Art And Autism

Posted on by Thor

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.

The Origins of my Magic at Fringe

Posted on by Thor

Cody Clark who is from Louisville Kentucky had his second appearance at the Orlando International Fringe Festival this year. In this show he answered the question  of where his magic comes from. It consisted of traditional slight of hand tricks like knotting a rope and having the knot slip off of the rope.

Cody’s show isn’t all about the tricks. he is on the Autism spectrum and he described how his love on magic helps him in his very social choice of a career as a magician. This was a unique biographical magic show that showed how he saw things as a person with autism. Autism affects fine motor skills, so card tricks and
other sleight of hand can be hard for Clark. But having autism benefits his craft as well. He said his tendency to fixate on things,
whether it’s rehearsing or marketing, makes him very disciplined. He was loud and direct in his delivery and under that lies an undeniable enthusiasm and charm. Part of his earnings from the Fringe would go to an autism awareness organization. The rest he joked would go to his beer tent fund.

On his first trip to  the Orlando Fringe he stayed with Gail and Al Pergande‘s home. On that occasion the transmission on his car died out which could be an emergency for any performer on the road. It set him back $3500. He set up a Go Fund Me and bravely set that problem to the back  of his mind as he drew in crowds to his show. Gail and Al were in this audience and happy to be hosting him again.

One of his tricks consisted of making lemonade from a single lemon, a cup and a lemonade canister. I included those props in my sketch. Just like his lemon of a transmission, Cody accepted that when you get a lemon you make lemon aid. One lucky audience volunteer got to taste the results. We were all lucky to get to watch Cody’s enthusiasm. He knows how to find mentors and continues to grow as a magician and performer. He recently got to perform with one of his idols in Las Vegas. Sometimes dreams do come true if you acknowledge the difficulties but keep performing with plenty of faith.