Keychain A Day: disney

Showing posts with label disney. Show all posts

Day 328

Sutherland Hotel, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 2001

Flying High, 2000, 12 x 9.5", acrylic

"When an individual is marked by disability a small gesture of acceptance, empathy and caring can lift that person's spirits and help in their recovery process literally sending them flying high in spirit and emotion." - Smoluk

For the next week we're going to discuss different artists that were published in the book Artism. This work was done by artist Ryan Smoluk from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He paints with acrylic, draws comics, and sculpts with clay, etc. He's shown his work in numerous galleries across North American and has four murals in Winnipeg! To see more of his work, check out ryansmoluk.ca.

Day 327

Day 313

Today Kelt and I submitted our drawings to an art show in Spokane called NEED | WANT. I thought this would be a good show for us because it's concerned with the "way contemporary American society assigns value and priority." In our statement I tried to explain how this idea relates to Kelt and his keychains, but once I started, it was harder to describe than I thought. This is what we finally said:

Our drawings and Kelton's keychain collection fit well with the show’s concept. For him there’s a fine line between need and want and sometimes there’s no difference at all. Even though he WANTS more keychains, the desire to have as many as possible has become a driving force. For this reason he NEEDS his collection because it provides ease and escape, which is important in a hectic society that’s ruled by norms and expectations. He enjoys his keychains because it’s comforting to control something. Most people with autism have specific interests and prefer a lifestyle that is consistent and predictable.

Day 302

My Dad and Kelt have similar glasses, which emphasize their likeness. For this reason, Kelt hates wearing them at the same time. When they watch a movie together, he makes my Dad take them off because it makes him "feel uncomfortable." One would never assume that such a minor detail would cause such anxiety and perseveration.

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.