"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.  :)

close-up

Unanswered Questions

Sleepy Boy...

Yesterday when I was watching Derek sleep something occured to me...you know how we "think" in words? Does a non-verbal child dream in words? Or are his dreams full of beautiful images?  What does he even dream about?  I have 4 years worth of unanswered questions.  There are so many things I would like to ask my son.  So many simple, every day things that other parents take for granted.  I want to know what his favorite color is.  I want to know why he's fascinated with wheels and why he won't eat wet things, like noodles.  I want to know what his foot obsession is all about and why he likes to have two matching things at all times.  Most of all, I want to know if he's happy.  And if he knows how much I love him...

You know the saying, "Kids say the darndest things?"  It's true...Tyler has what I call "Tylerisms."  We giggle together all the time over things.  Lately at night we've been talking about how much we love each other.  "Tyler, I love you more than...chocolate chip cookies."  "Mommy, I love you more than...the moon!"  :)  I feel like I'm missing things with Derek.  By the time he learns to REALLY speak (more than one word responses), will he still be young enough to enjoy being silly with me???

Tylerisms of the past month:  "Sweetie, it's time to go!!!"  (when we were leaving a friend's house)

                              "Let's play Dingo"  (Instead of Bingo)

                              "Do I have to go back to that HORRIBLE place tomorrow?" (kindergarten)
and my personal favorite:

                              Tyler:  "Mommy, how does water put out fire?"

                              Me:  "I don't know, honey."

                              Tyler:  "Yes, you do.  JUST TELL ME!!"

For Derek, I have lots of precious, precious moments, but very few "Derekisms."  Maybe one would be that sometimes he calls Winnie the Pooh "Poop."  :)  He also sings (babble) when he takes a shower.  That's about it.  There are so many wonderful, beautiful things about a non-verbal child, but not knowing what he wants and not knowing what he is trying to say is NOT one of them.  It breaks my heart more and more each day that even though I know my child better than ANYONE on this earth, I do not know what he thinks and feels about life.  He is almost four years old...I've been waiting so long to hear his little voice.  If only he could get the words out.