Journey Through Art

#1) Yellow Tulips 7-11-21

Day 3: Just days after entering an ER in crisis, with a basic children’s watercolor palette of just 8 colors, Emmett brought life and beauty to this pencil drawing of Tulips. At the time, no one could have predicted that painting with watercolors would open a window into Emmett’s mind, the interests he has and the way he interprets life through the objects he requests to paint, in combination with the colors he chooses.

#2) Rainbow Stripes 7-13-21

Day 5: An original with no pencil line guidance, Emmett blends the colors of the rainbow in a way that expands the 8 color palette to create a full spectrum of colors. He showed great focus during a time when his ability to safely stay on task was almost nonexistent.

#3) Love Bouquet 8/19/21

Day 42: Waiting with no real hope in sight, Emmett, at this point had been denied over 35 short term medication stabilization programs throughout the state and beyond. He was not safe to come home from the hospital. He was not safe to leave. In between being strapped to the bed and chemical sedation, Emmett chose LOVE.

#4) Self Portrait 8/23/21

Day 46: This is the only time Emmett has requested to paint himself. Emmett has light brown eyes, yet he selected blue. It is only assumed that Emmett painted his mother’s blue eyes, since that is the eye color he would regularly see, as they sat across from each other through this and all the other paintings created in her care.

#5) Castle 8/25/21

Day 48: There is no great story behind the castle. Painting was still one of many activities that kept Emmett busy. On this particular day, with Drexel U welcoming its students back on campus, Mom now had a way to get Emmett’s favorite meal. Walk a mile up the street to the Drexel campus cafeteria that had a Chick-fil-a. Then, hop on a Indego Bike to expedite the trip back. The meal was always hot and fresh and it provided a familiar item that was comforting to him.

#6) Flying Saucer 8/25/21

Day 59: The Flying Saucer was made on a Sunday with Dad. On weekends, Mom would go home to see Emmett’s brothers, and Dad would stay at the hospital. By this point…Emmett’s walls were becoming overcrowded with his art. There was no answer, solution or plan in place to transition Emmett to the help he needed. Over the next 2 months, a plan would be set in place by the hospital to send Emmett home to wait. In that time, Emmett was moved to a a smaller room on a different unit and since help would not be accessible in the near future, every effort was made to push us to remove Emmett from the hospital. A discharge date of November 8, 2021 was established by the hospital and the last three weeks of Emmett’s hospitalization was mentally abusive and filled with dishonest encounters we never imagined any family could experience in a medical facility. Emmett was discharged home November 8 and labeled "safe", within days of being placed in restrictive straps for aggression. Emmett suffered a seizure 6 days before discharge that was labeled an “unusual movement”. He again suffered a seizure at home just days after discharge. Only then, did he receive the proper care…once he was out-patient.

#7 & 8) Falalala & Christmas Tree 11/17/21

Day 73: Emmett was settling into his newly redecorated room. These 2 paintings were done while he was still in the hospital, but on this chosen date, it was confirmed that Emmett’s holiday painting would go to production to make holiday cards and so began work on EmmettJourney.com.

#9) Flyers 11/22/21

Day 78: A hockey player himself, and raised in a home with 2 brothers and a father who are sports fans, Emmett brought his spin to the Philadelphia Flyers logo. Emmett has painted the Eagles, Phillies and Sixers, which can be viewed in his online gallery. The original Eagles painting is the ONLY image in his collection that there is no original, but it hung proudly on the hospital door during his time there.

#10) Astronaut 11/26/21

The astronaut painting shares a vocational milestone for Emmett. On this day, Emmett is delivering his cards to sell at Monkey’s Uncle, right here in Doylestown. Monkey’s Uncle couldn’t wait to add Emmett’s Card Collection to their Monkey On A Mission section: a place where products made, designed, and/or created by differently abled individuals can be found among some of the coolest sports gear in town!

