Liberation Through Creativity

Story by Caroline Gillen

Photos by Ellie Habel

Passion Works Studio strives every day to share and celebrate its art and creativity with the community.

Passion Works Studio is most well-known for its first major design, the passion flower. Alongside the passion flowers, Passion Works Studio also sells apparel, jewelry, quilts, ornaments, and books.

In 1996, a small workshop in Athens began with programs for people with developmental differences. Originally called Atco in the 1970s, Passion Works blossomed into what it is today after the title and building switch they made in the ‘90s.

The first programs were a factory-style environment in which people participated in repetitive activities like capping pens or stuffing envelopes. Patty Mitchell, one of the founders and the executive director of Passion Works Studio, had a different plan for the program.

“We thought, ‘What if we introduced an art space in this building and in this program?’” Mitchell says.

Passion Works Studio is deeply involved within the community and has commissioned a variety of art pieces and murals in the Athens area.

She ran with the idea and in 1998, after receiving a nine-month grant, Passion Works Studio was created. The studio moved out of the sheltered workshop and became a Collaborative Community Arts Center in uptown Athens.

“As we did art projects, we noticed people were really highly motivated and having fun while working. So, we thought not only could we make art but also create products that fit the individuals in the studio,” she says.

The Passion Works Studio mission is, “to inspire and liberate the human spirit through the arts.” The studio embodies its mission by upcycling materials for its collaborative art projects created by artists with and without developmental differences.

“It’s a really simple desire, but the trajectory is expansive,” Mitchell says.

One of the first major designs the studio came up with was for a passion flower.

“The passion flower responds to the workers and what they love to do, opposed to asking people to work themselves a certain way to assemble a product,” Michell says.

Every single passion flower is collaboratively assembled and hand-painted by the Passion Works artists. The passion flowers are constructed using upcycled aluminum printing plates from a local newspaper.

Alongside the passion flowers, Passion Works Studio also sells apparel, jewelry, quilts, ornaments and books. One artist, Tina McKee, recently finished her children’s book, Adventures of Loxy Foxy and Friends.

Artist Tina McKee works on a current project at Passion Works Studio. McKee has an art book out titled “The Adventures of Loxy Foxy and Friends.”

“My book is about animals, which is my favorite type of artwork to make,” McKee says.

McKee’s book and the other Passion Works products are available at www.passion-works-studio.myshopify.com

Passion Works Studio is deeply involved with the surrounding community. Every year around Halloween time, Passion Works’ “Honey for the Heart” event takes place. “Honey for the Heart” is a giant puppet parade where large crowds of people gather to experience the joy of the artwork.

Each puppet is made from upcycled and repurposed materials including sticks, cardboard, plastic and fabric. Passion Works Studio also participates in September’s “Turn it Gold” event for childhood cancer awareness. They build and sell “Turn it Gold” passion flowers and donate 20 percent of the sales to the research and awareness for childhood cancer.

“Part of our partnership is because people with Down syndrome have a higher rate for childhood cancers,” Mitchell says. “That’s something people don’t really know about. We want to bring awareness to it.”

Passion Works Studio has also commissioned artwork pieces at various places in Athens. There’s a mural and some artwork installed at the Athens County Public Library. There’s a giant passion flower in the mayor’s office and some more flowers decorating the walls in Front Room Coffeehouse.

Walking down Court Street, people can see various Passion Works artworks such as the decorated cigarette receptacles and newspaper racks. The biggest artwork on Court Street is the Passion Works Studio’s mural that welcomes people into the studio at the entrance.

Passion Works Studio adapted during the pandemic by turning their weekly Wednesday studio art nights into a virtual art night on Zoom. They also have their art van which delivers art materials and production materials to any artist who needs to stay home during the pandemic so that they can continue their work. The pandemic did not slow down the Passion Works’ artwork and drive.

“Passion Works Studio is an unusual kind of art organization, and we are dedicated to sharing our approach and processes,” Mitchell says. “We really want to shift the perception of potential for people, especially those with developmental differences. We’ve taken this model of passion and hope to spread it both nationally and internationally.”