Amanda's Art Studio
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Thank you for visiting Amanda Lynne’s page!
This sweet and talented girl needs a space to be creative and follow her dreams of being an artist.
Amanda was born in 1984 at a time when babies with Down Syndrome were still being sent to institutions to be raised. At the time, our country was just at the beginning of really understanding early intervention as a way to help children with Down Syndrome gain the momentum needed to be on track with their peers. Amanda’s Down syndrome was unexpected as she was our first child and our pregnancy was very normal. Amanda’s beginnings were rocky with jaundice, heart problems, surgery and other delays. We were told to expect her to stop developing mentally at about 5 or 6 years old. The best advice the doctor had to offer was to just love her and do the best you can. So we took Amanda home and began this journey of life.
Amanda did have hard times; times where she was acting out because of frustration, times when we didn’t know how to help other than love her. As she grew I did notice that she was developing, albeit slowly, and with much needed help. We had to teach Amanda many basic things over and over again that usually come natural to children, like crawling and speaking. After a long while we began to see results. I can still remember the first time I saw Amanda purposefully playing with toys. It brought tears to my eyes. I watched her put the Fisher Price animals inside of the little toy fence, whereas normally she would just shake or throw them on the floor. This was the “AH HA” moment when I realized the doctors could be wrong and there was hope for her.
Over the last 30 years we have had a lot of “Ah ha” moments; honestly, more than we had ever dreamed. Amanda has participated in the Special Olympics, given speeches to hundreds of people, graduated high school and has even become a pretty good artist. Painting has become her passion and daily brings a smile to her face. Art is her purpose. However, with all of the “ah ha” moments, there have been a greater amount of expenses. Caring for a special needs child is difficult. Most families are able to spend their extra money on the interests and dreams of their children. We have had to spend additional funds on more frequent medical expenses, speech therapists and special day care services; all of which have kept us from being able to allocate money towards the things that help to make a child feel “normal”.
It would bring us so much joy to see Amanda have the opportunity to fully follow her dreams of being an artist. Most importantly, it would give Amanda a sense of pride and normalcy.
She has had several paintings on display in our town at art shows held by the VSA, Regional Organization on Arts and Disability. She has even sold one painting! Currently, it is difficult for her to complete her artwork because she lacks a dedicated space. The limited amount of art supplies she does have are generally set up on a coffee table every day. We have a room in our house that can be made into an artist studio for Amanda but it needs a lot of work and we just don’t have the funds to convert it into a viable studio.
In order to help Amanda achieve her dream studio, we would need the following:
*Repair drywall
*Paint the walls
*Install cabinets
*Build shelving
*Add lighting
*Purchase storage containers for art materials and finished work
*Purchase art supplies
Amanda’s paintings often involve fairies, forests and animals where she is painting the intricate details of her imagination. Her work is consistent and colorful and could easily be made into fabric for clothing or as book illustrations. Her materials are acrylic paints and paint pens for detailed work. Her long-term goal is to create art that can be sold in galleries, start a website or expand her artwork to children’s books.
“To be an artist” Amanda says, “is to focus and follow your heart. You need to practice and do art every day. My favorite art to do is drawing and painting dreams.” Amanda says to be an artist you have to “just believe”.
This sweet and talented girl needs a space to be creative and follow her dreams of being an artist.
Amanda was born in 1984 at a time when babies with Down Syndrome were still being sent to institutions to be raised. At the time, our country was just at the beginning of really understanding early intervention as a way to help children with Down Syndrome gain the momentum needed to be on track with their peers. Amanda’s Down syndrome was unexpected as she was our first child and our pregnancy was very normal. Amanda’s beginnings were rocky with jaundice, heart problems, surgery and other delays. We were told to expect her to stop developing mentally at about 5 or 6 years old. The best advice the doctor had to offer was to just love her and do the best you can. So we took Amanda home and began this journey of life.
Amanda did have hard times; times where she was acting out because of frustration, times when we didn’t know how to help other than love her. As she grew I did notice that she was developing, albeit slowly, and with much needed help. We had to teach Amanda many basic things over and over again that usually come natural to children, like crawling and speaking. After a long while we began to see results. I can still remember the first time I saw Amanda purposefully playing with toys. It brought tears to my eyes. I watched her put the Fisher Price animals inside of the little toy fence, whereas normally she would just shake or throw them on the floor. This was the “AH HA” moment when I realized the doctors could be wrong and there was hope for her.
Over the last 30 years we have had a lot of “Ah ha” moments; honestly, more than we had ever dreamed. Amanda has participated in the Special Olympics, given speeches to hundreds of people, graduated high school and has even become a pretty good artist. Painting has become her passion and daily brings a smile to her face. Art is her purpose. However, with all of the “ah ha” moments, there have been a greater amount of expenses. Caring for a special needs child is difficult. Most families are able to spend their extra money on the interests and dreams of their children. We have had to spend additional funds on more frequent medical expenses, speech therapists and special day care services; all of which have kept us from being able to allocate money towards the things that help to make a child feel “normal”.
It would bring us so much joy to see Amanda have the opportunity to fully follow her dreams of being an artist. Most importantly, it would give Amanda a sense of pride and normalcy.
She has had several paintings on display in our town at art shows held by the VSA, Regional Organization on Arts and Disability. She has even sold one painting! Currently, it is difficult for her to complete her artwork because she lacks a dedicated space. The limited amount of art supplies she does have are generally set up on a coffee table every day. We have a room in our house that can be made into an artist studio for Amanda but it needs a lot of work and we just don’t have the funds to convert it into a viable studio.
In order to help Amanda achieve her dream studio, we would need the following:
*Repair drywall
*Paint the walls
*Install cabinets
*Build shelving
*Add lighting
*Purchase storage containers for art materials and finished work
*Purchase art supplies
Amanda’s paintings often involve fairies, forests and animals where she is painting the intricate details of her imagination. Her work is consistent and colorful and could easily be made into fabric for clothing or as book illustrations. Her materials are acrylic paints and paint pens for detailed work. Her long-term goal is to create art that can be sold in galleries, start a website or expand her artwork to children’s books.
“To be an artist” Amanda says, “is to focus and follow your heart. You need to practice and do art every day. My favorite art to do is drawing and painting dreams.” Amanda says to be an artist you have to “just believe”.
Organizer and beneficiary
Brittany Grove
Organizer
Louisa, VA
Amanda Grove
Beneficiary