#11) Bulldozer 11/27/21

The bulldozer was inspired by a sensory sand box activity Emmett enjoyed playing with often. After a number of inquiries about the process, we began sharing Emmett at work. However, it wasn’t until January of 2022 that Emmett’s Youtube Channel was born.

#12) Leopard 11/28/21

Today was Emmett’s 20th day home from hospitalization. Routine was the only thing holding him together. The leopard was the start of a series of african safari animals that Emmett would bank over the next couple of weeks.

#13) Zebra 12/8/21

At one month home, Emmett slowly started making his way back into the community. Visits to the local trampoline park, quick shopping trips and long walks through his neighborhood passed the time and got Emmett out of his room. At home, paint was his past time and the Zebra was yet another stop on Emmett’s Safari.

#14) Turtle 12/17/21

Preparing for the holiday season with Emmett is pretty simple. He loves all things Christmas. Likely because during the holiday season there are traditions that become predictable over the years. Baking occupied a large amount of time, but on this date, Emmett was still thinking about animals and along came Emmett’s Turtle.

#15) House 12/27/21

Winter Break is always a tough time due to lack of structure. On this particular day when Emmett’s House was created, to keep Emmett busy, it was a Puzzle, Painting & Pasta Making type of day.

#16) Rainbow Heart 12/29/21

Every so often, Emmett goes back to his favorite, The Rainbow. The Rainbow Heart became one of Emmett’s most popular images over Valentine’s Day, and its popularity didn’t fade after February. This painting truly captures Emmett’s overflowing Joy.

#17) Cow 1/2/22

Painting, Puzzle with Dad, Playdoh, and more Painting were all part of the routine to keep Emmett calm and safe. Everyday Emmett is home, he has a daily schedule that he helps create, that is broken down into 30 minute blocks between the hours of 9am & 8pm. He also has a set morning routine of self care, breakfast, and then a bedtime routine after 8pm. Emmett’s Cow continues to be one of his most popular paintings.

#18) Sausage 1/3/22

When Emmett was just in Kindergarten, he suffered from food

aversions that made it very difficult for him to eat, outside of

about 4 very specific items, and they weren’t healthy options.

Currently, Emmett can be picky, but he is much easier to feed and he has enough variety that there is no reason to make food a struggle. At one time, he gagged on a piece of pasta the size of a grain of rice. He still doesn’t like pasta, but he rarely turns down sausage. Emmett’s Sausage is truly one of Emmett’s favorite foods. When Emmett completes a painting, he loves when it’s time to hang it up. In his room, he proudly displays his work.

#19) Love Bug 1/4/22

Emmett’s Love Bug started out as a plain old lady bug, but since mom sometimes calls him her Love Bug, hearts were added to the sketch. Most times, if Emmett’s vision is altered or it is suggested he do something one way or another, Emmett checks out and the work comes out so sloppy. Sometimes it’s too wet. Other times he presses hard with the brush and tears the paper. Whatever he does, it is clear that he does not want direction on how or what to paint. On this particular day!

#20) Ostrich 1/5/22

Emmett’s unique choice of color combinations give this Ostrich its character. Emmett’s delicate use of pressure to control the paint hitting the paper was the polar opposite

to the unpredictable impulsive outburst

that created unsafe interactions with

others and himself. Emmett’s Ostrich is

yet another peak into the mind of

Emmett and his unique interests, many

of which have been communicated

through his paintings.

#21) Cheeseburger 1/7/22

Emmett’s Cheeseburger was the ending of a fun filled winter day that included lots of playing in the snow and sledding. Painting is alway a great way to settle in the evening and an opportunity for Emmett to focus on a task. If you are reading this and wondering if Emmett likes Cheeseburgers…do you even have to ask? Aside from his dad’s burgers…Shake Shack cheeseburgers are his favorite.

#22) Club House Dog 1/9/22

One of Emmett's favorite shows to watch is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He has it on in the background most of the time when he is in his room, but isn’t distracted by it when participating in other activities. Since painting “Clubhouse Dog”, Emmett has only requested to paint one other character from the show. That painting likely will not make the cut to go into production, but this guy right here is by far some of Emmett’s best work.

