AUGUST 19 • 2021 | 51
self, the joy of hearing that her
daughter’s artwork had been
accepted into the prestigious
competition — alongside her
own — was a surprise she never
expected.
A ‘SILVER LINING’
“This is a huge deal,” Terry
explains. “This isn’t just a little
show where everybody gets in.
This is an inclusive art exhibi-
tion where I generally have not
seen many people who have
special needs get pieces accept-
ed into the show.”
Not only was Mackenzie’s
Statue of Liberty sculpture
accepted, but it was put into
the very center of the art show
as a statement piece. For the
young artist, who Terry says
has been walking around proud
of her work and posting about
her achievement on Facebook,
being able to serve as a model
for other artists who have spe-
cial needs was a surprising sil-
ver lining of the experience.
“Expressing herself verbally
can be a challenge, but art is a
creative aspect of her life where
she can express herself,” Terry
says. “She flies in the studio and
pulls materials from all over to
build and create.”
Terry says her daughter
Mackenzie has “come a long
way” in her creative style. “She
loves making things,” Terry
continues. “She has to be busy
to calm herself down and to
calm down her nervous sys-
tem. She has to keep her hands
busy.”
ROAD TO RECOVERY
At 16 months, Mackenzie had a
bad reaction to the MMR baby
vaccine. “She was hospitalized,
and nobody could tell what
would happen to her,” Terry
recalls. Mackenzie, who contin-
ued to have uncontrollable sei-
zures, was put into a drug-in-
duced coma to calm her brain
activity. When she woke up, she
was in a near-vegetative state.
“She lost her ability to talk
and walk,” Terry says. “She
basically lost all functions.”
After three weeks in the
hospital, Mackenzie began
rehab. Doctor after doctor told
Terry Mackenzie would never
speak again and that the family
should consider teaching her
sign language. But Mackenzie
pulled through, making a
miraculous recovery and get-
ting back most of her abilities.
Now, she’s able to walk, talk
and run, with Terry calling
her daughter “very active” and
“having a great sense of humor.”
ART FOR COMMUNICATION
Mackenzie’s art is a key outlet
for the young adult to com-
municate. At Soul Studio and
beyond, her work is praised for
its creative and innocent nature.
She even has two finished piec-
es on display at the gallery in
addition to her work at BBAC,
which will be displayed through
August. “She’s made a name for
herself over there,” Terry says,
“particularly in the way she
makes these Statues of Liberty.”
Terry calls this milestone
achievement a “signifi-
cant moment” in the life of
Mackenzie, who hasn’t often
been included in inclusive events
such as this one. For years,
Mackenzie didn’t receive invites
to birthday parties of friends
who were neurotypical, simply
because she has special needs.
“Her self-esteem has shot up,”
Terry says. “She loves going to
Soul Studio and making art. She’s
embraced by everybody, and
they celebrate her differences.”
With Mackenzie’s success,
Terry hopes that the focus will
shift away from her daughter
having special needs, but instead
lean into her daughter being a
person who happens to have spe-
cial needs who is also an artist.
“I’m blown away by the prog-
ress she’s made,
” Terry says. “She’s
just really grown in great ways
that have impressed me.”
Mackenzie Matlen and her 8-foot-high Statue of Liberty.
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