The Art of Autism is thrilled that so many artists participated in the Finding Your Inner MozArt art contest. 35 artists participated. Students from the Pasitos program, which serves autistic students in Tijuana, participated as well. See their submissions here.
Judging will be complete by the end of April and winners will be announced the first week of May. We are delighted to announce our acclaimed art judges here.
This is Post 1 and includes artists Alex Nichols, Austin John Jones, Bonnie Appel, Chad Cummins, Maranda Russell, Jeremy Sicile-Kira, Nicole Corrado, Joel Anderson, Wendi E Powers, and Pamela Urfer. Page 2 is here and Page 3 is here
ALEX NICHOLS
“Night Music” was created for Mainly Mozart. I was inspired by Austria and the fancy costume balls that were popular when Mozart lived there. I also liked the name of the music piece, “A little night music”. I used a mask, pearls and a lady pin with jewels to represent the masquerade dance, and little music pins and balls for the sheet music.
I was inspired by the rich colors and excitement of New Orleans and Mardi Gras. I used a row of skull beads to represent Voodoo and colorful Mardi Gras bead necklaces with saxophones.
Alex Nichols Acoustic Textile
I was inspired by the mellow and bright sounds of Acoustic music. We listen to an acoustic music channel called Coffeehouse in our car. The beads are like beats. I like this music because it is simple and easy to listen to. It feels a little spiritual to me and gold necklace represents that to me.
AUSTIN JOHN JONES
I created this art because of how popular the Beatles are and a lot of my friends and family are inspired by the Beatles. So I created a piece based on that.
Jimi Hendrix has fascinated me since my dad introduced me to him. He is hands down my very favorite musical artists of all time.
Ray Charles is one of my favorite musical artists of all time. I can listen to anything he does over and over again and I never get tired of it. He is very important to me.
BONNIE APPEL
CHAD CUMMINS
MARANDA RUSSELL
My name is Maranda Russell and I am a multi-award-winning author, artist, and blogger who also happens to have Asperger’s Syndrome. I was excited to get to create pieces of art specifically inspired by music because music has always played a huge part in my life, whether it be playing the piano, flute, clarinet, or violin (which I have all played at one time or another), becoming obsessed with certain musicians and bands for a period of time (Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Michael Jackson, Enya, Simon & Garfunkel, and The Beatles come to mind), or simply turning on the radio when I am in a funk and letting the music lighten my mood. I have a fondness for classical music too, but I must admit that many of my favorite pieces might just happen to be ones that Bugs Bunny and his friends performed to on Looney Tunes. The artworks that I created for this contest are all ACEO artist trading card size (2.5″ x 3.5″) mixed media collages. Miniature works of art are my favorite to create, and work well with my love for experimenting artistically! I was excited to have an excuse to use some of the music-themed paper scraps I had hanging around
JEREMY SICILE-KIRA
Truly I dreamt I painted the colors of beautiful Carmen in the film version of Bizet’s opera, Carmen, directed by Francesco Rossi. Truly the colors were brilliant and frankly vibrant with the beauty of the opera singer Julia Migenes playing the part of Carmen. Greatly I felt the love that her leading man Don José, played by Plácido Domingo, greatly felt for Carmen. Truly there were other love stories going on but none as great as the love between Carmen and Don Jose. Their love is represented by beautiful hues of bright pink and red. Greatly yellow represents the happiness they felt when they realized they had met their true match in love. Green is for the calm between the passion of the songs they sung to each other. Represented nicely by real blue-like-the-sky, is the hope that they might greatly escape into their own world of nature. Kindly purple was there for the leadership they both had very much before they justly fell in love and were in real trouble. Mighty is their lust and passion represented through song and dance, kindly seen in the color magenta. Orange, brilliant in its brightness, represents the fun-loving Carmen’s spirit for dance and song with her fellow gypsies. White represents the hope that the soldier Don Jose has that great Carmen will accept his undying love and run away with him. Indigo frankly is the knowledge all Carmen’s gypsy friends have that Carmen will do only as she pleases. Great mighty just gold and silver represent the universal love that in this case ends in tragedy for the main characters.
