The World Through Sophia's Eyes

Here is something amazing that I have seen recently.  My niece is autistic and can not verbally express her thoughts and feelings.  She is however, learning to express them on canvas.  She is only two years old.  The pictures below were taken by my sister who describes the painting for us as Sophia would like.  Here is what my sister says: 

"Soph comes alive whenever she's drawing or coloring but I see it even more so when she's painting. She used to only fill up a corner of a piece of paper, or one side, but then something in her caught fire and page after page of blank paper became filled with bright scrawls and seemingly nonsensical designs. What always amazed me though was how deliberate Soph was with every placement of her pen or flick of her brush. After some time she would always step back, survey her work, add any last flourishes, and pronounce it "done." When I began to notice how her mood affected her pictures, how the days events seemed somehow manifested in the angry blotches or colorful bubbles, I realized painting was a way Soph could freely express herself. No words are needed. There is no right or wrong. There is only Soph and a blank canvas and something buried deep inside wanting to be shared with the world."

Alice in Wonderland (her, and my, favorite Disney movie). 

The colors aren't as bright in this picture as on the canvas.

I asked why she didn't paint in the middle of the picture... "down, down" she said...

Must be the rabbit hole.

Black marker smeared by paint. Why? "Not nice" she said...

There is that element to Wonderland after all.

I like this part of the painting the best. 

The cracking of the paint makes me think of Wonderland as being a place that seems real, but all of the layers it takes to create the illusion are what ultimately reveals that it is simply that in the end.

Amazing right?  This is a two year old who is expressing herself in one of the only ways she knows how. I am so impressed with her and wanted to share this side of Sophia with you all.  What have you seen recently that inspires you? Today, for me, this is it... maybe it can be fore you as well!