Derek's 4th Birthday

"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." -unknown

Derek turned 4 this week.  I'm having a hard time with it, for some reason.  Derek seems frozen in time at 20 months for me.  The older he gets, the more obvious his delays are.  When you are a toddler it is ok to not talk; to babble.  When you are 4?  Not ok anymore.  I want to protect him for as long as possible from all of the cruel people in this world.  But he is getting bigger by the day.  I won't be able to protect him forever. 

I finally have my first show lined up.  It will be this summer at the University of Tulsa.  I have a lot of work to do before then.  I'm supposed to have 20 pieces done.  At the moment I have 7...this is my latest.  It's about the bond between mother and child.

"Kyle: Love (The Bond Between Mother and Child)

Derek and I are also going to be in a documentary about autism.  A professor from Creighton University contacted me--he wants to film what life is like for a family dealing with autism.  He's going to come to the house and video tape us doing our "thing."  :)  I'm not sure when it's going to take place or what it will entail.  I'll keep you posted. 

"Alec: Ocean (Part 2)"

I finished the second part of Alec today.  :)

Happy Birthday!!

Happy late birthday to two of our kids in the project!  Brook turned 14 and Lilia turned 3!

I finished Part 1 of Alec.  This is going to be a slightly different piece.  I'm excited, but nervous!  I've never done anything like this piece before--I'm trying something new.  It will be a two-part piece--one part will be Alec's portrait and the other part will be an ocean scene of him running on the sand.  Alec loves the water.  :)  I'm anxious to see what it will turn out like.

"Alec:  Ocean (Part 1)"

Les Femmes Folles article, new kids, artwork by the kiddos

The article about me in Les Femmes Folles is up! :)
http://femmesfollesnebraska.tumblr.com/post/10042676441/beth-hanson-artist-activist

Also, there are a few new kids in the project--check out their pictures.  :)

Here is a watercolor by Aiden Hysell, a pastel drawing by Joey Madere and below it is a new watercolor by Derek.   

Watercolor by Aiden Hysell

Pastel drawing by Joey Madere

watercolor by Derek Hanson







The "aha moment"

My "aha moment" was posted online yesterday.  I'm not sure how I feel about it.  I watched it and of course thought of a billion things I could have said more eloquently.  But I can't change it now.  So, here it is.  Be nice--I'm better at expressing myself through art than I am at putting my thoughts into words!  :)

http://ahamoment.com/moments/2403

I have a facebook page!!!!

I finally created a facebook page for the project.  "Like" Autism Art Project for me!  I'd really appreciate it!  I'm just trying to get the word out about the project any way that I can... :)  I figure as often as everyone is on fb now, it will be easier to keep people up to date on what is going on.  Not everyone follows the blog...now if only I can figure out how to add a "like" buttton to the blog that connects back to fb...

"Joey: Turtle"

I finished my piece about Joey yesterday.  I spent the entire weekend sewing.  My family went to the lake; I stayed home sick.  It worked out ok though.  I'd finished the printing portion, so I watched a bunch of movies, cut out turtles, and sewed the rest of my piece together.  I'm not sure the rest of the world will understand why there are turtles crawling around the border of the piece, but I don't care.  Joey's mom said he's a slow-poke and that she's always telling him to hurry up.  He was the last one born, and he has also has a huge turtle collection from his father.  So the turtles fit perfectly.  :)  His mom started home-schooling him this year--I give her major props for that.  I'm not sure I'd have the patience to do that with Derek.  This print was a little difficult--I had some problems getting the landscape to look the way I wanted it to.  But I think I got it in the end.  I love the sunlight on his hat.  And the look on his face.  Another beautiful kid.  :)

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