It all started with a colorful wall mural, reminiscent of a Peter Max poster from the 1960s that provoked a response of an autistic child. Lauren Henry connected the positive response and the pastel colors and now has incorporated that into a painting business, "With a Brush of Love."
Henry uses the power of art as a way of helping individuals with special needs; she also paints murals for children’s rooms when no special needs are involved.
"The autistic child was over with his mother and pointed to the circles," which was not normal for this particular child who was not able to focus or recall things.
"It reaffirmed my thought process," she said.
Now Henry's Vienna-based business combines her love for helping children with a love for art in a painting business geared toward provoking an emotional response.
"I wanted to combine the labor of love I was expressing for special needs children as well as all children through creativity," Henry said.
SHE STARTED OUT as a musical theater major at the University of Syracuse in New York. Before graduating, she added a minor in communications and, after graduating, landed a job on cruise ships, singing in live performances while on the high seas. When the ships were in harbor, she started substitute teaching for elementary schools, and painting on the side. Now she paints murals, furniture and rooms in aesthetically pleasing colors for children with special needs as well as other children, but always keeps the psychological effect in mind.
Henry has a list of doctors and educational experts she uses for reference when dealing with special cases. Her list includes Dr. Monique Levermore, a clinical psychologist in Florida who earned her medical degree at Harvard University, Dr. Wanda Bethea, EdD., Karen M. Henry, Helene Brower, a principal in the Fairfax County school system and Christine Nicole Productions, Inc.
"Anytime there's a special needs child, I will bounce it off one of the doctors," she said.
Levermore affirmed the power of colors.
"Children who are autistic and special needs are stimulated in special ways. One way to do it is by art, it does have an impact with the emotions of the child," Levermore said.
Light blue, for instance, is a calming color.
"That would help them be more calm," Levermore said.
"Primary yellow is very happy, energetic," Henry added. "This is not a new concept, color and emotion have been connected for centuries."
Henry painted a wall for Henry Daschle, grandson of U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD). Lauren Henry used bright pastels to paint a scene with sun, trees, animals and a pond. Although Henry Daschle is not a child with special needs, the colors affected him in a positive way.
"He really responds to it, it's been a great learning tool. It makes the room feel special," said mother Jill Daschle.
Out on the STREET, Henry notices how colors play a role in marketing and businesses, especially restaurants.
"I notice how it affects me, I notice at what places I feel more comfortable. It's not an accident they're all a warm, Arizona, caramel color," she said.
A surgeon's scrubs, for instance, are a dark, pastel green for a reason, she said.
"Green creates balance, earth tones — they stimulate," she said.
Henry's art adorns the wall in the Children's Hospital of Washington and Willadene Flowers office at the Gaithersburg Chamber of Commerce. Her work at the chamber was a five-foot canvas laden with designs she got from several Swatch watches.