Pre-Recorded Capturing a Life: Writing and Art about Real People
How does real life became art? Children get a glimpse of Jennifer Keelan-Chaffin’s daily life at home in her motorized wheelchair, followed by a short discussion by Annette Bay Pimentel about the process of interviewing Jennifer for the picture book biography about her: ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP. The video concludes with a studio tour by fine artist Gina Klawitter, who has done a sculptural painting of Jennifer, and a discussion of how she incorporated biographical symbols in the artwork.
Panelists:
Annette Bay Pimentel writes true stories about real people from her home in Moscow, Idaho.
Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins joined the disability rights movement at the age of six and has been a passionate advocate ever since. In 1990, she received the Americans With Disabilities Act Award. Jennifer received her GED in 2002 before earning a B.S. in Family and Human Development from Arizona State University, which she plans to use to help children with disability rights advocacy. She lives in Colorado with her mother, Cynthia Keelan, and her service dog Mya.
Gina Klawitter is a fine artist sculptor and painter living in Denver Colorado. Gina forms her unique sculptures directly from her posed subjects’ figures. Her recent sculpture projects include commissioned sculptures of Paralympians for the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training and Visitor Center in Colorado Springs, and a sculpture exhibit of Colorado Ballet Dancers for the Armstrong Center of Dance in Denver.