Dan Swearingen | March 29, 2010
I have an RSS news feed from Dark Roasted Blend going and they often have great project inspirations.
This morning’s was Utterly Irresistible Robot Sculptures –pictures of really amazing robot sculptures.
Dan Swearingen | March 28, 2010
We have been asked to do a more “summer day-camp” kind of thing for our teenagers this summer so we’re trying a couple two-week-five-days-a-week intensive camps. See the Summer 2010 page for details.
Stay tuned: Our late-teen/young adults will have a different program and we’ll keep our older folks going all summer.
Dan Swearingen | March 26, 2010
We’ve been avoiding corn in our household since 2005 when our son started refusing corn foods and I found I had day-after migraine headaches whenever we had corn in our meals. Like we often do, we went EXTREME and also banned high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
There have been rumors and anecdotal evidence that HFCS was not good for you but many argue back that HFCS cannot be any worse than common sugar. However, a Princeton study released this week indicates that there is much to be concerned about HFCS in your diet: increased weight gain per calorie eaten, increased circulating triglyceride levels, etc.
At Autistry Studios meals we try to avoid serving HFCS soft drinks and we are increasingly pushing water and home-made sodas made with sparkling water + fruit juice.
Shameless self-promotion follows:
Want some great exercise? Join us at our spin-a-thon fundraiser on Sunday April 25.
Janet Lawson, MFT | March 25, 2010
As many of you have pointed out, it has been over a month since the last Autistry Newsletter. What have we been up to? Lots of things!
Please join us for our first fundraiser – the Spin-a-Thon. This will be held on Sunday April 25th from 10am to 3pm. You can sign up for an hour or more of great exercise on stationary bikes (elliptical machines and treadmills are also available). The event is hosted by Michael Lopez at his wonderful gym – Body Image located at 25 Reed Boulevard in Mill Valley (just across the street from Janet’s office!).
The current workshops are just amazing. Lots of wonderful projects.
Friday College Support and Build Stuff with Dan: Kris and Sarah have been studying hard and doing great in school. Both of them have joined the Alpha Gamma Sigma honor society. Kris continues to work on his tank diorama and Sarah has two bits of velcro to attach to the dogbed and it will be ready for Hugo. Corey is building a model of the Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine. He is also working here as a workshop assistant. Ross is designing a robot and learning Java programming. Hard to keep up with this group!
Saturday Film Stuff with Nate: We are all embarking on new projects. Steven and Devon are working together on an animated short film featuring their characters talking to each other. It is a great mixing of styles and promises to be a great little piece. Andrew is taking his Rush Limbaugh theme to a new level – the Casa Rush – the Road Side Diner. This is a very imaginative diorama reminiscent of the Doggie Diner, The Brown Derby, Paul Bunyan Cafe and other classic American eateries.
Sunday Build Stuff with Dan: Sawyer has joined the Sunday group. He is creating a diorama based on a role-playing game he is developing. The game world is very detailed, complex and quite wonderful. Ryan’s trains are running on the switch track layout so his wiring works! He is now adding balast to the track, landscape detail and structures. Ian has created a series of copper wire figures in Tae Kwon Do poses for his dojo. He plans to cover them with clay so that each figure is wearing a traditional martial arts uniform – but I like them just the way they are!
Tuesday Build Stuff with Dan: The Tuesday folks are becoming quite the culinary connoisseurs. We are experimenting with the gluten free/dairy free/vegetarian class menu. So far the quiche and biscuits are the most popular (although this week’s Snickerdoodles were a big hit). Rinny has now screen tested most of the important pieces for her short film promo for Sweet Wishes From Oz and is ready to move into production. Erik is building a model inspired by the Sausalito passenger station on the Northwestern Pacific Railroad in the 1920’s or 1930’s. Breton’s Elf World is becoming a thing of true beauty – very detailed with lots of depth. He discovered that loose leaf tea makes a great ground cover – who would have guessed?
The summer 2010 schedule will be posted very soon. We will be doing a couple of 2-week immersive workshops (Monday – Friday). And a 1-week life skills camp. We’re just working out the details!
Our Spring resolution is to post newsletters more often! To see more pictures of the workshops visit the Autistry Photo Gallery.
-Janet, Dan, Nate, and AJ
Dan Swearingen | March 11, 2010
Ian and Michael Lopez
Please join us at the first Autistry Studios fundraiser – a Spin-a-Thon graciously hosted by Michael Lopez at his Body Image Personal Fitness Center.
Info: (see flyer for more information)
The funds raised will be used in our Opportunity Fund which allows us to offer services on a sliding scale to lower income families.
Sunday April 25, 2010
Five one-hour spin sessions: 10am – 3pm
Spin for one hour — or five!
Donate while you sweat:
Five 1-hour Spin Sessions beginning at 10am (Treadmills and ellipticals are also available!)
Donations:
Adults: $40/per hour
Kids (13 – 18): $20 per hour
Make payment to Autistry Studios, Inc.
A Federal 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation.
Space is limited – reservations are highly recommended!
To reserve your bike (or treadmill) call Janet: (415) 945-9788
Or email: Janet@AutistryStudios.com
And – check out the short film about Autistry Studios by Bay School senior Chelsea Mattoon: http://www.autistrystudios.com/blog/index.php/2010/03/a-small-movie-about-autistry-studios/
Let’s Spin!
Location:
Body Image Personal Fitness Center
23 Reed Blvd.
Mill Valley, CA 94941
View Larger Map
Dan Swearingen | March 4, 2010
Chelsea Mattoon has been filming our workshops for MONTHS and has made a wonderful short video documentary about Autistry Studios.
Available in HD at YouTube 
