Marianna has Down Syndrome and was born with low-muscle tone. She had little control of her hands and fingers when she was an infant. As early as the age of four, she and her dad spent hours placing beads on a square pegboard as part of her fine motor skill development. For years, they persevered despite frequent knock-overs and miscues until Marianna was able to finish small boards of no more than 25 beads. Marianna would get frustrated, but she did not quit. Each finished work was a huge accomplishment. Her dad would melt the beads together so Marianna could see the finished product and be proud of her work. Eventually, there were too many square beaded boards taking up space. Rather than throwing them out, her dad melted them together and framed them as a work of art.
Once Marianna mastered the art of taking beads one-at-a-time from a bucket with her fingertips and gently placing them on the pegboard, the next step was creating “beaded squares” with a purpose. Marianna and her dad started to look at creating patterns and focusing on color composition with these “beaded squares”. After a while, these larger “beaded squares” were taking up space again. Rather than throwing them out, her dad figured out a way to tie them together.
A friend made a comment that these things would look great as a welcome mat. He ordered one! Marianna was more than happy to make one for him. When the friend got his welcome mat, he ordered two more. “These are nice birthday gifts”, he said. Her dad thanked him on Facebook with the pictures of the mats, and immediately Marianna received ten requests. While Marianna still needs help in creating the patterns and color composition – the placement, the melting of the beads, and the tying together of the squares is all done by Marianna. Today, Marianna makes colorful artwork – each one is custom made for friends and relatives.