There is a perfect word to describe this week’s class act and that would be – special.
“Don’t be afraid to tell us that we have autism. It’s not a bad thing. To me it’s a good thing in a way because, of course it’s had its ups and downs with it because I was bullied and everyone thought I was different, but what makes it good is that I can do all this.”
Grant Manier of the Focus Academy is our Class Act of the week. The 17-year old, eco-friendly artist, who uses shreds of paper to be his paint.
He uses food wrappers, posters, puzzle pieces, magazine articles, or boxes of tissue.
“There’s still many possibilities out there that I can work with but I don’t know if I will get to those yet. It may not come for some time but eventually I will get to those.”
In the meantime, the results speak for themselves.
His creations are amazing. So much so, that Texas’ congressman Kevin Brady will be hanging Manier’s artwork in Washington
Manier has been painting by paper for the past three years and his works are garnering lots of attention.
Not only are his works winning awards at art festivals but he has also been able to sell some pieces to raise money for his school.
Manier’s autism causes him to be hyper-focused which is great for his art but it can cause him to be paralyzed at times with fear.
Marnier is overcoming his fears through his artistic eye and sums it up nicely.
