Posted By Janet Lawson, MFT on October 24, 2012

The Autistry Fun and Food Faire is this Sunday, Oct 28th! Tickets now available online: http://autistryfaire.brownpapertickets.com/

Fabulous hand-crafted items created especially for the Autistry Faire will be silently auctioned:

Hand-forged steel candlesticks by master blacksmith Toby Hickman

Koi Quilt (6’x8’) created by Courtenay Bell and Janet Lawson

Orange Baby Quilt (3’x4’) created by Courtenay Bell and Janet Lawson

Live Action Role-Playing Swords created by Ian Gurley and Amelia Sandy

And… handmade Steampunk jewelry by Amelia Sandy, unique jewelry from recycled books by Yes and Yes Designs, a quilted tote bag by Erin Reed, framed black & white photographs by Suzi Lee Musgrove, Courtenay’s Nest of Owls, romantic getaway from Russian River Escapes, a very special backstage tour of the ABC7 newsroom, personal training from Teri Glover, and a one-month membership to Body By X with Bio-Density Training!

Candlestick details:

Koi Quilt Detail:

Join us at the Faire!!

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Posted By Janet Lawson, MFT on October 10, 2012

It’s going to be a Steampunk Halloween at the Autistry Fun and Food Faire! And the Autistry elves are busy creating exciting activity booths, costumes and incredible auction items all with a steampunk theme – lots of gears, brass and corsets!

Andrew and Allison cut circles for the Bean Bag Toss.

Courtenay makes a nest of owls for the silent auction.

Amelia and Ian sewing side by side on matching LARP (life action role play) swords. Also for sale at the auction!

Costumes will abound! Chris is working on his Star Wars Helmet.

Ashley is creating a mask.

And there will be music on handmade instruments. Ryan with the Emerald Dazzler.

Daniel S. on the Ruby Gem. These guitars rock!

Sara playing a tune on the flute made by Daniel M.

Join us at the Faire! It will be fun for the whole family. Tickets are available online at: http://autistryfaire.brownpapertickets.com/

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Posted By Janet Lawson, MFT on September 24, 2012

Mark your calendars for the first annual Autistry Fun and Food Faire. Sunday, October 28th from 11am to 5pm. There will be lots of activity booths, a wonderful luncheon, student projects on display, and … the Dunk Dan Tank!

If you would like to sponsor an activity at the Faire please check our Faire Sponsorships Form.

Sponsoring an activity booth and coming to the Faire are great ways to support the work of Autistry Studios.

The Autistry Fall semester is in overdrive! This is one of the most productive semesters yet and we’re only in September. Old projects are being finished and new projects are underway. The studio is humming.

Ian G. and Danny S. have added new items to their LARP weapon arsenal including a beautiful shield, a two-headed sword, and several other swords of varying lengths. Ian G. is building a special display rack so that all the weapons can be viewed at the Autistry Fun and Food Faire.

Daniel S. put the strings on his red guitar last week and it looks and sounds magnificent. Ryan will string his sparkling green guitar this week. Their guitars, along with Daniel M.’s many hand-built musical instruments (acoustic and electric guitars, dulcimers, flutes and a theramin), will be showcased and played at the Faire. Other Friday Group projects include Alex’s graphic novel that he has been working on with Jack. We hope to be reading that soon!

Julia is finishing up the cushions on her new wooden chair. April has completed a Sherman tank and is tackling another. Jon is converting a GI Joe into a Samurai warrior – and it is looking good. Rinny will have her fairy quilt ready for display soon. And, Owen has now written and illustrated his fourth book! It is hard to keep up with the Thursday group.

Several students are making costumes. Chris is creating a character from Star Wars (complete with helmet and armor!). Danny S. is recreating a mask he saw at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Ross has just begun amazing Aztec warrior regalia. And we are looking forward to seeing Corey as Frank N. Furter.

Maya is learning to sew and creating adorable huggable plushies. Peter has finished a Tom Servo puppet that has to be seen to be believed – check out the video:

Andrew and Connor have nearly completed very difficult to construct airplanes. And Lauren, in addition to her own projects, is helping Dan assemble the new ShopBot. They are having too much fun:

The Sunday workshop draws on all the talents of the Autistry staff. Nathaniel is making a dragon diorama and putting together his amazing dragon drawings in to a Dragonology. Ben L. just finished his first tank and will be working with Ian G to make more swords. Marina is building one of Autistry’s favorites – the Tardis from Dr. Who. Ian S. is building a full-sized teardrop trailer – getting ready to hit the road. A big thank you to the Recyclery for donating a BMX bike that George is completely rebuilding into a red and black mean machine. And … principle photography is now complete on Ben C.’s film: Barugorus. The new trailer for this epic film will be screened at the Faire.

More news: The ShopBot arrived! This robotic router is the first piece of equipment for Autistry Enterprises. It will allow us to produce projects in large quantities. Our plan is for the Autistry students to sell their creations online and at local venues. We are all very, very excited:

Hope to see you all at the Faire!

The Autistry Team

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Posted By Janet Lawson, MFT on September 6, 2012

Tickets now available online: http://autistryfaire.brownpapertickets.com/

Entry Fee (includes Lunch and 10 activity tickets per person):
$40/person
$100/family of 3 (additional child $20)
$20/starving student rate

Activity Booth Tickets: $1 / 2 tickets

Buy your tickets online: http://autistryfaire.brownpapertickets.com/

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Posted By Janet Lawson, MFT on August 19, 2012

Autistry Studios is featured in this week’s edition of the Pacific Sun (Aug. 17, 2012). Jordan Rosenfeld writes about the effect of changes to the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) that will place Asperger’s into the more general category of Autism Spectrum Disorder. No one is certain exactly how this new categorization will impact funding. Currently most regional centers do not financially support individuals with Asperger’s.

