Day 152

Today we left for the state tournament! We went to the high school pep assembly, where Kelt got a standing ovation, and then drove to Tacoma. We checked into the hotel and then went to a thrift store; he got 27 keychains, which helped ease his nerves a little. Besides a short work out in the Tacoma Dome, he watched movies and relaxed. The tournament starts tomorrow at 10 am. I'll keep everyone posted.

Day 151

Day 150

Polaroid pictures taken by Kelt.

Larry incorporates Polaroids into his paintings.

While I was searching for other artists with autism I came across Larry Bissonnette from Vermont. Along with his art he has also been traveling the world with Tracy Thresher, sharing their stories and correcting misconceptions about autism. Wretches and Jabberers, a documentary about their journey, will be released in April. To view the trailer, go to: http://www.wretchesandjabberers.org/index.php

Day 149

Happy Valentine's Day!

Day 148

Crayon wax, piece #5

This is the 5th piece for our new project. We haven't written the artist statement yet or figured out the specifics, 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.

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 friend and artist Mary Woodall.
http://www.marywoodall.com/

Day 147

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Kelt got second at Regionals, so... HE'S GOING TO STATE!

Day 146

Photograph by Darren Hauck for the New York Times

Ever since Kelt and I started this blog I've been researching other artists with autism. Today I came across Judy Endow from Madison, Wisconsin, who is an author and artist. She's written books, such as Making Lemonade, Hints for Autism's Helpers, and recently started producing art. Here are a few of her pieces:

Brown Paper Bag series

"Autism gifts me with a literal and concrete way of thinking. My thoughts are all in pictures. Hand building sculptures allows me to show my thoughts. Each sculpture in my Brown Paper Bag series is a rendition of how a person with autism might look were all people represented by brown paper bags. Autistics may appear a little scruffy like a rumpled brown paper bag, with tears or even with the bottom of the bag missing. Some people cannot see beyond the autistic scruffies and thus miss the blessings of individual autistic uniqueness" (Endow, Autism Society of America).

Whispering Strength series

"Each sculpture of my Whispering Strength series depicts how relationships look to me. Each sculpture is made from two main pieces of clay, each curving in its own separate way, yet fitting together to make a new whole" (Endow, ASA).

Judy's story, an audio interview, and other pictures can be found at:

http://www.autism-society.org/living-with-autism/stories/judy-endow.html

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/04/02/health/healthguide/TE_autism.html

http://www.judyendow.com

Day 145

Autism mostly affects behaviors that are associated with communication and social interaction. These social impairments create a unique perspective that makes it difficult for people with autism to relate to others. This phenomenon violates the Theory of Mind, which creates a mutual understanding between conversational partners that the speaker and listener differ in their thoughts and perspectives. Here is an example from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time:

"Julie sat down at a desk next to me and put a tube of Smarties on the desk, and she said, 'Christopher, what do you think is in here?'

And I said, 'Smarties.'

Then she took the top off the Smarties tube and turned it upside down and a little red pencil came out and she laughed and I said, 'It's not Smarties, it's a pencil.'

Then she put the little red pencil back inside the Smarties tube and put the top back on.

Then she said, 'If your mummy came in now and we asked her what was inside the Smarties tube, what do you think she would say?'

And I said, 'A pencil.'

That was because when I was little I didn't understand about other people having minds"
(p. 115-6).

Day 144

Beads, piece #4

This is the 4th piece for our new project. We haven't written the artist statement yet or figured out the specifics, 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.

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.

Day 143

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Kelt and Scott during Homecoming week.

Our friend, who's also the principal, recently went to Japan with the high school band. He brought back this keychain for Kelt's birthday. He said it cost "serious yen."