Here’s an interview with fellow autie artist, Deborah Thorsos.

Deborah is one of the many talented people on the autism spectrum who have listed her work on www.auties.org (it’s all free).

Hope you enjoy the interview:

Interview of Deborah I. Thorsos,
Artist, author, and speaker

By Donna Williams,
Author, artist, screenwriter, composer

Donna Williams:

Deborah, you’re an arty autie as I am. What does art mean to you?

Deborah:

Art is a product from creating something that represents beauty from the inner soul. Art is also expression of oneself using various materials that engages either of the senses. For example, I do highly detailed drawings of biological forms to express my deep appreciation for natural forms and their beauty in mixed media, oils and acrylics. Some of my artworks are on my website: www.debbiethorsos.com and soon to be shown on videos for the world to see.

Donna Williams:

What do you think is the relationship between Autism and Artism?

Deborah:

I believe that there is a strong link between our weaknesses and strengths in each individual and this tends to be more pronounced in the autism population. Basically the weaknesses in autism, which is poorer development in social skills, tends to lead to enhanced development of strengths in any number of skills, which are not dependent on socialization. In my case where my language development was so late, there was more space available in my brain to develop my creativity in the visual arts. Even with development of language after age of five, I still excel in art.

Donna Williams:

I feel a little differently there. I feel that being extremely arty meant that meaning was secondary and pattern, theme, feel came first. This, I felt would have made me more susceptible to struggling to process what I see and hear for meaning and meant that I’d struggle to manage in an education that relied on those systems. Also, as an artist with visual perceptual challenges, movement and the capacity to FEEL my way, physically through arts, is far more important to my styles of art than the visual.

All auties are different, we’re both women auties, what do we have in common?

Deborah:

We are both introspective and have liberal ideas and are always searching ways to improve our lots in life. We are open minded, sensing, and basically ‘cat-people’. Most of all that is amazing is that we share a lot of interests, including autism, diversity, psychology, education, art, writing, poetry, nutrition, love of travel, and sociology.

Donna Williams:

hmmm. But I’m also certainly interested in laughter and humor. I’m hopeless at getting jokes, don’t get them at all, but love to play, love characterisation and slapstick and rough and tumble. I’m also interested in film and music, empowerment, self advocacy and self sufficiency. I’m naturally quirky and a surrealist so love to take what’s supposedly impossible and find how it might become more possible.

Do you think that autism is all that makes you who you are or are there other things?

Deborah:

Certainly autism has a great deal of impact throughout my life as it contributed greatly to my basic neurological makeup and my perceptions of the world around me. But, there are also many more factors that come to play in determining of who I am. They include growing up as a Jewish female in New York, USA, interaction of my genes to the environment with societal influences.
Donna Williams:

Similarly, my personality traits make me very particularly Donna as much, if not more than my autism does. It’s about what one experiences as ‘self’ and I think many people on the spectrum confuse their personality with their autism if their personality is rather ‘autie’ too. Like I’m very idiosyncratic, vigilant, artistic and quite solitary, all of which make me more autie than many as a personality. But I’m also very self sacrificing as a personality which is maybe less common in many on the spectrum and certainly doesn’t fit the stereotype at all. And many people on the spectrum are very sensitive, conscientious or serious and I’m not excessively those things so I might appear less stereotypically autie yet on a functioning level be just as effected as those whose personalities alone may have made them appear more stereotypically ‘autie’. Also, I am certainly shaped by my experiences, particular by loss and experiences growing up.

Donna Williams:

You’re on a special diet, as I am, what is it and how do you think it’s helped you?

Deborah:

I am basically on a low casein/ low gluten vegetarian diet with natural and organic wholesome foods, though not always so strict. Sugary junk foods are the worst for me. Whenever I stay on my diet, I really notice differences with improvements in my moods, attention span, energy levels, and digestion. Whenever there is imbalance in my system, I tend to be affected most mentally.

Donna Williams:

I’m low salicylate as well but I’m also a carnivore (I have a B12 issue to manage). I’m also not low casein/low gluten, I’m rather strictly no casein/no gluten and am also low sugar. I can play with salicylate levels but don’t do so with casein or gluten. In any case the three effect me psychiatrically and cognitively as well as physically so I’d rather be more able to manage my behaviour, not feel or get so ill and be best able to manage supported independence and diet, supplements and a small amount of medication to deal with what’s left gets me there. I used to resent the diet A LOT but now I’m grateful there were at least some solutions.

Donna Williams:

You do some wonderful art, how hard is it to work professionally as an artist?

Deborah:

The biggest barrier I have in working professionally is that I lack confidence in marketing my artworks. For many years I did not show my artworks to anyone, except to a few that asked me to see them and I did sell a few of my drawings. Since 2005, I have been showing my artworks on my cards that I made to everyone who I know and meet. I am hoping to find the right people at the right time to help me market my stuff. Together we are a team and when time is right, I will recruit people on my team to help.

Donna Williams:

All the best. I hope that as more people learn about www.auties.org they find your work and that of others listed there. We do have a growing base of people listing and visitors searching those listed there, so that’s good.

Artists are pretty passionate people, what are you compassionate about?

Deborah:

I am very passionate about taking pleasant and soothing aspects of nature through any of my five senses—beautiful biological aromas; sights of nature; beautiful music and nature sounds; touch as hugs, massage, and petting animals; and savoring the taste of delicious food. I am also very passionate about taking things in through intuition, freedom, and god with love.

Donna Williams:

Textures and movement matter a lot to me, probably because the visual processing delay makes the world of visual meaning rather secondary. I love cosy atmospheres and I’m a spy. I love to watch people and their patterns, the feel of them, through their surroundings, their movements and sounds. Kind of an athropologimania 😉 Guess I’m a collector of characterisations. People are like a constant TV show. When they’re not being scary they’re all so different… except the ones with personality transplants who have all become one of a limited number of social flavours… that’s scary.

Artists often have ‘big hearts’, what would you wish for society?

Deborah:

My biggest wish is for all of humanity to establish strong communities, which cherish diversity where each individual, regardless of background, would be provided with plenty of supports to lead as much as a fulfilling life as possible. Though I came from a loving and highly intelligent family, I was let down by my community. We were both hurt by not being reared in strong communities where each is valued equally. Sadly, the autism population tends to be the most vulnerable from lack of community support.

Donna Williams:

Nice wishes. So true. I hope your wishes come true but I also hope we can understand the barriers, obstacles, negativity enough to open the hearts of those who put them there so that we may open up dialogues with those who can’t see our shared humanness. Then maybe progressively they will.

Thanks for the interview.

Warmly,

Donna Williams

http://www.donnawilliams.net

http://www.auties.org