I went to the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts to sketch and Art and Autism event which was to be held on the 2nd floor Tupperware Brands Hospitality Suites. I never did find the suites but I did find this huge ballroom tiger overlooking the Dr. Phillips lobby.
I often teach students with Autism virtually at Elite Animation Academy. I have to training on how to teach students with autism but I have discovered that infinite patience can win over most students. Several of my students with autism have fabulous large dreams and they would return time and again as we refined their visions with sketches.
One of my students was creating book with two characters. We spent one series of 10 classes working on character designs, then another series of 10 classes working on story panels then we followed up with several classes refining the story panels into a book format. He set the pace and ultimately, we had a finished product that only needed to have the illustrations completed. Out of the blue he passed away. I was hiking with a friend on the Appalachian trail at the time so I couldn’t get back for his funeral. His book and characters sit in limbo so close to being finished. This was such an unexpected gut punch.