Amazing Actually Autistic Accounts and Creators On Instagram

Our founder Krisztianna follows several #ActuallyAutistic creators on Instagram. As we near April as the month for Autism Acceptance, she wanted to share a list of some of her favorite accounts for Autistic self expression, advocacy, and humor. This is by no means a final list, as we are a small bubble of creators and only have so much social media time. If you have any others you recommend, please feel free to link them in the comments!

If you do visit their page, before commenting take the time to absorb what they create and feel out their boundaries. Many creators are doing this work for free, sometimes at great emotional cost. As always, treat everyone with grace and respect.


Actually Autistic

Tiktoks

@actuallyautistictiktoks

“the autistiktok community is an absolute gem so here is my collection of autistics making tiktoks about their autistic life”

Nadia

@autisticblackgirl

Digital creator

💚 Software Engineer💚 Entrepreneur @weareunu💚 Autism | Late Dx #ActuallyAutistic🇯🇲 🇬🇧

Daniel M. Jones

@theaspieworld

“🎬Autistic YouTuber & author 🇬🇧 Creating #Autism videos weekly.🥇183,000+ Subs on YouTube.”

TJ

@nigh.functioning.autism.

Autistic-Epileptic-Mom-Advisor she/they/them/her
Nigh (not quite) Functioning
AAC User-Epilepsy-ADHD-OCD
Stories are 🔥
📍D[M]V
Disability Advocate
Keto & Cannabis for Seizures
NB🏳️‍⚧️ 🇨🇺

Autism Sketches

@autism_sketches

Description from their Ko-Fi: “I post illustrations about autism as an actually autistic person.”

Autistic Callum

@adulting_with_autism_

#actuallyautistic writer and advocate🧠
Proud member of the LGBTQ+ community 🌈
Mental health and positivity champion✨”

Lou

@neurodivergent_lou

“20 year old autistic
Documenting the journey to finding my place in a neurotypical world”

autistic izzy

@autieselfcare

“posting about life as an autistic in a neurotypical world 🇬🇧18 in the UK”

Why is Art Important?

It has been quite a while since our last post. We wanted to tell you we are back at things here, with a our vision to support parents, teachers, and individuals to help grow self expression in everyone. Now, after that bold statement, we wanted to share this wonderful infographic by TheArtist.Me. Sadly, we do not see it as available to purchase anymore as our old link shows us an expired product. And yet, the design is still stellar. (Image links out to the site)

Everything we see or touch is created by someone, designed by someone. It’s deep currents affect pop-culture and all media. Now more than ever it’s effects are felt. So the question we are asking today, is “Why is art important?” But really, what art has been getting you through these hard times?

Are you reading, watching shows, consuming any visual content, playing games?

We are consuming art at a daily rate. Today, if you feel like it, make note of any the visual representation that is brought to you today. Be it through photos in articles, the way a thumbnail is designed on your app, or any number of creators on any social media. Visual content, filters, design. It is everywhere.

Enjoy what you attract to, note what irritates you. And maybe scribble a little. Or just watch others scribble. Now, it is time for us to go scribble.

We hope you enjoyed this thought for the day. Read you later, cheers.


"Storytellers", our New Branch Of Bring On The Art, and Blick Art Materials Affiliate

Greetings! It has been a while. We have been through quite a lot, and I am sure you have too.

I am Owner and Founder Krisztianna, and I am here to write you that we have added to our ambitions for Bring On The Art®. In addition to helping your inner artist to come out and play to grow your self expression, we have a new branch called Storytellers. This is where we utilize our art and abilities to nurture storytelling through social stories and educational material to support a Neurodiverse community. By encouraging speech and comprehension, self self expression can grow in diverse minds and hearts.

We are still growing our library to be able to offer these downloads here on our site, but we have some free ones available already at our Teachers Pay Teachers Store.

In addition, I am happy to announce that we have been approved to be an Affiliate with Blick Art Materials, which really is a joy since that is where we usually get all our art supplies. This means anytime you click on a link, like this one, and buy something from Blick, we get a small commission. Thank you for your support!

