“Under the Pillow” by Michele Bledsoe
No one rolls out of bed one day
and decides to be an artist..
you were meant to be one.
Even if you don’t answer the call for many years
it has always been there
inside you
waiting.
I work with young adults on the autism spectrum.
In other words, my days are spent with some of the most
fascinating, honest and creative individuals
I have ever known.
I am there to lift them up..
and encourage them to grow.
I am also their writing instructor.
In addition to a monthly newsletter,
my students create the content for their own blog
where they can share all their unique interests
and experiences with the world.
I am glad to be a part of it.
SEEDs for Autism is a vocational training program that teaches young adults on the autism spectrum a multitude of job skills focused on the arts. For more information about this life-changing program, please visit SEEDs for Autism.
“Assemblage”… a work in progress by Michele Bledsoe
Although I have been exhibiting my work in galleries
for almost 20 years..
I have more or less dropped out of the public eye.
This does not mean
I have stopped painting..
that would be impossible.
The desire to create cannot be contained.
The work continues
behind closed doors
as constant
and as passionate
as the beating of my heart.
“Portrait of Munchkin Giggle-Sprinkles” by Michele Bledsoe
Recently, I put aside my work in progress..
and ignored a looming deadline
to pour myself into a special request –
A portrait of my sister’s beloved cat
who passed away last year.
This is what art is all about.
Not the galleries and the exhibits.
Not the personal attention
and public exposure…
it’s about the gift
and what you choose to do with it.
Me and Anna under the rainbow..
My husband and I volunteer as art teachers
for a group of inner city kids in downtown Phoenix.
One evening, we were joined by a particularly shy little girl.
Sitting in front of a blank piece of paper,
she whispered that she couldn’t think of anything to draw.
I asked her if there was something she wanted me to draw.
“A snowman!” she said, touching the picture of Olaf on her t-shirt.
“Okay,” I said – rising to the challenge..
“I never drew him before, but I am going to do the best I can.”
The girl watched me intently.
A few minutes later, I showed the little girl my drawing.
Smiling, she looked down at her blank piece of paper
and announced with great conviction,
“I am going to draw an ice cream cone. I never drew one before
but I am going to do the best I can.”
She drew a wonderful ice cream cone, covered in sprinkles with a cherry on top..
and after that, she drew the picture you see above.
I thanked her
and then I got something in my eye.
“The Ghost and My Obsession” by Michele Bledsoe
Several years ago I was sitting at my desk
in my high-level corporate job
and I had a terrifying vision.
I imagined myself far in the future
sitting at the same desk..
doing exactly the same thing
and wondering to myself
what life would have been like
if I had decided to pursue my art instead.
Not long after that, I quit my job..
and let my path take me to where I was meant to be
instead of where I thought I should go.
In life, as in art
we must be fearless.
Trust the gift.
“Playmates” by Michele Bledsoe
When I was little,
my grandparents had me completely convinced
that my toys were alive.
Sitting in my bedroom..
they would send me off to the kitchen
for a glass of water
or a peach.
When I returned,
I noticed that several of my toys
had somehow changed positions.
Sitting on the edge of my bed,
my Hungarian grandfather would point
to my bookshelf..
Sounding exactly like Bela Lugosi..
he would say, in a strangely dark and ominous tone
“Look, Michele.. the toys. They move.”
