Ten years ago - two years before I started working at The Son-Rise Program, I read a book called Exiting Nirvana - about a young woman named Jessica Park - who is diagnosed with autism. The book tells some of the story of her life, and describes the passion that Jessica gives to her art. And wow - the art she creates is absolutely amazing. If you'd like to see a sample of her art - check out her website:
For me, Jessica Park's art is inspiring because of the beauty she sees in the world. She pulls inspiration from the structures she sees in everyday life - the George Washington Bridge, the Flat Iron Building, etc. And each structure she draws, while so plain and colorless in real life - take on an almost ethereal quality when she adds the colors and the textures that she sees in each structure. They're breathtaking in their beauty. As I looked at Jessica Park's paintings, I just kept thinking to myself - what if we actually took time with every single special child - to find out how they see the world?
To me, being able to join a child's repetitious or exclusive activity is window into an entirely new world - a world I never would have seen without the guidance of all of the special children I meet every day. Until I saw Jessica's art, all I saw was a gray, metal bridge. Now - I can't help but see every bridge in a rainbow of color. Each child with autism that I meet shows me such beauty in the world - beauty in all of the places that I never thought to look.
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