find a medium that best suited them. Ghree Lockard is drawn to water and sculpted a dolphin and a swimmer out of clay. Cecelia Henry built an angel out of wire and beads, inspired by the angels she writes about in her poems. John Linville made sculpture from the crushed cans he collects for recycling. Each piece of art reveals another layer in the story of a life.

 

Narrative is an essential means of making meaning of our lives, and for communicating that meaning to others. We humans have been telling stories from the beginning of time, in myth and song, in letters and memoir, and today we reveal pieces of our life narratives every day on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Taken together, the photographs, interviews and artwork offer a glimpse into the ways that the six co-creators – Greg Silvernail, James Lowdermilk, John Linville, Cecelia Henry, Karen Lash and Ghree Lockard – tell the story of their lives, often without words, and how their families, housemates and caretakers listen across the language divide for understanding. Listen to James Lowdermilk improvise at the piano, or see Karen Lash’s eyes sparkle, and you will begin to understand, too.

 

We believe that the stories here have much to teach all of us about our shared humanity and what it means to live in the moment and from the heart. We hope you will be inspired as much as we were. Enjoy.

 

Phoebe Zerwick, October 2013