Felicity House hosted a Self-Advocacy Advisory Board Friends and Family Wellness Event on December 10. The event featured two members of Felicity House’s Self-Advocacy Advisory Board, Lindsey Nebeker and Brigid Rankowski, who discussed the topic of autism and wellness with community members who asked questions about self-care. Lindsey is a musician, photographer, and disability rights advocate. She is strongly focused on the message of presuming competence for all people regardless of their labels. Brigid is a disability advocate and performer. She has a vested interest in women and LGBTQIA+ rights and the promotion of the arts as a creative outlet and career path.
Both Lindsey and Brigid gave personal and thorough responses to questions about wellness such as “what are some ways that you cope with stress?” and “how do you navigate wellness and take care of yourself when you are approaching burnout or are in burnout?” They also shared their own unique ways of practicing self-care.
When speaking about stress, Lindsey said, “managing stress is about respecting yourself. Figure out what is at the core of what is making you stressed so you know how to handle it.” Brigid said, “I manage stress by reminding myself that I have the power to react internally to events that happen to me externally. I can’t control everything external, but I have the power to control how I react to it internally.”
In response to the question of how to navigate burnout, Lindsey and Brigid encouraged community members to set intentional habits for themselves, such as turning off notifications on their phones and only using their phones for a set amount of time a day. They also recommended community members ask themselves, “what do you want and what do you need to be your truest self?”
After the Self-Advocate panel discussion, community members got the chance to decorate their own wellness pouch and fill the pouch with self-care items such as fidget toys, worry stones, and affirmation cards. Members also got the opportunity to fill out wellness cards with questions about how they practice their own forms of self-care. Some of the completed wellness cards will be featured in Felicity House’s wellness room.
The event concluded with a reception that included light refreshments and the opportunity to listen to Lindsey and Brigid share their art and hobbies with community members.
In case you missed it, check out audio of the discussion with Lindsey and Brigid, below!
The third annual Felicity House Art Gallery Show opening reception and family and friends event took place over the course of two days this past September. The event showcased 80 pieces of community member artwork including poems, sculptures, paintings and photography in a gallery setting.
The opening reception held on September 26th gave community members the opportunity to come together, alongside their guests, and enjoy the art in a cocktail party-type environment.
A video about Felicity House’s pilot Arts Residency Program was also shown, highlighting a new program that will soon be offered to all members.
The “Friends and Family” hours held on September 27th invited community members and their guests to experience the artwork in a quieter, more museum-like setting, where they could walk around the gallery as much or as little as they wished, with no interruptions.Members thought “the layout was so beautiful and professional. It looked like a gallery I would pay to see.”
Both days offered community members the opportunity to appreciate community member art, work on a community mosaic tile project, and chat about their favorite pieces. One member who attended the event said, “The art was so amazing and impressive. I’m a big fan!”
In case you missed it, check out a brief walkthrough video of the art show below, or take a look at the 2024 Community Member Zine to view the artwork more closely.
British author and comedy writer, Sara Gibbs, virtually joined Felicity House on Saturday February 25th (2023). She shared how her passion for writing developed, how she explored her special interests, her reactions to her autism diagnosis, and how she has used her strengths to shape and develop her career. She read an excerpt from her book, “Drama Queen One Autistic Woman and a Life of Unhelpful Labels,” and shared tips for aspiring writers.
Sara ended the event by encouraging community members to explore their passion for writing by saying “even if you are just doing it for yourself at first, keep a notebook, or your notes app or whatever else, just write down your observations, write down things that make you laugh, write down things you find interesting, write down unusual things that happen, just do it, just keep writing!”.
You can watch the whole webinar session down below:
In the month of November (2022), Felicity House community had the incredible honor of hosting disability rights advocate, Judy Heumann, in a virtual webinar that was open to community members and their guests. Over 70 guests tuned in for this webinar and got to hear Judy converse with Felicity House members about disability representation and advocacy. During the webinar Judy reminded us about the power of coming together as a community and how this is a form of advocacy, to choose and create community. Judy noted that “Felicity House is a place where people choose to convene, to come together, to have discussions, to learn from each other, to strengthen each other and I think all of that is important!”
