Repost: I, Too, Like Purple

I Like Purple (D6506), Sara Malpass, 2014.

The last of my trio of features on art studios in the Bay Area for adults with developmental differences. Here's an excerpt from my profile of NIAD or Nurturing Independence through Artistic Development Art Center (formerly The National Institute of Art and Disabilities) for Nat. Brut:

"In the ceramic area, I make my way over to speak with a woman named Karen May, who informs me that she was a little girl before she was born. Puzzled, I say to her, “That sounds complicated,” and she continues her story unphased, without further explanation. Apparently, sometimes her brother comes to take her out for lunch dates. When I ask her where she is from, I don’t get a clear answer. This bob-and-weave continues as our stream of consciousness conversation winds around. We talk about how she cares about people being nice to her. She informs me that she wants other people not to bother her while she’s making work. I ask if our conversation bothers her and she replies, “No.” I ask her about her favorite medium to work in/with and she shows me a colorful “purse bag” that she has hand-embellished. She is a joy to speak with, with her unrushed, careful delivery and her colorful and creative use of her voice(s)."

Untitled (D2735), Karen May, 2015.

"Her communication style is curiously clear and obfuscated; complex and matter-of-fact, not unlike her art. There is an alertness fostered by the way she nimbly skips between subjects. Our dialogue is gleefully present-tense, full of surprising connections between thoughts, which leaves me scrambling to assemble the relationships between ideas in my mind as the conversation marches forward."

Check out the whole piece here!

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