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Mackenzie Thorpe praises school named in his honour
World renowned artist Mackenzie Thorpe praised a specialist school which bears his name after viewing pupils’ artwork made for World Autism Acceptance Month.
Mackenzie, who was born and raised in Teesside, returned to Middlesbrough to visit the Mackenzie Thorpe Centre, a school run by the North East Autism Society (NEAS).
During the tour Mackenzie viewed exhibitions of the pupils’ work, made in the school’s art club and for the Society’s ‘Acceptance Project,’ which called on people to share messages of acceptance through art during Autism Acceptance Month in April.
Mackenzie said: “It makes me really happy to be here. There’s an atmosphere here that’s not in most academic schools.”
He added that the staff’s hard work was like a ‘magic dust’ sprinkled over the school.
Mackenzie recalled his own experiences of school as unhappy, despite the success he later found through art: “I’m dyslexic and I left school with no qualifications at all.
“It just shows everybody can make it.”
“You can do anything you want to do if you put your mind to it. You can. And when you come here, you feel and see that, you see the happiness on people’s faces.”
Budding 13-year-old artist Harry, a pupil at the school, said it had been ‘nice’ to meet Mackenzie, who was taken by some of the smallest details in the young artist’s sketchbook.
Mackenzie said: “Everything an artist does is a self portrait.
“He made these marks that just went through the paper, and caught on the other side. These marks were so gentle, so soft, and he’s standing next to me and he’s just like that.”
Harry said: “He just said, basically don’t throw them away. The swatch sheets are different and special only to me.”
Kirstie Howe, Vice Principal at the Mackenzie Thorpe Centre said the visit had been especially memorable for newer pupils, who could now put a face to the name of their school.
Kirstie said:
“Some of them were a bit starstruck, because in their minds a celebrity’s just walked through the door.”
“The interactions that he had with the learners today, the impact that will have, it’s an everlasting memory for them, especially because they are avid artists.”
Teaching assistant presents ‘inspirational’ artist with picture-perfect portrait
A teaching assistant with a passion for portraiture had the opportunity to present Mackenzie with a unique gift during his visit to the centre.
Lauren Greenheld, who works at the Mackenzie Thorpe Centre, was inspired to create the sketched portrait of Mackenzie after a previous visit to the school.
Lauren said:
“He’s just an inspiration. He’s local, he’s done absolutely amazing, and I love doing portraits, so I thought it would be fitting to do a portrait of Mackenzie.”
The portrait was drawn in one sitting, and took around four hours to complete.
“I just zone out, and then the next thing I know it’s done,” Lauren said.
Lauren, who has ADHD and said she can’t go back to a drawing if she takes a break, added: “I’ve got to do it all. I’ve got to be in the right frame of mind and just crack on with it.”
“It’s rare moments when I do art, because it has got to be perfect, but it feels good when I’ve done a piece and it’s worked.”
Lauren’s focus on her passion paid off when she presented the portrait to a visibly moved Mackenzie.
“I’ve had three portraits made of me,” Mackenzie said,
“One as street art, and one a drawing similar to this, but this captures a softness that I know I’ve got, but I don’t use enough."
“It reminds me of my granddad and my dad. And my son. She’s just caught something that’s not normally in these portraits, and I think she’s really clever.”
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