Our Mission:
To educate and empower individuals with developmental disabilities to realize their full potential.
Learn More About Us
Our Mission:
To educate and empower individuals with developmental disabilities to realize their full potential.
Learn More About Us
Student’s here participate in Sophie’s Gallery, creating art in many different mediums for themselves and for selling in Sophie’s Gallery.
Sophie's Gallery
Dear Friends,
As an artist and a visionary . . . Tim Conaway has an amazing talent to share. By merely turning pages in the atlas he carries, Tim takes us on a journey as he travels the world through his visionary-art–of-possibilities. From Kentucky to Alaska, Norway to Madagascar, Tim’s beautiful landscapes are drawn from his unique autistic point of view, in a style that he refers to as “dreamscapes”.
Using colored pencils, Tim prefers to draw valleys and mountains. However this was not always the case. Ever since he was a young boy, Tim has been fascinated with forms of transportation. His father would take him to the airport and rail yard and tell him all about the makes and models of various planes and steam trains. Tim remembered every last detail. He drew steam trains and airplanes with precision. And listed specific facts such as make, model, passenger capacity, and more.
Norway 2011
Tim has taken a few art classes over the years and was no stranger to the art world. But it wasn’t until he came to St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center that his talent truly evolved. Tim started coming to the Center in 2009 because of Sophie’s Gallery Art Program – an innovative art program that Tim’s family had heard so much about.
While attending St. Madeleine’s, Tim has developed his talent by using other media. His Self Portrait, Guy Lombardo, and Elton John were done using acrylic paint. Additionally, he has ventured away from landscapes on occasion and has drawn areas of St. Madeleine’s campus including our new Gazebo and Sophie’s Vineyard. Tim’s artwork has been on display at the UCLA Geffen School of Medicine, The Museum of Modern Art in Kiev Ukraine, and at Space 4 Art in San Diego.
Tim has also worked in numerous places over the decades including a donut shop, hotel, and restaurant just to name a few. He lives in El Cajon on his own with a roommate and enjoys watching television, visiting with his four siblings, and going to St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center five days a week where he enjoys dancing, recreational activities and, of course, Sophie’s Gallery Art Program.
Celebrating 15 years, Sophie’s Gallery Art Program has been an innovative and unique art curriculum for over 400 adult students with developmental disabilities and has become an active partner in the art community. The art program provides a creative outlet and promotes self-expression. It also builds students’ fine motor skills and provides a way for the students to earn a modest income through the sale of their artwork at public art openings.
Tim Conaway 2013
We are asking YOU to celebrate our 15th year of Sophie’s Gallery Art Program with a gift of $100 or more. However, no gift is too small. Every gift matters in the lives of adults with developmental disabilities. Send your gift TODAY in the enclosed envelope or donate online by visiting www.stmsc.org.
Thank you in advance for supporting Tim and the other student artists with developmental disabilities who benefit every day from Sophie’s Gallery Art Program at St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center!
Your caring and helpful generosity is greatly appreciated.
Warm regards,
Debra Emerson, MBA
Chief Executive Officer
P.S. Will you please consider a gift of $100 or more? Donations received by December 31, 2014 qualify for a tax deduction. Our Tax ID number is: 95-1957332.
P.P.S. Looking for another way to support the Center? Consider listing St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center as a beneficiary in your estate plan, retirement account, or insurance policy. Contact Kellye Buchanan, Donor Relations Officer, at (619) 442-5129 ext. 332 for more information, or visit us online at www.smsclegacy.org. If you’ve already put us in your estate plan, please let us know so we can recognize your caring generosity as a member of our Legacy Circle.
As we celebrate Thanksgiving this week and reflect on the past year, we wish to express our sincere gratitude to the foundations, organizations, and sponsors who have provided financial support for our unique and quality programs at St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center.
A-1 Storage
The Arthur and Jeanette Pratt Memorial Fund
Bank of America Charitable Foundation
Barona Resort & Casino
Beyster Family Foundation Fund IV at The San Diego Foundation
BCIS Insurance Services
California Institute of Contemporary Arts
Caltrans – 5310 Program
Chevron Corporation
City of El Cajon
C.J. and Dot Stafford Memorial Trust
Community Service Association of the San Diego Unified School District
David S. Copley Foundation
Downtown El Cajon Business Partners
Elks Lodge 1812
Encinitas Lions Club
John and Colleen Garbeczewski Family Foundation
Peter and Mary Ellen Ferrantelli
Georges and Germaine Fusenot Foundation
Giving Back Magazine
Grossmont Healthcare District
Chris and Karen Hinman
The Heller Foundation of San Diego
iMortgage
The John M. and Sally B. Thornton Foundation
Keller Williams Realty
Knights of Columbus
KPBS
Kraemer Endowment Foundation
Lundy Insurance Brokers, Inc.
Marcoa Publishing
Menard Family Foundation
The Oak Tree Philanthropic Foundation
Parkway Plaza
Price Philanthropies Foundation
Rotary Club of El Cajon
RunEC Foundation
Society of the Sacred Heart, Fund for Ministry
San Diego Commission of Arts and Culture
San Diego County Credit Union
San Diego County Employees’ Charitable Organization
San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles
SANDAG – Job Access and Reverse Commute Program
SDG&E
Sempra Energy Foundation
Society of the Sacred Heart, Duchesne Fund for Ministry
The SoCo Group Inc.
St. Madeleine Sophie’s Auxiliary
Sundt Foundation
Sycuan Casino
The Oak Tree Foundation
The San Diego Foundation – GiveBIG
The Thursday Club
Torrey Pines Kiwanis Foundation, Inc.
Toyota of El Cajon
University of California, San Diego
University of San Diego
Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians
Walmart Foundation
Walter J. and Betty C. Zable Foundation
Waste Management
Join the Shop Small movement on Small Business Saturday, November 29, 2014 and shop Sophie’s Gallery El Cajon in the Historic Downtown District. Participating merchants in the area will be offering discounts and hors d’oeuvres for a lively holiday shopping experience. Sophie’s Gallery & Gift Shop will be open from 10am to 7pm.