By Ashley M. Casey

Associate Editor

Jacqueline Colello paints with a purpose.

Often, Colello uses her artwork to give back to others. In December, Colello collected supplies for area animal shelters by placing donation boxes at Syracuse-area establishments where she sells her paintings.

Now, Colello is continuing to give back in 2020. She is planning an art show at Laci’s Tapas Bar to benefit the David Clark Learning Center, Access CNY’s music and art center for people with brain injuries. One of the owners of Laci’s, Laura Serway, helped found the center in 1994 after her brother, Charles Serway, sustained a traumatic brain injury in a 1991 car accident.

“It resonates with my story,” said Colello. “Back in 2011, I was in a really bad car accident and then I found painting, found God and got sober.”

Colello was fortunate to recover from her injuries, but she remembers the frustration of not being able to do things she used to, and the judging stares from people gawking at her broken nose and jaw. She underwent reconstructive surgery for her injuries.

“I [couldn’t] chew properly because of the way my jaw had to be put back together. It was so frustrating,” she recalled. “It made me really grateful for life.”

The accident was a wake-up call for Colello, who decided to seek treatment for her alcoholism. Without alcohol as a distraction, she had to figure out her purpose in life.

“We get stuck in that ‘What can I do next to make me happy? Go out and get my hair done and my nails done and go out drinking with my friends?’ Our society is very ‘me’-focused,” she said.

Colello picked up a paintbrush and turned her focus outward. She said her goal is to generate “just some positive energy put out in the world,” especially given recent tragedies in the news such as the Australian bushfires, earthquakes in Puerto Rico and the helicopter crash last month that killed basketball superstar Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven other people.

In addition to benefiting the DCLC, the show at Laci’s gives Central New Yorkers a night out that is not focused on drinking.

“Our community really needs a bit more culture. Doing an art show gives people a reason to go out besides drinking at the bars or going to an SU game,” Colello said. “Laci’s is a hidden gem. There’s a lot of people who need to know that Syracuse has this awesome spot.”

While she is preparing for the art show next month, Colello has released another project. She is selling hand-painted reusable grocery totes — just in time for New York state’s ban on single-use plastic carryout bags, which takes effect March 1.

“I’m really for the planet, I’m for animals, I’m just an advocate for all living beings and the earth that we live on,” Colello said. “I think it’s awesome that our world is starting to change.”

Colello’s bags feature designs reading “Straight Outta Groceries,” “This queen goes green,” and “Love reigns here,” which has the planet Earth sporting a crown.

“That’s what the whole basis of going green is: loving our world. We have to treat it with love and respect,” she said.

The totes are $30 each or two for $50 at colellocreations.com.

Colello’s art show benefiting the David Clark Learning Center was originally scheduled for March 21 but has been postponed. For more information, contact Jacqueline Colello at [email protected] or 315-715-5103. Check out her art @ColelloCreations on Facebook and Instagram.