Wassenberg head has eclectic background

CINDY WOOD/independent feature writer

Everyone has a little art in them and Hope Wallace, Wassenberg Art Center’s new executive director, is hoping to bring that out in people.

Wallace has always had a distinct love for anything and everything art, and as a child, she oftentimes found herself creating art in her own way. “My sister influenced me a lot,” Wallace said. “We would make little story books with illustrations. She would do one page and I would do the next page. I’d see her drawing and I’d get in the mood to draw. We would make little scenes with animals made out of clay. We really made our own kind of fun.”

Wallace’s career path has been an interesting one in which she enjoyed stints as a graphic designer, veterinary assistant, toy designer and production artist. During her time as an associate toy designer at Ohio Art in Bryan, Wallace was involved in the design of Betty Spaghetti, a popular children’s doll.

“I was involved initially in the first three sets,” Wallace said. “But that went on to be a pretty successful toy.”

As a toy designer, Wallace helped to turn an inventor’s concept into reality, using Styrofoam balls, pipe cleaners and storyboards. “It’s a really competitive industry actually,” Wallace said. “Sometimes we would do the sculpts for the molds, and sometimes not. It just depended on the specific project we were working on.”

These days, Wallace will have her hands full with plenty of projects and events coming up at the art center. Right now, she’s becoming familiar with her job and Van Wert’s landscape. “I like Van Wert very much,” she said. “The performing arts center just blew me away. I just love how the community supports the arts. I think Van Wert is a unique little spot on the map, kind of an unsung hero.”

Wallace is looking forward to this year’s schedule at Wassenberg, and is already familiar with events such as the June Art Show and ArtRageous. “I’ve actually been to ArtRageous a couple of times, and Wassenberg will definitely be taking an active role in that festival.”

With any new leader comes new direction and new ideas, and Wallace said she’s excited about the opportunities that await her. “I have different ideas than have probably been done in the past, and ideas on how to grow the center, as well as the support of the artists affiliated with Wassenberg,” Wallace said. “All of our regular shows will remain in place and the schedule is fairly set for 2011. But in the future, most definitely, I’m open to any kind of new ideas.”

One of those ideas might center on working art into the lives of the disabled, something Wallace has a passion for. While working at Bittersweet Farms in Whitehouse, Wallace brought art into the world of adults with autism.

“After working with disabled adults, it really became evident to me that creativity is the base of the human spirit,” Wallace said, adding that creativity is simply basic human nature. “I think some people think they aren’t creative because they can’t draw a picture, or paint a picture. That’s kind of a misnomer about art. Humans have many different creative processes.”

In her spare time, Wallace enjoys pottery, and recently started painting again. “I used to do illustrations, and I can still do that, but right now I’m just trying to paint in a way that I like to paint and I’m not quite there yet.”

Wallace was welcomed with an open house at the art center yesterday, an event during which she was warmly welcomed into the community. “The welcome and the warmth everyone has shown me has been unexpected, and that has been really nice,” Wallace said. “It’s so much like an open book here and I just want to fill it with all kinds of stuff. I have so many ideas and Wassenberg is such a gem and it’s a great opportunity to bring art to the public.”