You can watch the whole webinar session down below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI1mSk1y5xA
By Dr. Chang Tan, Assistant Professor of Art History and Asian Studies at Penn State College of Arts and Architecture, and guest presenter at Felicity House’s Global Cultures Social, May 2022
As a part of the “Global Cultures” series and a way to celebrate the Asian American and Pacific Island Heritage Month, I had the pleasure of introducing Global Asias to the members of the Felicity House. I curated this exhibition in 2021; it will open at the Heckscher Museum of Art in June 2022. Featuring works of fifteen artists of Asian heritage, Global Asias showcases the cosmopolitan, playful, and subtly subversive characteristics of contemporary Asian and Asian American art.
The exhibition is divided into three thematic sections. Exuberant Forms features works that use traditional “Asian” craftsmanship, such as ceramics and papers kites, to make abstract art that are wildly inventive. Jun Kaneko exploits the uncontrolled qualities of the ancient raku ware to create explosive motions.
Jun Kaneko, Japanese (b. 1942). Untitled, Raku Wall Slab, 2014
Jacob Hashimoto’s unique 3D printing techniques leads to dynamic and versatile designs. Moving Stories reflect on the experiences of migration, showing both the traumatic and the hopeful aspects of moving across borders. Roger Shimomura, for example, uses a cartoonish format to portray how his Japanese American family were sent to internment camps during WWII.
Roger Shimomura, American (b. 1939), American Guardian, 2007
Hung Liu, meanwhile, uses three self-portraits to illustrate how she transitioned from a forced laborer in China to a proud citizen in the United States. Asias Reinvented highlights how Asian art and cultures engage contemporary global issues such as commercialism and climate change. Takashi Murakami’s Wink refers to the icon of a Buddha but also works as a toy, with Murakami’s signature three-eyed “Mr. DOB” and grinning sunflower designs that are both cute and creepy.
Takashi Murakami Japanese (b. 1962), Wink, 2000
Manabu Ikeda’s Iceberg draws from his study of the 2012 nuclear meltdown in Fukushima, Japan but also suggests how fragile our world could be while facing natural disasters.
More information about the artwork can be found in this virtual tour. Organized at a time when anti-Asia racism in the U.S. was on the rise, Global Asias shows how diverse “Asia” is, and how it is tied to the rest of the world. The divide between peoples is often misplaced and illusionary. Art lays bare our shared fears and dreams, and help us map our entangled destinies ahead.
“It’s a place where I can remove the mask I’ve created for myself out in the world and just be who I am without any fear of judgment.”
Look, we’re on TV! Click here to watch the segment.
On January 21st , we had the incredible opportunity to spread the word about Felicity House on the Today Show to audiences across the United States! The segment featured some of our community members, our Executive Director, Beth Finkelstein, and Sharon daVanport, Felicity House Advisory Board Member and founder of the Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network. The segment focused on the mission and impact of Felicity House for both our community members and the autism community at-large. The episode aired on January 21st at 10:00am on the 3rd Hour.
In November, we celebrated thankfulness and gratitude by hosting Thanksgiving-themed events throughout the month. We focused on what we are thankful for in our lives and also gave back to the community by making holiday cards to senior citizens. Our Thanksgiving festivities included classic dishes prepared by Felicity House Chef, Maggie. For those of you hosting your own Thanksgiving holiday, we wanted to share our very own chef Maggie’s delicious turkey recipe below. Enjoy!
Felicity House Turkey Recipe:
1 boneless/skinless turkey breast (approximately 1 ½ – 2 pounds in weight)
1 small bunch of sage
1 small bunch of rosemary
1 small bunch of thyme
3 cups of Kosher salt
3 or 4 cloves of garlic
Zest from 1 lemon
1 Freezer-sized ziplock bag
1 Flat baking pan
Meat thermometer
Instructions:
Prior to cooking the turkey breast, brine the
turkey in a ziplock bag. Place the turkey breast with the kosher salt, herbs,
garlic and lemon zest in the ziplock bag and fill with cold water so that it
just covers the turkey. Place in a large bowl in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours
and let sit.
