Aspies and Art

[reveric15]

Hi everyone! I am curious as to how my Aspie brothers and sisters connect artistically. I would love to know some of the following items, but feel very free to express yourself as you wish to discuss how art functions in your lives. I will answer the questions for myself at the end of this post!

What do you call "art"? What kinds of art interest you?
Were you artistically expressive as a child in any way(s)?
What role do any of these art forms play in your life today?
How has artistic expression helped to shape your identity?
Do you prefer to create art (write, paint, dance, sing, etc.) or do you prefer to enjoy art produced by others?
If you had the ability, what kind(s) of art would you pursue, given plenty of time, resources and energy, even if it is not likely to happen in this lifetime?


For me, I like to think of many things as art. Of course the formal categories come to mind, and of them I prefer the written word. I love to write poetry, but I'd also like to begin writing books in my field (church and theology). I appreciate painting and other visual art, but it's not a major interest. I love music, but I am very picky--1990s alternative rock is my genre of choice! Music for me must have great lyrics to enjoy.

I was not remotely artistically expressive as a child. But I am color blind so that limited my options in art class, lol.

I write poetry to my wife, and she loves it. I also write new lyrics to existing music for church sometimes. I encourage a full spectrum of artistic expression in church where I am pastor, although few take up the offer.

Music has shaped my identity more than anything, and I connect very deeply with it. Songs get stuck in my head all of the time, for both better and worse! I am very much who I am due to the music I have encountered in life.

I prefer to create art rather than simply enjoy it when it comes to writing, although I love to read nonfiction. If I could play guitar then I would probably have no other hobby than writing songs. Alas, I am too clumsy to play guitar! I was really good with the recorder in 4th grade, but I never got into music and now at 28 I don't have the time or money to invest in learning to play music. But secretly I would love to learn to play something!!

 

[abby normal]

I am one of those people who are all too often picking up mondegreens out of song lyrics. I come from a family of such mondegreen-picker-uppers. other than that, as long as the singer clearly enunciates the lyrics, I like them as much as the next fella. I was in school band from 6th grade through my time in college, playing wind instruments and drums - not particularly well, mind you. a few weeks ago I went to a Puget sound theatre organ society meetup in yelm at the mini-manse of some retired professional person who had a newly installed allen digital theatre organ, 5 manuals/AGO pedalboard, toy counter fx, the works. a local Portland area organist named paul quarino played a selection of theatre organ oldies and interspersed each selection with anecdotes about the old music and about the organ, both the allen digital theatre organ as well as organs in general. after he was done he invited me up to the bench and had me sit down and then he showed me a tour of the organ, and I homed in on the 32' contra bourdon stop, which when I stepped on the leftmost bass pedal shook the house and made the air vibrate. I LOVED THAT!!! it all gave me a serious case of brain envy! paul played the organ just as easily as breathing, with no deliberation whatsoever, easy as falling off a log, and here I was still struggling with "pick up sticks." the multitasking is the toughest thing, telling each limb to mind its own business.

 

[giraffesec]

Hi there I wish I could paint, draw or play an instrument but I'm not that gifted. I envy those of you that can. The most I can paint are war hammer figures. I found writing helps me a lot I have written one anthology so far and used my obsession with Batman graphic novels and quantum mechanics to write a story based on the multiverse or M-Theory and Batman.

 

[Joel I]

I have always love all forms of art, from painting, sculpture, photography to music. I can appreciate poems and written forms of art but not as much as the other forms as I am a very visual person (music is not exactly visual but is incredibly special in its own way). I have been drawing since I could hold pencils and painting soon after. I have my first painting on canvas which I did in an after school class when I was in grade 3 so about age 8. I love painting and I feel I need to have a creative outlet. I started producing my own music a few years after I finished school. It is a very important way for me to work through things in my life. I play a number of instruments badly but well enough to produce some songs.

paintings: Joel-I (Joel Irwin) on deviantART
music: Music | Joel I & Music | Chiropteran

 

[ExplosiveTMT]

I love to paint and draw. I've done it for years. I've gotten quite a bit of praise from art teachers and other kids for the stuff I did in art class.

