Acclaimed Cartoonist Inspires Coast Kids
Illawarra Mercury
Saturday May 3, 2008
A SPECIAL guest dropped into Towradgi Public School's autistic class yesterday to give a group of keen cartoonists some expert tips.
Internationally recognised artist Tim Sharp took time out of his hectic touring schedule to visit students at the South Coast School for Autism satellite classes and share a little of his quirky sense of humour.Sharp, who was diagnosed with autism at the age of three, has an exhibition of his work featuring cartoon character Laser Beak Man hanging in the Australian National Museum. In 2004 he was the only Australian artist to be selected in the young adult drawing category for the Very Special Arts Festival in Washington DC.Sharp was in Wollongong yesterday as part of activities for Autism Awareness Month - running throughout May.Celebrations in the region began last night with the opening of the inaugural autism school art exhibition at the North Beach surf club. The exhibition runs today and tomorrow, showcasing the extraordinary talents of young autistic children in the region.School principal Bruce Rowles said the visit was inspiring for children with an autism spectrum disorder and for their families."It has been wonderful to have Tim and his mother Judy here, and we invite everyone to come along to the North Beach surf club and check out our art exhibition," he said. Judy, a single mother of two, said she had never imagined her son would end up in a classroom of children with autism, giving them pointers on how to improve drawing skills, or as a celebrated, jet-setting artist. "(Queensland Governor) Quentin Bryce often invites him over for morning tea and he is the youngest artist the Queensland Council of the Arts has ever sponsored," she said.
© 2008 Illawarra Mercury
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