and nice, it was Colin, the artist, who became a part of our extended family and forever changed Kevin’s life.
“Draw me a picture,” Kevin demanded upon learning that Colin
was artistic. “You draw me a picture,” Colin replied back. Kevin
wasn’t pleased with Colin’s response; however, he picked up a
marker and drew something that
resembled a dog, and this time it
wasn’t black.
The next week Colin brought
watercolors, the week after that
they painted with acrylics, the
third week it was oils, and so
on. Colin’s tutelage included
going to the library with Kevin
in search of art books. They’d
come home with books on Van
Gogh, Kadinsky, Hopper, and
Gauguin. Kevin would pour
over the pictures as Colin talked
to him about the artists. During
this phase, Kevin created paintings, which we called Kevin
Gauguins, Kevin Van Goghs, and Kevin Kadinskys.
Colin used art to enhance Kevin’s social communication. “What
color comes from yellow and blue?” Colin would ask while dabbing each color on Kevin’s palette. Kevin mixed them and replied,
“Green.” Kevin was learning the art of conversation with ART
through practical and visual experiences, in a way that, I have
come to find out, many autistics seem to learn.
Previous page: Kevin Hosseini Smithsonian VSA Exhibit “Bus or Cycle” in
Acrylic
This page: Kevin doing what he loves…
painting
Next page: Grant Manier’s “Puzzled
Butterfly”
Colin the art therapist may have started out showing us how to
communicate with our boy better, but he taught us a great deal
more. He showed us how to follow our child’s lead and taught us
that a child’s obsessions can become an art form—LITERALLY!
Kevin, from a young age, was obsessed with trains, so we encouraged him to put the trains on canvas. As with many things, you
never know where creativity can lead. One of Kevin’s train paintings ended up at Union Station in Washington D.C. for an art exhibit, and last year his painting “Bus or Cycle” travelled the world
as part of a VSA art exhibit. We were even flown to Washington
D.C. for the unveiling at the Smithsonian. (To see more of Kevin
Hosseini’s artwork, visit his webpage.)
Kevin’s experience inspired me to find other autistic young people,
and in so doing, I compiled the book The Art of Autism: Shifting
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Zoom Autism Through Many Lenses