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 350






A couple of years ago I did a project with 30 middle school students with disabilities. They were asked to draw/write about one of their goals, short or long term, on a paper leaf, which were hung on a tree at WSU. I wanted to show a few responses because I think they're encouraging and/or revealing, such as the last one. A 13-year-old boy shouldn't be concerned about getting through his day. It made me wonder if these kids were ever asked this question and encouraged to pursue their goals or if their label had already tainted their confidence and future...
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