Cyber Arts Fest

[Guest guest]

Better late than never. Sorry this took so long to upload. With

computer problems and fighting with my Mom's oncologist, I was not

able to put this together until now. I did include the Maine group

Gail posted about the other day and Ellen will be happy to see a lot

of info about Arts for Life. I think most of the links will work.

I just wanted to thank Gail, especially, for all her input with our

Cyber-Arts Fest. We'll get together one of these days SOON, girl!

Also, many thanks to Gloria and N.

I had thought I posted my art essay on the last day of our fest but

saw that I didn't. I really wanted to share this with you. Hope

you enjoy it.

Marie, co-moderator

A Silent Wood

" Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no

birds sang there except those that sang best. " -- Henry Van Dyke

I have seen folks with disabilities give performances in several

performing art disciplines that are nuanced and passionate and have

moved me beyond what I expected to feel. These were far from

perfect but watching people who are not suppose to understand

subtext give surprisingly complicated performances inspires me to

look deeper at this population.

If we want our children to become full members of our communities,

all avenues have to be open to them, even the artistic ones. There

are things that must be in place first, of course. Meaningful

employment, housing and transportation plus any health issues have

to be addressed. And, just like everyone else, people with

disabilities have their own tastes. My son 's love for his

CD of Luciano Pavarotti singing with Sting and Zucchero (an Italian

pop star) may not be your son's or daughter's cup of tea but Russ

loves it! Sometimes, in our frustration with our children and

disability, we forget they are people with likes and dislikes and

talents and an inner life we may not understand. We get caught up

with other things, which may or may not be more important, but we

forget. Art and music touch our inner self; reach us on levels

deeper and richer than every day life. Why can't the arts reach our

children at those same levels?

How many times, in your own life, have you turned up the radio on

your way home from a stressful day, letting the music wash away the

stress? Or, have you sung along with it? Loud. Have you doodled or

drawn when you were bored or upset? Do you pick up your knitting or

crochet to release stress or be creative? Do you sing in your

church or temple choir or attend performing arts events in your

community and do you feel connected to others through your singing

or listening? What about dancing? Do you take a ballroom class

with your partner (or do you WANT to) or line dance at your favorite

country western place? I am proposing our loved ones deserve the

same outlets, the same way of handling stress or feeling connected,

what ever their level of functioning. Artistic expression is a

basic, human thing and our kids are people.

My autistic son is artistic. It sounds funny, I know, but he is.

At 12 months of age, he could match pitches, something that is

difficult for most children under the age of 6 or 7 years to do. He

has a sense of style and color and something we call " Feng

Shui " , his version of how his surroundings should be. He loves

music, of all sorts, and has quite a collection of CDs. He enjoys

movies, mostly Disney, but has a sense of what he likes and plays

those over and over again. He has long been interested in coloring,

painting and collage and can be occupied by his art work for hours

some days. We don't consider art " busy work " or something he is

doing just to " do " something because it gives him such joy. It is

truly an outlet for him to communicate who he is, to us and to the

world.

Russ has perfect pitch, as does one of his brothers. Years ago, at

a youth symphony concert, was sitting with us as the high

school group tuned and tuned and tuned. He started to hum--his

brother, Ben, looked me dead in the eye and said, " he's humming the

pitch they're trying to tune to, Mom! " He loves to listen to our

piano tuner tune our grand--and will hum pitches that should be,

before they're tuned. One tuner told me he hates people with

perfect pitch--I told him not to hate Russ, it's the only thing he

can do.

My question to you is why shouldn't he be artistic and musical? His

mother and brothers are musicians, as well as a grandmother, a great-

grandmother and an uncle. He has two aunts who are artists and

designers, as well as cousin who is a landscape designer. A

grandfather was a nationally known dancer and ballet master. His

father is a music lover and played music in our home from the time

he was in the womb and beyond. Just because he is disabled doesn't

cancel out his heritage of an artistic lineage. He is a person, not

a disability, and his artistic bent is separate from his autism.

Someone asked me a few years ago, as I was preparing to direct a

new, elite chamber choir, if I could tolerate those not really

musically gifted singing in my choirs. It was an odd question and

this person did not know my background. It was then I remembered

the quote of Henry van Dyke. Everyone should be able to participate

in the arts, what ever their level, what ever their interests. Our

world is enriched because of their participation. It would indeed

be a very silent wood if they weren't encouraged.

Marie Grass Amenta, copyright 2008