All the more reason for us to concentrate on creating employment opportunities for teens and adults with ASD!

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Posted By Janet Lawson, MFT on August 7, 2012

The summer is flying by! Schools will be back in session soon and yet it seems like just the other day students were graduating. We have had a great summer at Autistry. The 2-week Summer Camp led by Courtenay was a great success and we are hoping to do more of these short, intensive sessions throughout the year. The student Little Worlds projects came out great!

Though our workshops go throughout the year we do think in terms of semesters. The Fall semester officially begins on August 25th. The workshops are filling up fast but we continue to interview new students and we will open new workshops when necessary. If you would like to join Autistry send an email to Janet (janet@autistry.com). Check Our Intake Process page to learn more about how to become an Autistry student.

Amelia just left for her summer adventure – hiking the John Muir Trail. This will be her second trek through the High Sierras. Last year Amelia spent 3 weeks hiking the trail – solo! She is shortening her sojourn slightly this year to be back in time for the beginning of our fall semester. She has promised to send postcards when she can so we will keep you all posted on our Autistry Facebook page. Maybe next year some of our students will accompany her. Let’s start training!

SAVE THE DATE: The first annual Autistry Fun and Food Faire will be held on Sunday, October 28th. We are still working out the details but there will be a fabulous brunch, activity booths, costume contests, face painting, project demonstrations and … the Dunk Dan Tank! That last activity is not to be missed! Remember all those push-ups? Well, now you have the opportunity to get your revenge. Stay tuned, more information will be coming soon.

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Posted By Janet Lawson, MFT on July 10, 2012

Summertime and the studio is busy! The Autistry Summer Day Camp is in full swing with mornings filled with creative art projects and afternoons spent exploring the many wonders of Marin – parks, museums, hikes! The camp runs Monday through Friday from July 9th to July 20th.

Staff News: We are very happy to announce that our resident artist, mentor, and Aspie extraordinaire, Courtenay Bell has moved up to Creative Director. Courtenay will not only lead creative workshops but help Autistry Studios maintain a high artistic standard. Courtenay’s passion for art and her unique ability to connect with students make her a key player at Autistry.

We also welcome Jack Pesso to Autistry. Jack joins us as Director of Robotics and Engineering. He brings years of software development and management experience to the Studio. He also loves to restore motorcycles, build radio controlled vehicles and create gadgets of all shapes and sizes. He jumped right in helping students prepare for the Drake High School Engineering Academy. You can read the student blogs about their robots here: Student Blogs.

HairJinx: Just when we think we have tried everything, another challenge comes along. It all started when Anna wanted to add a little more color to her hair. Then Theresa wanted a hair style that was a bit more radical. And Amelia wanted a just a trim on the sides. Seeing the results, Daniel stepped up for a new do to help his presentation at job interviews. Where will this end? Who knows, perhaps the next step for us is the Autistry Salon!

Join the Autistry Community: We are starting to think about the Fall semester which will begin on August 25th. We are meeting lots of new families and setting up intake interviews. If you would like to learn more about our program please give us a call: (415) 454-1037.

Upcoming events: The Autistry ASD Parent Support Group will meet on Thursday, July 11th, 7pm – 8:30pm. This is a great place to share resources, get support from others who totally ‘get it’ and meet more families in the ASD community. Please email janet@autistry.com to RSVP.

To get all the news and share the fun join us on facebook!

Hope you are all having a wonderful summer!

The Autistry Team

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Posted By Dan Swearingen on July 4, 2012

The M3 Stuart light tank was developed by the U.S. Army in the 1930’s. It had many mechanical features found on later U.S. Tanks, especially the M4 Sherman medium tank: aircraft style air-cooled rotary engine, VVS suspension. By World War II, although the Stuart was fast and reliable it was under-gunned and lightly armored. Unfortunately these were problems the later M4 Sherman also shared.

We started with Tamiya’s old but still good kit of a US M3

This was April’s first plastic model but the kit assembles easily and the fit is very good. Within a couple sessions April had completed construction and I helped with a basic coat of paint.

We applied a gloss coat and April added decals. She took considerable creative license with the markings.

Next April started weathering and this was her favorite part since she could use her good hand painting skills.

She is very happy with the results.

April enjoyed her first tank project and has moved on to a Russian WWII T-34/76 which we will write about soon.

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Posted By Dan Swearingen on June 16, 2012

We seem to have an outbreak of impromptu hairdressing happening at Autistry lately. First Anna had taken a start at a cool red coloring on her hair.

Courtenay and all the other women in the workshop took off for the nearest drugstore and found the color Anna liked best.

Anna was thrilled with the result.

We never quit when we are ahead, so when Theresa showed up with a new ‘do and partial purple color…

… we helped her with a more aggressive cut.

Sara, Courtenay, and Theresa looking up haircut ideas.

Out come the scissors…

Going for really short in the back:

Everyone happy with the result.

Category: Student Projects, Studio Newsletters | 2 Comments »
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Posted By Janet Lawson, MFT on June 5, 2012

We are taking orders for the first Autistry Studios t-shirt. The t-shirt was inspired by the recent report that 1 in 88 children born in the U.S. will be diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Being that one individual in the midst of the other 88 can be lonely but at Autistry that is not the case. Here ASD folks are not only in the majority but they are running the show!

To order your t-shirt and support Autistry Studios click on one of the buttons below. Sizes available are Small, Medium, Large and X-Large. Price is $24.00 each, $3.00 shipping and handling. California sales tax will be added to your order.

Order Small
Order Medium
Order Large
Order Xtra Large

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