In 1998 my youngest brother, Kelton, was diagnosed with autism, a developmental disability that affects communication and social interaction. Autism currently affects 1/88 people in the United States. Kelton is a talented individual who runs cross-country and track, wrestles, plays the drums, loves history, and collects bobble heads and keychains.

This year Kelton decided to enroll in his first art class where he discovered his skill for drawing. His unorthodox style made me reconsider my artwork and examine the differences and similarities that exist between our perspectives. According to Paul Collins’ Not Even Wrong: Adventures in Autism, artists are four times more likely to have autism in their families. Considering the number of artists in my family, this statistic made me question the similarities that exist between Kelton and me. For this reason, we have decided to draw one of his 6,481 keychains a day for one year. These drawings will be as simple and uninhibited as possible. This project will explore our individual perspectives and examine the similarities that exist between us as artists.

Day 114


This article was in today's paper:


PREP WRESTLING: Kelton's strong showing helps Blaine place seventh at Panther Classic

Kelton reached the 125-pound final of his first varsity wrestling tournament and helped Blaine to a seven-place showing at the Panther Classic on Saturday, Jan. 8, at Snohomish.

"Kelton wrestled very well," Blaine coach Craig Foster said in a phone message. "He had a pin and two major decisions in a pretty tough tournament to reach the final."

In the final, Kelton matched up with Lynden's Gabe Lilja, but lost via injury default, as Lilja claimed the title. He helped the Lions place 10th in the 14-team tournament.

Freshman Aiden Jackson also wrestled strong for Blaine at 112 pounds, claiming third place with a 4-1 win over Kentwood's Scott Willis in the third-place match.

"He beat some pretty good kids and wrestled really strong," Foster said of Jackson. "His only loss was to a state champion from Kentwood, so he did a really nice job placing third in this tournament."

Shaypher Hendricks also claimed third for the Borderites, pinning Mercer Island's Kyle Shanafelt in 5:07 in the third-place match. Blaine also got fifth-place finishes from Nick Iaconetti at 119 pounds, Justin Belding at 140 and Sheldon Hicks at 189.

In addition to Lilja's title, Lynden saw Nick Holen finish third at 285 pounds when he pinned Bethel's Jesus Rivera in 3:27. Zach Wilde also placed fifth.

Snohomish claimed first in the tournament with 207.5 points, while Kentwood was second in 180. Blaine scored 95 and Lynden had 71.
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