Once your turkey has brined, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pull the turkey out of the brine bag and remove and excess salt, herbs, or lemon. Place on a flat, non-stick baking pan and place in the oven to bake. The turkey will cook for 20 minutes per pound of meat- so if your turkey is 1 pound it will cook for 20 minutes; if your turkey is 2 pounds it will cook for 40 minutes. Once your meat has cooked for the allotted time, check the internal temperature with a meat thermometer. You want the meat to be at least 155 degrees. Once the meat reaches this temperature go ahead and pull it from the oven. Let the meat rest on the counter for 15-20 minutes before carving.
Did you know that oceans cover 70% of Earth’s surface and that marine species outnumber those on land? In fact, 94% of the Earth’s living species exist in the ocean. These astounding facts were a small fraction of the information we learned at our recent lecture, “Mysteries of the Ocean“.
Throughout the year we try to cover a variety of topics for our lecture series, from history to art, from fashion to science. We recently hosted Dr. Mercer Brugler, an expert on all things ocean-related who specializes in the evolution of black coral and sea anemones.
Dr. Brugler runs a molecular lab at the American Museum of Natural History where high school students and undergraduates are submerged in deep-sea evolutionary biology. He is also an adjunct Assistant Professor at NYU’s School of Professional Studies (Division of Applied Undergraduate Studies) and a Research Associate at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History (Washington DC).
With his enthusiasm and extensive knowledge, Dr. Brugler made coral and deep-sea biology seem interesting and exciting to both science and non-science enthusiasts.
At Felicity House, we offer a wide array of fitness classes that reflect the diverse interests of our community, everything from cardio dance to low impact yoga.
Curious to learn more about fitness at Felicity House? Here’s a sampling of some of our instructors:
Layla Luciano: Boxing
Layla Luciano is Felicity House’s professional boxing instructor. In addition to teaching “jab, cross, punch” sequences at Felicity House, Layla is a master instructor at Barry’s Bootcamp, SLT, Sweat Shed, Lifetime Athletic, and co-founder of PACT Park Kickboxing. You also might recognize Layla as one of the stars of Bravo TV’s show: Workout New York.
Kyla Barkin: Yoga & Meditation
When she’s not teaching yoga and meditation, Kyla Barkin a professional dancer and choreographer who has toured internationally and is a recipient of the Jean Irwin Award. Kyla is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of BARKIN/SELISSEN PROJECT, a New York City based contemporary dance company that presents both live performances and workshops.
Ms. Vee: Hip Hop & Line Dancing
Ms. Vee brings the fire, teaching party-inspired hip hop routines for our community members at Felicity House. Ms. Vee is a professional dancer with a background in Hip-Hop, House, Ballet, Jazz, Swing, Modern, etc. She’s performed for Queen Elizabeth II and in the Off-Broadway and touring productions of Rennie Harris’ Legends of Hip-Hop.
We had a great summer at Felicity House. To celebrate the season of sun, we planned summer-focused activities. In our Circles, which are small social meetings (you can read more about them here), we enjoyed a Mixology demo and made our own zen sand boxes.
Our DIY zen gardens were created by using wooden boxes that we decorated using paint and markers. We then added sand, rakes, shells and gratitude rocks. The beach-themed boxes will help us enjoy summer all year round!
For Mixology, we brought in a professional mixologist who taught us how to blend three summer drinks. These non-alcoholic beverages were the perfect way to cool off on a hot day. The drink shown below was a magical Butterfly Lemonade with a base of tea and lemons that changed colors when we added certain ingredients. Check out the recipe below.
Butterfly Lemonade Recipe
Ingredients: • 5 Tablespoons of Azul tea (this can be ordered online and includes Butterfly Pea – Lemon Verbena – Lemongrass) • 5 Whole Lemons • Maple Syrup • Ice • Filtered or Spring Water
Directions: Brew Azul Tea in French Press, let it sit for ten minutes. While waiting, juice lemons separately. After ten minutes, add lemon juice to Azul Tea and watch it transform from dark purple to bright pink! Add Maple Syrup to taste. Serve with ice and garnish with lemon wedge. Enjoy!