We hope that after our long silence we can start returning to giving back to our communities with some great content online and with our products.

With much love,

Krisztianna, Owner & Founder


✏️ 🎨 🖌️ 🌈 ✏️ 📒 🖊️ 📘 ✏️ 🖼️ 🖍️

The techniques and methods we advocate for are not intended for treatment or diagnosis. Bring On The Art® is simply a collective of artists, parents, and individuals dealing with overwhelming feelings, seeking connection within themselves and the community. If you appreciate our content and would like to support it, you can explore purchasing some of our products here. For updates via email, you can subscribe here.

For those interested in learning more about Autism, please visit the Autistic Advocacy Network. Although we are not affiliated, we wholeheartedly support their mission, messages, educational resources, and community engagement.


We are a proud Blick Art Materials Affiliate! Shop using this link to help us get small commissions over time so we can make more free content.


We Need A Moment

Do the our founder Krisztianna’s mother’s death in March, the ongoing global pandemic, and the continued decline of Krisztianna’s father’s health, we will be holding off on updates and new free downloads until further notice. Our library that we have already will continue to be available.

This continues to be a challenging year for everyone. Thank you for the artists who want to contribute, the ones who have, and for all your interest in our Art Boxes. We appreciate your understanding during this difficult time.

Take care, stay healthy, and tell your loved ones you love them.

We Love Sustainable Packaging

A huge challenge with any monthly shipping model is sustainability. How do you mail projects and art-supplies without creating so much waste? We have many up-cycling projects for our boxes in the works to share eventually, but the materials the packing is made out of is even more important. This is one of the reasons we look forward to working with Packlane and their Eco-Friendly box option.

CEO and Founder of Packlane, Miriam Brafman sits down with Andrew Gibbs, the creator of Dieline, a packaging focused community/award/design website. It is a lovely discussion about our responsiblity to the planet and future generations, and we get to know a bit more about Andrew as well. The entire podcast is transcribed here on Packlane’s blog. If you don’t follow it already, we recommend it.

In this enlightening interview, Andrew shares his own personal passions and experiences with plastic, packaging, and the environmental impact they have on the planet. Looking to the future of the industry, he explains how brands can reduce their ecological footprint by adopting plastic-free solutions. Rethink the purpose of your packaging and learn how to stay competitive in a rapidly changing marketplace.

A growing list of creative helpers in the midst of COVID-19

As Mr. Rodgers once said, in the face of something scary, “Look For The Helpers”. We are all experiencing, in real-time, at difference paces and intensities depending on many factors, the micro and macro effects of this global pandemic. Many individuals are rising to the challenge to help each-other out. The true heroes are our nurses, health care providers, officers, civil and grocery workers, anyone deemed “essential” that has to put themselves and their family in harm’s way, day to day, to provide for the rest of us. Our deepest thank you to all of you!

We are also seeing a list of helpers on the creative side of things. Due to us representing that circle of interest, we feel it is appropriate to share our finds here. We will continue to add to this list as we happen upon them. If you would like to submit someone to this page, send us that recommendation on our contact page.


CREATIVE CAPITAL

Creative Capital has joined forces with several national arts grantmakers to form Artist Relief—an initiative that includes immediate, unrestricted emergency funding of $5,000 for individual artists of all disciplines, and resources to help those in need due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Go to artistrelief.org to learn more and apply.


SOME GOOD NEWS

Actor John Krasinski highlights some good news from around the world, and it really is feel good stuff.


COLLECTIVE COLORING

Every day they are adding new coloring pages, artists, and submissions! They are doing amazing free coloring downloads with a growing and accepting community.


Artists we love offering free downloads

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James Jean

This amazing artist is supplying free “Color Studies”

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Steve Becker

Amazing coloring books & activity sheets for free!

JuuiKids

Juui Kids

A family project bringing mindful drawing to young children, with free downloads!

Covid-19, #StayHome, and how we are trying to help

These times are strange. This new virus, how it affects everyone socially, emotionally, economically, how much has changed in the way we interact with others, and how we deal with ourselves. There is so much going on, and I really do feel we have something here that can help, even the smallest bit.