I also like writing stories. Teachers in school often wound up with several pages worth of story to read.

 

[Judge]

Art in one form or another has always been a part of my life. I was talked out of pursuing a career in commercial art, and yet at once brief point in my life I was living that dream.

Funny to look back and realize had I done otherwise, I would probably have had nothing to lose.

 

[KassieMac]

I am one of those people who are all too often picking up mondegreens out of song lyrics. I come from a family of such mondegreen-picker-uppers. other than that, as long as the singer clearly enunciates the lyrics, I like them as much as the next fella. I was in school band from 6th grade through my time in college, playing wind instruments and drums - not particularly well, mind you. a few weeks ago I went to a Puget sound theatre organ society meetup in yelm at the mini-manse of some retired professional person who had a newly installed allen digital theatre organ, 5 manuals/AGO pedalboard, toy counter fx, the works. a local Portland area organist named paul quarino played a selection of theatre organ oldies and interspersed each selection with anecdotes about the old music and about the organ, both the allen digital theatre organ as well as organs in general. after he was done he invited me up to the bench and had me sit down and then he showed me a tour of the organ, and I homed in on the 32' contra bourdon stop, which when I stepped on the leftmost bass pedal shook the house and made the air vibrate. I LOVED THAT!!! it all gave me a serious case of brain envy! paul played the organ just as easily as breathing, with no deliberation whatsoever, easy as falling off a log, and here I was still struggling with "pick up sticks." the multitasking is the toughest thing, telling each limb to mind its own business.

Possibly stupid question, but ... 'mondegreen' -- is that when "bad moon on the rise" becomes "bathroom on the right"?

 

[Mission Before Waking]

For me, art is anything you make yourself with your own skill and imagination. I also consider skill-demanding tasks, such as flying an airplane, artwork. Im more into video game design, screenwriting and cinematography.

 

[Saragrl]

I myself enjoy computer generated art. I have very poor drawing/ hand writing skills so traditional art is not something I can do. I enjoy making landscapes that are cg.

Saragrl531 (Sara) on deviantART

 

[anthoskate]

I also have very bad drawing and handwriting skills so I still draw stick men.

 

[zurb]

Possibly stupid question, but ... 'mondegreen' -- is that when "bad moon on the rise" becomes "bathroom on the right"?

Yes, it's misheard lyrics. Term comes from 'laid him on the green' became 'lady mondegreen'.

Another common one is Bob Dylan 'the answer my friend' becomes 'the ants are my friends'

Back on topic, I like art but am too much of a perfectionist and get frustrated by my efforts. But I do enjoy photography and opportunities to design brochures.

 

[Owls12]

I love Art and drawing. One of the autism traits is that you're granted with the ability to pay attention to detail a lot more clearly than an average neurotypical would. It's like a visual obsession or something. I think it helps me with art which I embrace a lot.

For me, I like to make sketches of my own fictional characters. With shadows, fineliners sometimes as well etc etc. I usually do that stuff in sketching and colouring pencils. In the summer holiday, I plan to try painting these characters too, which I honestly haven't done in over three years at this point.

 

[penguinclaw]

I love drawing and painting but I do find I get obsessed with one subject or technique. I am currently obsessed with pastels. I love their colour pureness and the speed in which I can create something without waiting for paint to dry. I also love collecting art and this is where modern technology helps; I can for instance collect on pinterest for free.

I also have a big love of music and own thousands of albums. I mainly upload them to my pc and let it play at random.

 

[Owls12]

Photography is considered a form of Art. So I thought I'd share this. I've taken this picture in a local Birds park around in Derby (I think?) where it was a really sunny day at the time. Out of all photographs I've taken there this one is my favourite. I really light the shining light at the background, and how everything in front of the Sun has a shadow-y effect to them.

