Kirsty e Smith

Background

About Kirsty e Smith

SEN Teacher and Fine Artist I am driven by my interest in Neurodiversity. I am passionate about finding ways to; connect with; to build trusting relationships with and to empower young people, so that they are able to progress their own unique learning journeys. My skills lie in working with children and young people with very complex profiles; non-verbal / non-speaking Autistic students with Severe Learning Difficulties and Sensory Processing Disorders. Taking a highly creative approach I create a suitable learning environment, use resources which students can relate to and devise lessons which ensure that even the hardest to reach student is able to enjoy learning and make progress. Multi-media artist making sculpture, film and photography. Awards include Arts Council England Awards (2009 and 2016)- Smith's work centres on sensory stimulation; she puts touch back at the top of the sensory pyramid with sound a close second. She lures the viewer in to her idiosyncratically alternative world where she disarms them with her playful approach and references to pageantry, folklore, and vintage sci-fi. She says,"I enjoy when viewers are lost for words because their brains have been overloaded with memories, gut reactions, emotions and memory flashbacks that an encounter with my work has triggered".