Photo Descriptions:
Ribbon
Mixed media on wood; sold
"Ribbon" was originally purchased by Grace's maternal grandfather for Grace's maternal grandmother's 85th birthday. Dorothy Ruth Walker Hammett,
died two years later, enabling GraceArt to donate "Ribbon," per
request, as the featured piece at ASMT's benefit. It garnered the
nonprofit organization $475. More about the piece and benefit here, featured on Nashville television news and also in GraceArt gallery 2009. Ribbon is one of four designs in the GraceArt card line.
Untitled (Mixed Media Collage I)
Mixed media on canvas; original not for sale; available giclee print on archival paper
This is one of Grace's most popular pieces, featured in the GraceArt card line and also available as an online greeting card through the Autism Society of Middle Tennessee. Family friend, Barbara Nicholson, co-founder of Attachment Parenting International, says this piece reminds her of chips and salsa.
Untitled (Mixed Media IV)
Mixed media on canvas, unframed; original for sale
Grace creates her best work in the quiet environs of a one-on-one art classroom/studio, free of noise, distraction and her mother. I walked into the end of the session as she was finishing this piece. I held my breath as I saw she was going to significantly alter what I thought was perfect. Yet, as always, this special individual challenged in typical ways of interacting the world, surprised me with clearly knowing how her unique creations need to evolve.
Untitled (Mixed Media III)
Mixed media on canvas, sold
With different teachers, both 2007 and 2006 were extraordinary years for GraceArt. 2006 was especially prolific as Grace worked with artist/teacher Yvette Renee Parrish who worked side-by-side with Grace demonstrating multi-media techniques and the art of layering layers upon layers. This work was created atop a painting created three years earlier. Mixed Media V is also one of Grace's most popular pieces with its intriguing complexity and rich color. The piece is featured in the GraceArt card series and also was purchased by the Tennessee Arts Commission for the Tennessee Artist collection, which is managed by the Tennessee State Museum.
Grace Walker Goad in Diamond Studio
Here, age 11, Grace is photographed by Massood Taj, while creating Mixed Media V in the studio of her teacher, Yvette Renee Parrish.
Horse
Mixed media on canvas; sold
One of the many things instructor Yvette Renee Parrish taught was the power of the subconscious mind and its active role in the art making process. In her work, she is unaware of what the end result will be and is often surprised by the finished work. One wonders what is at work in the artistic mind of Grace who cannot converse typically. She has been engaging in weekly therapeutic horseback lessons since she was about five. It was a delightful surprise to see a representation of a horse in her work. One of her "side walkers" eventually purchased this original.
Face
Mixed media on canvas; unframed, for sale
It had been three years since Grace created a semi-representational piece. Measuring 4 x 3, this is one of the largest pieces Grace has ever created. Canvases, as are all art supplies, are costly. The large canvas "Face" was created on was intended for Grace's teacher, Yvette Renee Parrish. But, Grace claimed it with her typical spirit of intent in her art-making process, prompting her teacher to graciously acquiesce.
Copper
Mixed media on canvas with copper & ginkgo leaf; sold
Grace resurrected her fascination with leaves for the first time in several years. She gathered the ginkgo on a walk through the backyard of her teacher, Yvette Renee Parrish. She then painted the leaf and left it in her teacher's studio for at least a couple of weeks or more. When she was finishing Copper, she reached for the and donned it representationally, as if to indicate an eye on the seeming image of a man/woman. Copper is held in the private collection of a local advertising executive.
"Boy"
Acrylic on canvas; original sold; available giclee print on canvas or archival paper
Boy is a popular GraceArt creation and is the most representational of all her portraiture attempts. Very seldom does Grace spontaneously label her art as she did "Boy." The work was chosen to be on the 2007 Tennessee Disability Megaconference tee as well as the cover of Travis Thompson, Ph.D.'s book, Making Sense of Autism. Long-time disability advocates Dara Howe and Carol Westlake, fans of GraceArt, often each coveting the same exhibited pieces. When Carol successfully battled breast cancer, Dara purchased "Boy" for Carol. It was a special pleasure to deliver "Boy" to this amazing advocate who founded the Tennessee Disability Coalition, and to witness her tearful joy and gratitude to receive the piece she had admired as a gift.
Grace Walker Goad
photo by Larry Ballew
Grace's instructor for the prolific year of 2006 was artist/teacher Yvette Renee Parrish.
