For the fourth consecutive year, sisters Yulia and Yuki Deng of Macomb are raising awareness for autism through their artwork exhibiting their original paintings at Clock Tower Community Bank in Macomb. The Deng sisters' work will be on display in Clock Tower's lobby through April 30. In addition to their artwork, which is immediately to the right of the entrance, there is a notebook for people to leave messages for the young artists.
Sixteen-year-old Yulia, who has autism, and her younger sister, 14-year-old Yuki, of Macomb, use their artwork not only to showcase their creativity, but to also remind others of the importance of acceptance, inclusion and understanding.
'Through their art and shared experiences, Yulia and Yuki inspire me, and others, every day to embrace empathy, kindness and the limitless potential of every person, no matter their differences,' their mother Grace told The Community News Brief in an earlier story. 'We hope that others will learn from the girls' work to foster a community of love and acceptance.'
According to Autism Care Today notes that art therapy works to promote emotional and mental growth, helps build life skills, such as independence and collaboration and serves as an outlet for self-expression, imagination, and creativity. Art fits naturally with autism in that it can help persons with autism express themselves through images, while also being a soothing activity.
Yuki's entered the art world around 12 years ago.
She noticed how plain her bedroom walls were, so she customized them herself.
After creating her masterpiece on the bedroom wall, the sisters joined forces, using Crayola paints and crayons to create things together for something to do just for fun, Yuki added. She also shared that Yulia likes to draw illustrations and then color them in. The girls also spend time together creating 'random' arts and crafts.
As for their paintings, both girls are inspired by different things. Yulia likes puzzles and fantasy lands, so those serve as her sources of inspiration, along with videos and books, whereas Yuki likes to prep her canvas, do about five minutes of brainstorming and then create what she thinks will look good on canvas. They also draw a lot of their inspiration from their walks around the neighborhood and beyond.