Bring On The Art has been growing slowly with a plan for a full brand launch next year to bring self expression through art into the home. It feels like homes could use some of that now: Activities to do alone or with your shelter crew, visual learning to share with students, coloring books, skill-books - anything we can get together based on requests that come in, we will do our best to supply them.

So, with the help of my already overwhelmed artist friends who can donate art when and where they can, we will temporarily put up free downloads to help those sheltering in place. We hope it helps calm the worried mind, distract the cabin-fevered body, and bring a bit of joy and satisfaction to you. Just visit our #StayHome Support page where we will upload what we can as we finish creating it for you.

To request anything at all, please fill out your thoughts on our contact page, and let us know what you would like to see. We will do what we can.

Stay safe and art on,

Krisztianna Ortiz, Founder

Expressions Is A Human Need, Art Is A Tool For That

That is why we are working on Bring On The Art. It’s not just about skill, or being “good” at something. There are plenty of online tutorials for that - and we love them, and will share them whenever we can.

To make art is a form of expression. You can do this with anything creative, from music and dance to baking, gardening, and writing, anything that requires a moment to create something is a human need. To express yourself heals the wounds the world inevitably lashes us with.

Here, we specialize in the “Visual Arts” form of expressing yourself. Even if this form of expression is new to you, or intimidates you, we are here to tell you, to show you, you can do it, you were meant to do it.

Art Matters in All Spaces - Even Bathrooms

In this elementary school, teachers took the the time over summer break to create art with positive messaging on bathroom stall doors. Anyone who remembers middle school, or has a friend or child in it right now, know it is rife with unique challenges. Mental and emotional stresses really effects a persons’ world outlook, and using art to help eachother cope is a huge deal.

You can read the full article here on USA TODAY.

From Article: Principal Garcia adds finishing touches to one of the bathroom stalls. (Photo: Courtesy Warren Middle School Forney ISD)

From Article: Principal Garcia adds finishing touches to one of the bathroom stalls. (Photo: Courtesy Warren Middle School Forney ISD)

YouTuber Vsauce on color perception

We LOVE color here at Bring On The Art. Everyone uses their colors differently, experiences them differently, and it can become a magnificent tool for self expression. Color is a perception of the human brain as it processes light. And, based on the chemical makeup of your mind, your color experiences may be different from everyone else.

This maybe be one of our favorite “color theory basics” videos - it is an oldie (In YouTube terms), but if you haven’t enjoyed it yet, buckle in because weeeee our brains are funny things.

Not only that, Vsauce brings in The Explanatory Gap, Qualia, and Theory Of Mind all to help us understand that our experience of colors is not the same, but it’s good that we are asking.

USA Today - Art helps deal with trauma

Art is a necessity for everyone. Sometimes, all someone needs is a safe space and a sketchbook. Let’s make that normal. Here is another article on how much art helps the human mind cope. Link at bottom.

Life is already a struggle. Then you have individuals who need to deal with even more horrible situations. It is a difficult thing to not give back the same pain you were given. Pair that with being in your teens, when your environment should be supporting you and helping you grow as your mind expands, your body changes, and your empathy could be maturing.

Even more frustrating is how much art funding keeps getting cut, especially in poorer areas. Art and music are a wonderful tool. In some cases, life saving. Someday we will find a way to have our art products give back to the community. We are adding that to #LifeGoals.

Whether it's art and music therapy or art and music as therapy, it calms traumatized teens…

Studies have shown that participating in music and art can alleviate pain, help people manage stress, promote wellness, enhance memory, improve communications, aide physical rehabilitation, and give people a way to express their feelings.

Art is "a special way for the kids to get some of the release," says Yoder who teaches at Renaissance Academy. "The more tools you give kids to express themselves, the more equipped they'll be to handle stuff their way."

LINK TO ARTICLE

Thumbnail image: One of the pieces of artwork created by an art therapist with a Renaissance Academy high school student from Baltimore for the school's last "Breaking Frames" exhibit.(Photo: Courtesy of Breaking Frames)