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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