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w w w .insideH A LT O N .com | O A K V IL L E B E A V E R | Friday, A pril 2 8 , 2 0 1 7 | 3 0 Marta Marychuk Reporter mmarychuk@oakvillebeaver.com Aitscene `Connected to your Community" Aiden uses his passion for a rt to advocate for people who have disabilities by Abigail Cukier Special to the Beaver Until he was four years old, Oakville' s Aiden Lee did not speak or use words to comm u nicate with his family or the world around him. Once he did begin to talk, his family thought art might be a great way to help him comm unicate even more. He was immediately drawn to using acryl ics and spray paint to transform blank can vases. Aiden, who has autism, is now 13 and is very verbal, but still uses art to express his feelings, as well as to capture nature and the feelings of those around him. "He has shown us that beauty is not cap tured within the lines. I sometimes think, `how can those colours go together?' But they do," says Aiden's mom Judith Lee. "You can tell his emotions by his art, when is he in a darker mood or happier. Just looking at Aiden Lee, 13, who has autism, uses art to express his feelings, as well as to capture nature and the feelings of those around him. | Subm itted photo the painting, even though it is abstract, you know what it is. "For someone on the autism spectrum, even if they are high functioning, they can't always communicate how they feel or inter pret other people' s communication. If we can get them to find the one thing they love, I think the world would be m uch easier for them and they can use it as a tool to com m unicate." Aiden will have his first solo art exhibi tion Sunday, April 3 0 , 1-4 p.m ., with paint ing demonstrations at 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. at the Burlington Golf and Country Club, 4 2 2 North Shore Blvd. E. "I am really excited to do it," said Aiden. "Painting makes me happy and it calms me down if I have a stressful day. W hen I feel very inspired, I can do two or three paint ings." Aiden has used his passion for art to advo cate for people with disabilities and people on the autism spectrum and donates his art see First on p. 31 t r a v e la le r t s x a - You CouId W IN A LUXURIOUS SHOPPING GETAWAY IN \N PRIZES/ Prize provided by: SPECIAL $15 off and free fast wax with this ad. Offer expires April 30, 2017 Protect your Investment! 905.827.7878 F o r c o u p o n s a n d s p e c ia ls v is it... Complete Cars from 1.95 with the optimum in vehicle rust control and much more! NEW CARS, USED CARS, RUSTY CARS... WE DO IT ALL VISIT w w w .T r a v e lA le r ts .c a /C o n te s t TO ENTER No purchase necessary. Contest open to residents o f Canada w ho have attained the age of m ajority in the province or te rrito ry in which they reside. Odds o f w inn in g depend on the number o f eligible entries received. One (1) grand prize is available to be won, consisting o fth e fo llow in g: (i) five (5) da y,four (4) n ig ht luxurious one bedroom hotel stay a tth e brand new RiverWalk Resort at Loon Mountain, Lincoln, New Hampshire (estim atedvalue $1,400.00 USD); (ii) Two (2) roundtrip economy class a irlin eticke tsfro m any m ajor Canadian Gateway (set ou t in b e lo w )to Boston Logan In tern atio na lA irp ort onW estjet orAirCanada (estim atedvalue $1,200.00 USD); (iii) $500.00 USD Shopping V oucherto Tanger Outlets, Tilton New Hampshire; (iv) $500.00 USD Shopping Voucher to Premium Outlets and Premium Outlets Swag Bag and Coupon Book, Merrimack, New Hampshire; (v) $500.00 USD Shopping V oucherto Settler's Green Outlets, North Conway, New Hampshire; (vi) $375.00 USD Value Passfor 17 M ajorA ttractions inW hite M ou nta in fo r Two Adults; (vii)Anheuser Busch Brewery, Beer Master T ourfor Two and $25.00 G ift C ertificateforA nheuser Busch Brewery newB ier Garten, Merrimack, New Hampshire (estim atedvalue $95.00 USD); and (viii) Squam Lakes Natural Science Centre A dm issionfor Four (4), Holderness, New Hampshire (estimated value $76.00 USD). Thetotal prize has a m aximumvalue o f $4,646.00 USD (approximately $6,300.00 CDN depending on applicable conversion rate). M ajor Canadian Gateways are: Calgary (YYC), C harlottetown (YYG), Edmonton (YEG), Halifax (YHZ), Hamilton (YHM), Kelowna (YLW), London (YXU), M oncton (YQM) Montreal (YUL), Ottawa (YOW), Quebec (YQB), Regina (YQR), Saskatoon (YXE), Toronto (YYZ), Vancouver (YVR),Victoria (YYJ), and W innipeg (YWG). Skill-testing question required. Contest opens Thursday, March 30, 2017 at 12:00 AM EDT and ends on Thursday May 11, 2017 at 11:59 PM EDT. For instructionsto enter and complete contest rulesvisit www.TravelAlerts.ca/Contest. \h v ,v,'/ETiOT7TTv^rrrrn 1490 U N IT # 5 S P E E R S R O A D , O A K V IL L E