The Way of Will
"Friday I was at home with Will and when he napped, instead of writing morning papers, I cleaned the house.
It is so much easier to clean something that is messy than to create something on a blank page."
- Kathryn Alice Johnson Cameron
The Way of Will, a series of laser-printed collages, is inspired and based on the communication between my sister Kathryn and her son Will. Will was born with autism; he is non-verbal and has an auditory processing delay, which means communication must be simple, to the point, and concrete. While Kathryn speaks to Will, she also reinforces what she says in writing and uses pictures to enhance her words. Will, who started reading at age three (he is now twenty-five), learned to type and write. He prefers writing and hand-writes a list of words describing his wants and needs throughout the day.
What I propose to do is to create artwork, which reflects the beauty I witness embodied within and distilled in the words of Will. As a visual artist, I seek to extend this source of auto-graphic writing, to engage others in a powerfully interpreted visual language that incorporates my own struggles to create a way with words, and to communicate the ongoing connection between writer and reader, between artist and audience.
The Way of Will - Project in Lieu of Thesis by Susan I Johnson
