Swirling oceans and creatures of all kinds make up the new mural at the Schenectady Jewish Community Center.
It's a world of color created by a unique group of artists.
"Thirty plus people. I didn't believe it. It was absolutely beautiful," said Mark Weintraub, Schenectady JCC executive director. "And I said, 'I have to meet these artists.' "
"I'm an artist," said Kristina Mann. "I'm doing print making. Kind of like rubber things, you can design a print you want. It's like a stamp."
"I draw a lot of cartoons. Like Japanese cartoons, Japanese animation," said Emily Smith. "I really enjoy it because it's really fun and you get to meet amazing people, and you get to meet people who have similar interests."
The painters behind the monumental map are students of the Living Resources Arts Program.
"People say that I'm autistic," Smith said. "So people go 'Oh, this is the stereotype for autistic people.' I'm just the opposite: very outgoing, very sociable."
Aspiring artists with disabilities develop their own individual talents in the program, from sculpting to mosaics, and of course painting.
"It does make me happy," Smith said, "because all of my emotions are filled with the page."
And now, they are filling an entire wall for the splashing families to enjoy.
"What a gift!" Weintraub said. "And what gifted people. I'd never be able to do anything like this."
"They have a big reaction," Mann said. "They like it, think it's really cool. I feel wonderful."
"It feels really great, because then you know that they're appreciative because you know that they really like the art that you and your friends have made," Smith said. "And it makes you feel really good inside."
It's an accomplishment that brings this young artist one stroke closer to her dream.
"I'd rather people look at us first as artists rather than people who are on the spectrum, or disabled," she said.