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 251



This weekend Keychain A Day is being displayed at Ver(a)rt Gallery in Seattle! We finished installing last night. If you're in the area, it's at the Seattle Center: 305 Harrison Avenue. The closing reception is Monday 6-8 pm.

Day 249


Day 248

Tuesday, May 24, 2011




Tonight was Kelt's high school recognition/award ceremony. He
received $1,700 in scholarships and the Youngest Historian Award!

Day 242



Today Kelt presented his senior speech to a board of community members and passed! Every student has to give a speech and make a senior portfolio in order to graduate. This photo is right after, but only includes the seniors that have been in the school district for 13 years. Kelt's the one in the top, right corner. :)

He also got 18 new keychains in the mail from a family friend. 6,052 total!

Day 241

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Day 240

Monday, May 16, 2011


Austin Powers: blind contour drawing of 1/156 of Kelt's bobble heads.

These drawings are blind except when I briefly look at the paper to set the pen. This series represents Kelt's uninhibited drawing style and enhanced visual skills. To view more, click the bobble head label to the right.

Day 239

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Day 238


Day 237

Friday, May 13, 2011


Whatcom Museum Career Art Day - Kelt and I went on this field trip
with his high school art class. We listened to presentations and made art.


sculpture class

figure drawing

Day 236

Thursday, May 12, 2011


Tracy Thresher & Larry Bissonnette

Tonight my mom, sister, and I saw the documentary Wretches & Jabberers! This film's about two men with autism who travel to Sri Lanka, Japan, and Finland to meet other people with autism that use keyboards to communicate. In each country Tracy and Larry correct autistic misconceptions by showing the world that people with autism are intelligent and seek the same amount of purpose and interaction as everyone else. Overall this was a great film that everyone should take the time to see.

Day 235

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Day 234


Piece #11, sand

This is the 11th piece for our sculpture project. We haven't written the artist statement yet, but want to work with a variety of materials, such as wax, glue, and clay, etc., to see what Kelt likes. I'm curious to observe his process and learn if sculpture is a medium that he enjoys. I'm also interested in his relationship with the different materials. So far he's enjoyed wrapping and tying the most.

The materials are also important because people with autism often have unique responses to sensory stimuli. Examples include high threshold for pain, oversensitivity to sounds or being touched, exaggerated reactions to light or odors, or fascination with certain stimuli, etc. Hypersensitivities and/or hyposensitivities vary depending on the individual; for people with autism the continuum can range from no reaction to responses in all five senses.

This material was inspired by artist Andy Goldsworthy.

Line drawn in sand
Abersoch, Wales
September 1983

Carved Sand
Haarlem, Holland
13 August 1984

Day 233

Monday, May 9, 2011

Day 232

Saturday, May 8, 2011

Day 231

Saturday, May 7, 2011



Today our family visited the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture in Spokane. We got a few souvenirs: a Da Vinci keychain and puppets of Andy Warhol and Edvard Munch's The Scream!