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Stockton Record / Recordnet.com

July 6, 2009

Man's paintings sparked idea of Stockton center

By Roger Phillips

STOCKTON - One of John Ezell's latest works is a pastel-colored view of a famous family, dog and all. It's a charming and instantly recognizable depiction, a work Ezell is particularly proud of.

"There's Barack Obama and his family, there's the dog right there, that's the big White House, and I did the flowers as well, and I did my name, John Ezell, as you can see," the artist recently told some visitors. "I did a wonderful job on it. It took me a week to get it done. I got it done."

The 54-year-old Ezell has been coming to the Alan Short Center on the Stockton campus of California State University, Stanislaus, since the day it opened in 1976. In fact, his artistic aptitude inspired the Alan Short Center's establishment.

Short, who died at 84 in 2004, was a longtime state senator from Stockton who helped California lead the nation in extending rights to mentally ill and developmentally disabled people. Short's wife, Mary, started the center after meeting Ezell and recognizing his artistic talent.

"She visited a special-education school, met John, and was really impressed with his artwork," said Yvonne Soto, the chief executive officer of the agency that operates Stockton's facility and two Alan Short Centers in Sacramento. "She started thinking what a shame it was that there was no place for people with special needs to go after they got out of school."

Ezell is one of about 75 developmentally disabled adults who attends the Stockton center. The clients range in age from 19 to 76 and participate in an array of activities ranging from cooking and exercise classes to employment training to going on community outings.

Ezell - whose developmental disability includes difficulties with his feet that require him to use a cane to get around - has a vast and diverse body of work. In addition to his drawings, one of which won a prize at last year's San Joaquin County Fair, he's a creator of comic books, ceramic ballerinas and, recently, a very tastefully rendered clay stripper wrapped around a pole.

Many of his waking hours are spent making art, either at the center or at the care home in which he lives. Instructors at the center say art provides many with disabilities their primary means of self-expression.

"There are nonverbal students here, you see them with their artwork and you can see maybe what's deeper down below and connect with them," art teacher Michele Mannor said. "I couldn't imagine them not having a place like this."

California's financial crisis, however, is endangering programs such as those provided by the Alan Short Center. Ezell said he would stay at home or go to the mall if he no longer could visit the center. It's a possibility he'd rather not consider.

"I have a lot of good friends here," he said. "I would be sad and unhappy if I wouldn't have all my good friends here. That's the whole story ... the whole story right there."

Contact reporter Roger Phillips at (209) 546-8299 or rphillips@recordnet.com.