#23) Sunflower 1/10/22

On a cold winter’s day, Emmett warmed us up with this bright and cheerful sunflower. I was a random flower that didn’t really fit into any of the themes before or after he painted it. Emmett’s Sunflower is particularly unique because unlike most of his paintings, he used darker shades of

color to outline, rather than the black outline used in most of his work.

#24). Urinal 1/14/22 & #25) Toilet 1/15/22

Restrooms are Emmett’s greatest obsessions. Visiting the Restroom is the very first thing Emmett does everywhere he goes. He has countless photos of toilets and urinals dating back at least 5 years. Emmett's joy is endless when going into a new restroom. He loves to flush. He has the number of toilets and urinals memorized in all of the places he frequents and many places that he has only been to one time.

#26) Pineapple 1/17/22

Summer must have been on Emmett’s mind after painting the sunflower. With the exception of MLK Jr, Emmett's Pineapple was the first in a 2 week series of painting food you might find at a Summer party.

#27) MLK 1/17/22

During Emmett’s time in the hospital. There was a great deal of time spent working on the calendar. Oftentimes, the upcoming holidays would be noted on Emmett’s daily schedule. Emmett requested to paint MLK on the holiday. Emmett’s Portrait of MLK is the only time Emmett requested to paint a person, other than his self portrait. As Emmett was painting across the table, the painting, when looked at upside down, the painting did not appear to have potential so the process of painting was not captured. Much to our surprise, Emmett lifted the painting from the table and flipped around the paper, unveiling his take on the great Dr. Martin Luther King.

#28) Watermelon 1/18/22

#29) Smore 1/22/22

#30) Pizza 2/1/22

#31) Whale 2/5/22

During Emmett’s time in the hospital. There was a great

deal of time spent working on the calendar. Oftentimes,

the upcoming holidays would be noted on Emmett’s daily

schedule. Emmett requested to paint MLK on the holiday. Emmett’s Portrait of MLK is the onlytime Emmett requested to paint a person, other than his self portrait. As Emmett was painting across the table, the painting, when looked at upside down, the painting did not appear to have potential so the process of painting was not captured. Much to our surprise, Emmett lifted the painting from the table and flipped around the paper, unveiling his take on the great Dr. Martin Luther King.

#32) Shark 2/7/22

#33) Jeans 2/12/22

#34) US Flag 2/21/22

#35) Bee 3/6/22

#36) Audrey 2 3/17/22

#37) East Football 4/7/22

#38) Bathtub 4/9/22

#39) Blowfish 4/10/22

#40) Drum 4/16/22

#41) Rainbow Sprinkle Donut 5/4/22

#42) Rooster 5/6/22

#43) Greek Flag 5/10/22

Flags are another obsession of Emmett. Aside from the ever popular US flag, It was near impossible to select which country to include in this show. Emmett has painted many flags of Northern Europe and Asia, but since Emmett is half Greek, we landed on Greece.

#44) Gumball Machine 5/25/22

#45) Giraffe 6/11/22

#46) Phillies 6/13/22

#47) Penguin 6/18/22

#48) Best Dad Ever 6/19/22

#49) Woman 7/6/22

#50) Cheetah 7/17/22

Emmett's Sunflower Patch

Lorraine Ballasy
Heidi Gutsch
Alexis Guevara
Melissa Sharp
Becky Nagel
Maria Massaro
Carrie Weber
Rosemary Huether
Edwin Coyle
Ruth Zeiner

Thank you to the following individuals who believed in Emmett so much they joined Emmett's Sunflower patch and became a supporter of Emmett's Journey Through Art. As the patch grows, we aim to create a foundation with a non profit to continue our efforts in creating a safe and meaningful future for Emmett, and others like him, in addition to serving familes like ours who are facing long term crisis. Join today, buy purchasing a box of Luxury Linen Sunflowers at the supporter rate of $50. Be sure to include your name when submitting payment and Emmett will be so proud to include your name on the list!