Truly greatly I dreamt I painted the beautiful colors of the symphony playing at the Mainly Mozart Festival 2018. Greatly it was amazing. Truly nicely there was turquoise for the beauty of the music nicely touching everyone’s ears. There was yellow for the happiness I felt to be in the presence of much great music. Truly greatly pink was present for the love the conductor and musicians had for the wonderful sounds being made. Greatly there was purple for Michael Francis’ great mighty work in leading the beautiful orchestra. Frankly it was a wonderful performance received by gracious hearts and wonderful applause represented by blue like the sky. Dearly nice orange was present for the fun the members of the orchestra were having inside, truly loving what they do. Great white was for the pure beauty made by the symphony with just everyone working together. Justly indigo represents the careful planning and generous people that went into making an event like this. Truly greatly there was gold and silver representing the great power from above truly making this wonderful symphony possible.
Truly greatly I dreamt I painted the truly bright beautiful colors of Greta. Greatly there is a beauty in her music and words. Dearly there is pink for her love of singing nicely and song-making. Truly the guitar is like an extension of her body represented by turquoise really making beautiful music with the band. The true belief people have in the hard work Greta put in to get her where she is today is represented by red. Greatly white is present for the hope that Greta has that she is always doing her best by her fans. There is orange for the great fun she has when she is performing. Truly greatly there is yellow for the happiness Greta feels being able to do what she truly loves. Greatly blue like the sky represents Greta’s growth as a musician and as an individual. Purple is present for the leadership she has taken in her life, but Greta is still really truly trying to find out more about life. Truly there is green for the calm she seeks. Greatly gold and silver are justly present, representing a power from above in the background of her life.
NICOLE CORRADO
I am a self taught artist who has always loved music. I have played piano since I was a child, and have always been emotionally moved by creating and listening to music. During childhood, I took ballet lessons and it was something I looked forward to each week. I call this painting “Waiting For The Music To Begin”. This painting illustrates the connection I have to music, emotion, and movement.
JOEL ANDERSON
Painting completely in grayscale was new for me. I hope for the viewer to see Derek through the vision of the piano keys. His musical talent is amazing. Close your eyes and experience music like Derek does. His music can shift keys and genres like a butterfly in a garden.
Joel Anderson The Mind & Music of Mozart Acrylic on Canvas 36 x 24″
I created this piece to be harmonious with the theme of this years Mainly Mozart Genius Week ~”Mozart and the Mind”.
Mozart’s brain is filled with musical notes that flow out of him while he is creating music. Also featured are the musical instruments Mozart played. He played the piano and my favorite piece for that is the “Marriage of Figaro”. The sheet music for the violin is “ Don Giovanni”, and the flute is paired with “The Magic Flute”. I always enjoy listening to his music while I paint as it fills me with inspiration.
WENDY E. POWERS
Wendy E. Powers Talk with Me Digital Media
This work is from my heart. It is what conversation feels like as a total experience: body, mind, and soul. My body feels almost too close to the person, even if the person is on the other side of the country and we are only talking on the telephone. It feels like the person is almost in my face because the nerves of my cheeks become inflamed so easily. This is a reason why it is a challenge to talk on the telephone. It is very difficult to deal with people who raise their voices to me in any manner because my face feels like it is being physically slapped.
Mentally, conversations make me happy. I do not mind debate or conflicting thoughts as long as they are presented to me in a manner of which Mr.Spock of the Star Trek Enterprise would approve. Logical arguments are a thing of beauty! The patterns created by words that link and intertwine are represented in this work.
Emotionally, I usually enjoy the color of conversation. For me, sounds are almost visual. Music is seen as shapes and colors. Conversation looks like ribbons of light that grow brighter with the intensity of the emotion, take on the impression of a slick city street after a spring rain when the emotion becomes tender, and becomes big and dark like a shadowy demon if there are any words that make me afraid.
I often wonder if other people experience conversation in these many-layered ways. Somehow, I believe we all do- just in our own unique ways.
PAMELA URFER
Pamela Urfer has been an Aspie ever since she was born – but she didn’t know it. In 1942, there was no such thing as autism. It wasn’t until the ‘80s that she became aware there were others like her in the world. Suddenly, she discovered that she was part of a tribe.
Once she had her identity straightened out, she was able to go on to do great works – writing, drawing, making films, raising a family. Knowing who she was gave her great joy and confidence.