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 162



I often look at Mark Haddon's website (author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) and came across his post about the book The Interrogative Mood: A Novel?, which includes 164 pages of philosophical questions. I thought it'd be interesting to ask Kelt a few:
  1. Who is your favorite painter? Van Gogh, Warhol, Da Vinci, and Michelangelo
  2. Do you picture the days of the week on a calendar in your mind? Yes
  3. Do you like fire? Yes because it’s fun to burn things.
  4. What dead person would you bring back to life? My old dog Liebe.
  5. What’s just about the worst thing you ever heard of? Celebrity deaths
  6. If you could emigrate to any country in the world and support yourself there, which country would it be? Japan
  7. Is there a particular odor or situation guaranteed to nauseate you? B-6 vitamins
  8. Would you like to have been at Pearl Harbor? Pearl Harbor would be a nightmare. It would be like an old motion picture.
  9. Who in your opinion was the greatest conqueror, military speaking, in history? Hitler or Stalin
  10. Have you ever dug up anything valuable? A toy that I buried five years earlier.
  11. If you got one today, what might you name a dog? I would get a corgi and name it Kailey because I miss her.
  12. What would you prepare if told that Einstein was coming to dinner? A Rice Krispies cake because it’s gluten and dairy free.
  13. Can you quickly name a good thing and a bad thing? Good thing: having a great collection. Bad thing: being cocky and skipping school.
  14. What is the best meal you have ever had? Steak
  15. Would you rather be in a hospital or in jail? Hospital
  16. In what endeavors would you say you have talent, and in what endeavors would you say you have no talent? I’m good at history and sports. I’m not bad at anything.
  17. What has been so far the best single day of your life? Placing at wrestling tournaments, especially state.
  18. Do you know what the longest military siege in the history was? Hundred Years’ War
  19. What on earth makes the least sense to you? Sometimes the words people say don't make sense.
  20. Did you ever love? Yes. Once in middle school and twice in high school.

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