 

[Kivvi_Kindi]

The definition of art is tricky so I really don't know xD. I appreciate some art from pretty much every medium, but my favorites are probably film, music, and prose. I have favorites in stuff like paintings and poetry too though.
I made little movies starting from maybe 8 years old, and I still make things like that. I also wrote a TON of stories. Most of it was terrible *cringe*. My parents also made me play the violin and piano, but I mostly disliked that.
Now I usually make videos or write screenplays/stories. Currently since I'm into comics I've been planning to write my own.
The question about identity is hard because I never feel like I've shaped much of my identity yet...
Whether I prefer to create or consume depends on the art. I like making films better than watching them, unless I'm watching carefully and thinking about how it was made. Then it's like training. I like listening to music much better than making it, though. And for writing it's about equal.
The arts I would pursue most would be filmmaking/screenwriting and, at least as long as this interest lasts, I'd write comics.

 

[AsheSkyler]

Yay! dA links! Here's mine: AsheSkyler on deviantART

What do you call "art"?
Pretty much anything. Architecture, design, sewing, crafts in general, landscaping, woodwork, leatherwork, stonework, sculpting, music, writing, painting, drawing, photography, just about anything with some solid effort and heart put into it. But not the most absurd things, like Jackson Pollock and canned poop. I can appreciate impressionism, I can appreciate abstract, but the impressionist/abstract muddle that is Pollock I cannot respect. Some artists spend weeks or months making a gorgeous piece of work that barely sells for a few hundred, and this guy slings a paintbrush for a few minutes and sells it for thousands? That ain't right.

What kinds of art interest you?
That I like to enjoy or do myself? Most kinds of art I enjoy looking at or listening to or reading, although I can be picky about subject material. Zombies don't really cut it for me. As for stuff I pursue, I like to draw.

Were you artistically expressive as a child in any way(s)?
I scribbled and doodled a lot. When I was ten I started goofing off with making comic strips.

What role do any of these art forms play in your life today?
Keeps me sane. I've been working on a weekly webcomic for four years and it's been a nice stable point for me, since two of those years were very tumultuous and when I moved seven times. Art makes a great gift too, and I'm making a bit of extra income doing portraits. At one point I actually carried the full weight of the household bills through art, but only for a few months during the holiday season.

How has artistic expression helped to shape your identity?
It hasn't, really. I don't feel like an artist and I have trouble identifying as one. Me drawing has about the same emotional and identity effect as combing my hair. I think I actually identify more as a person with long hair than I do as an artist!

Do you prefer to create art (write, paint, dance, sing, etc.) or do you prefer to enjoy art produced by others?
Mixed. I enjoy making it, but there are a few artists out there I enjoy following.

If you had the ability, what kind(s) of art would you pursue, given plenty of time, resources and energy, even if it is not likely to happen in this lifetime?
Fine pencil art! I love the stuff! I know some artists get really uppity about how photo-realism is pretending you're better than your tools by not letting strokes show through, or some silly argument like that, but I really love how somebody can make something look that real.

 

[Randomperson]

I could not care less about most art, too each their own, but most of it just does not fascinate me. But music does, so much lovely symmetry and so many varied sounds working in harmony. I have even taken up learning an instrument.

 

[Randomperson]

Hi there I wish I could paint, draw or play an instrument but I'm not that gifted. I envy those of you that can. The most I can paint are war hammer figures. I found writing helps me a lot I have written one anthology so far and used my obsession with Batman graphic novels and quantum mechanics to write a story based on the multiverse or M-Theory and Batman.

There is an old adage, if you want to do something do it. Put 10,000 hours into learning a skill, you may or may not ever master it, but after 10,000 hours you WILL notice tremendous improvement over how you started. I have around 10 hours of time put into learning my new instrument, I have already noticed improvement, 9,990 hours to go!

 

[AsheSkyler]

They tell us doodlers to draw something 1000 times. Probably does take 10,000 hours for that!

And my favorite illustration of that sentiment. =)

 

[Melissa Kay]

Back on topic, I like art but am too much of a perfectionist and get frustrated by my efforts.

I totally relate with this. I am very talented at making things look exactly like they are, especially with portraits and others, but I am a perfectionist and I don't enjoy doing that anymore. It's still a talent though. I do enjoy doing creative things. Like making colorful things for others and such. People like to get homemade things. That's fun for me.