Alonzo Clemons

Alonso Clemons is from Boulder, Colorado. According to Alonso’s mother, Evelyn, he was always
trying to sculpt things as a baby, but she did not realise what he was doing. And then, he got hold
of some modelling clay and she son realised that he had a special talent. Before he could even
feed himself or get dressed, he could make models of animals that were correct in every detail.
As Alonzo grew his ability to sculpt increased rapidly but he did not develop the other skills that
children normally learn. Some doctors call people like Alonzo savants. They have a developmental
disability like autism, a condition which makes it hard for them to communicate or perform
everyday tasks. But at the same time, they have a skill which they can do incredibly well. In some
cases, that skill involves maths or memory; in other cases, music or painting. With Alonzo, is
sculpture. It takes only 45 minutes for Alonzo to complete a small work. Recently, however, he has
begun to do more ambitious projects. His most impressive work is called Three Frolicking Foals. It
took Alonzo just three weeks to complete this life-size sculpture of three young horses. Like all of
his work, they are anatomically correct in every detail.
In 1986 Alonzo exhibited his work for the first time. It was very popular and today, his work is on
constant display at a gallery in Colorado, USA. Alonzo´s special ability has helped him deal with his
autism. He is now able to communicate better and lead a more independent life. He has a job and
his own apartment, and he enjoys doing weightlifting at the gym. But sculpture is still his main
passion.

Richard Wawro
Tadeusz Wawro was an officer in the Polish Army who decided to settle in Scotland after the
Second World War. He married a Scottish primary school teacher called Olive and together they
started a family. Their son Richard was clearly unlike other children from an early age. His
behaviour was extremely repetitive: he would spend hours playing the same note on the piano. He
used to spend hours staring at illustrations in books. Schools refused to teach him because he was
difficult. In those days, Little was known about autism, so Richard was simply described as being
mentally disabled.
Richard’s parents found a school for him when he was six and his teacher there discovered his
talent for drawing. “What I saw was magic” she recalls. “I couldn’t believe my eyes”. Richard
hardly spoke; his drawings were a form of communication. He sketched pictures of his everyday
life: his school bus, his breakfast, characters from the television. He always drew from memory,
and the details were always perfectly accurate. He Drew so much that his parents had difficulty
providing enough paper!
In 1970, when Richard was eighteen, his works were exhibited for the first time in an art gallery.
The exhibition
was reported on a BBC news programme, and his carrer as an artist suddenly took off. Margaret
Thatcher, who later became the British Prime Minister, described him as her favourite artist, and
before long, he was travelling around the world. His favourite country to visit was the USA,
because there he was treated as an artist, not as artist with learning difficulties.
ACTIVITY
1.- Read the text again. Choose the correct answers.
1) Alonzo Clemons
A. Learned how to sculpt from his mother
B. Could make detailed models at a very early age
C. Had a talent which his mother immediately recognized
D. Was very slow to learn how to put on his clothes

2)” Savants” like Alonzo

A. All have fantastic memories
B. Can communicate well
C. Perform everyday tasks very quickly
D. Have learning difficulties

3) When Richard’s parents found a school for him.

A. His teachers sent him home
B. His talent wasn’t recognized for a long time
C. He communicated with his teachers through his drawing
D. He became interested in magic

4) American people
A. Didn’t realise he had learning difficulties
B. Considered him as just artist
C. Didn’t consider him to be a true artist
D. Described him as their favourite artist

2.- Decide if the sentences are true or false for each artist
Clemons Wawro
1 He was born in Britain False False

2 His parents discovered his rare talents True False

3 He had an interest in art from an early age True True

4 He became popular as soon as his works True True

were exhibited
5 He couldn’t communicate with people very True True
well

3.- Complete the chart. Check your answers in the texts.

Verb Noun
Sculpt Sculpture

Draw Drawing
 Paint Painting
Illustrate Illustration

Sketch Sketch
Exhibit Exhibition

4.- Which of these special talents and abilities would you most like to have and why?
1) The ability to do extremely difficult mathematical calculations in your head.
2) The ability to remember and recall huge numbers of dates, facts, numbers, etc.
3) The ability to draw or paint beautifully.
4) The ability to play a musical instrument to a very high standard.
5) The ability to learn a foreign language extremely quickly.

I would like to have this ability because I only know how to speak Spanish and a bit of English. Also,
there are languages that I find very difficult to understand, like Chinese. So I think it's a very useful
skill to have.