Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Hattler Bramson.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
The Full Spectrum Studio starts as a result of a gap in services for the community of individual with disabilities, specifically artists. Andrea Hattler Bramson and Judy Russell both have daughters with disabilities who enjoy and appreciate the chance to express themselves creatively. Although they have both participated in various day programs with art therapy components, none have been dedicated to art, and as a result neither Cat (Judy’s daughter) nor Victoria (Andrea’s daughter) have had the chance to fully find and evolve their creative voices.
In January of 2020 Andrea and Judy decided to explore what starting a studio for artists with disabilities might look like. They visited program across the nation from Boston to Washington DC, to North Carolina, to Portland Oregon and Seattle Washington. This is not a new concept. Recognizing and appreciating the work of artists with disabilities, and providing them a space from within which they can create and thrive, is the right thing to do. In fact the title for just such a studio is progressive. We are, and all our peer organizations across the nation, a progressive studio.
We started with our founding artists, Cat and Victoria, and today host 8 permanent artists who each have a style and process unique to themselves. The product of their efforts is what happens when they are given quality materials, expert guidance, actionable feedback, and high expectations – nothing less!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The only real struggle has been financial. As a 501c3 organization we are allowed to solicit and receive funds and donation that our benefactors can in turn claim on their taxes. Although well on our way, we are still not completely financially viable, relying a great deal on volunteers to help fill gaps in professional services.
The physical work is exhilarating, the work the artists produce is amazing, surprising and inspiring. The life lessons for our artists are tailored to their needs and are priceless. We welcome artists with disabilities visible or invisible. One of our many mantras is the we are not diagnosticians and rely on the artists and their caregivers to help guide the process of becoming a member of our growing cadre. We have had more than one person express an interest in participating, only to realize that being an artist comes with expectations and responsibilities and it is indeed work. Many choose not to continue participating, which is also one of our mantras, choice! We want out artists to CHOOSE to be artists.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I double majored in Studio Art and Spanish at the University of South Carolina. The fundamentals of art have served me well in any number of jobs to include the 30+ year career I had in the US Federal Government at the Central Intelligence Agency. Appreciating the value of creative and innovative thinking, and knowing when and how to ask hard questions were the cornerstone of my career. I parlayed my language and photographic skills across my career, while developing skills to complement those and enhance my viability as an intelligence officer.
I developed parenting skills like everyone else, by being a parent. First with my son, and then with Victoria. Her birth demanded an unplanned (few plan to parent children with disabilities) focus on her and her needs. Her developmental delays were evident early on, but her autism diagnosis did not happen until she was 18. She required me to be more patient, attentive, and supportive of her and her peers, which are attributes I would not have acquired otherwise. As a result of combining my creative mindset with the learned skills of parenting and advocating for a child with disabilities I realized how much I had actually learned from HER. I realized how much of that knowledge applied to personal and professional experiences, and how often I use those skills in life.
My son took me to see a program in San Francisco for artists with disabilities. At the time it seems an impossible goal to find a program like that for Victoria. A place where her work could be framed and finalized so she could proudly show, and sell it. That visit with my son to Creativity Explored in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco is a proud moment. That my son saw possibilities in that program! The Full Spectrum Studio is, as far as we can tell, the only progressive studio in South Carolina. Of this we are proud, but we would also prefer to not be alone. There need to be progressive studios in every city and town in the nation.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
It was in fact lucky that the world shut down in March of 2020. We incorporated in May of 2020, we occupied the building where we are still located in August of 2020, and finalized our purpose built studio space in June of 2021. It was lucky that the world shut down as a result of a pandemic because no one really expected much from us. We evolved slowly, organically, and methodically building a program that built on modest success and recognition. We had early supporters who ghosted us, we have also had supporters who have stayed with us every step of the way.
Good luck = pandemic? Sounds counterintuitive, but we have to acknowledge that difficult time for the world allowed us to start slowly, and without pressure.
Bad luck? None. Only learning opportunities on which we hope to build a stronger and more impactful program.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.fullspectrumstudio.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FullSpectrumStudioArt/
- LinkedIn: full-spectrum-studio-art
