15-year-old internationally collected artist with Down syndrome, finding her voice daily through brilliant works of abstract art.
Sevy was born in Sofia, Bulgaria. Because she was born with
an extra chromosome, in a place where she would never be accepted, she spent
the first twelve years of her life in institutions. Her beginning was hard and
filled with hurt and trauma. But in 2016, she was finally found and brought
home to her forever family in Texas where she is now loved like crazy, living a
life full of joy and adventure. Her family recognized her love for art from the beginning.
She has flourished as an artist and has found her voice through her work.
When we first brought her home, she was very reserved and
didn’t trust us and neither of us really knew how to communicate. Sevy is almost
completely non-verbal. Being in institutions for 12 years, of course it’s going
to be hard to trust anyone. Especially with me, being her primary caretaker, it
was really difficult to bond with her because she wanted nothing to do with me.
We knew she enjoyed art because she was always drawing —
even when we first met her in the orphanage. We didn’t think much of it at the
time. I’m a writer and I like to write at night so Sevy would sit down next to
me with a stack of paper and just draw all night.
About a year ago, I started paying a little more attention
to her while she drew and realized she knew what she was doing and was a really
good artist… we could tell that she had intention when she drew or painted.
The Eichers gave Sevy other supplies to work with –plywood,
old house paint, and paint brushes. Using the house paint and a crowbar to get
sharp lines, Sevy created a beautiful painting on the plywood with layers and
layers of color. Lisa says: That’s when
we realized, she wasn’t just playing around, she was totally an artist.
Lisa, who is a lifestyle blogger, posted Sevy’s work on
Instagram, and the positive response was overwhelming. The Eichers decided to
provide Sevy with proper tools so she could fully develop her talent.
Eventually, they also created an Instagram just for Sevy’s art – and she got
over 10,000 followers overnight.
Now, Sevy has sold out two entire collections of her art- to
buyers as far away as France and the Netherlands. Her whole family has come to
together to help support her dream. Her dad Joey cuts the plywood and assembles
the canvases. Her siblings help prep the canvases and name the paintings. And
her mom Lisa takes pictures of Sevy with her finished works and posts them
online.
The family is also starting a nonprofit called Sandal Gap
Studios, with the goal to foster inclusivity in art by featuring works from
artists with Down syndrome.
Lisa is amazed and thankful for the impact that Sevy’s
artwork is having:
Sevy has really changed the whole trajectory of our lives
which is just really cool and when you think about it — there was this
12-year-old girl with no hope in an institution in Bulgaria and now she’s
having an impact on our world. It’s beyond changing our family, hopefully it’s
changing a community and the world. It’s beyond just selling her art, that’s
such a small part of it, she’s inspiring us to do more and be more.
https://lejeunefoundation.org/successful-artist-sevys-story/
The Eicher family seems like something out of a movie, and
no, it’s not because they have pet pigs, a rabbit, a full-grown cat that still
resembles a kitten, a tortoise, and five dogs (four of which only have three
legs). Nor is it because mom, Lisa Eicher, has competed twice on American Ninja
Warrior and is currently training for the upcoming season. It’s more than that.
The Houston-area Eicher family is a real life Incredibles
family — each member coming together to battle misconceptions of the
special-needs community.
High-school sweethearts Joey and Lisa Eicher have four
children, each with bright personalities and full hearts, and two of which were
adopted from Bulgaria and just happen to have an extra chromosome.
About a year ago, one of those adopted children with Down
syndrome, Sevy Marie, completely changed the trajectory of the Eicher family’s
lives forever.
Sevy Marie Eicher is an artist with Down syndrome. She was
not always an artist, though. Just two years ago, she was living in an
orphanage in Sofia, Bulgaria, where she grew up moving from one institution to
another with little hope of being adopted because of her disability.
The Eicher family were no strangers to adopting from
Bulgaria, or from adopting a child with Down syndrome, as they adopted Archie
in 2011 at the age of 7. Archie, now 14, was brought home to a younger sister,
Ace (now 10), and instantly connected with the family. The family added one
more to the Eicher clan in 2014 when Radko was born.
In 2016, Lisa and Ace ventured back to Bulgaria to pick up
Sevy and bring her home.
“She was on the older end for orphans,” Lisa Eicher says.
“Usually orphans at her age aren’t even adoptable and are just sent off to
institutions and lost. But as soon as we saw a photo of her we knew that she
was our kid and we had to go get her.”
Sevy did not connect with the family as instantly as Archie
had, though.
“When we first brought her home, she was very reserved and
didn’t trust us and neither of us really knew how to communicate,” Lisa says.
“Sevy is almost completely non-verbal. Being in institutions for 12 years, of
course it’s going to be hard to trust anyone. Especially with me, being her
primary caretaker, it was really difficult to bond with her because she wanted
nothing to do with me.”
With little knowledge of Sevy — she had never gone to
school, never seen a doctor, couldn’t communicate verbally — it was difficult
for the Eicher family to bond with the Bulgarian 12-year-old. One thing they
did notice early on, was that she liked to draw.
Like many children her age, Sevy would often spend her
playtime doodling with crayons and markers.
“We knew she enjoyed art because she was always drawing —
even when we first met her in the orphanage, ” Lisa recalls. “We didn’t think
much of it at the time. I’m a writer and I like to write at night so Sevy would
sit down next to me with a stack of paper and just draw all night.
“About a year ago, I started paying a little more attention
to her while she drew and realized she knew what she was doing and was a really
good artist. ”
“We don’t have any background in art whatsoever so we had no
idea the extent of how good her drawing and paintings were, but we could tell
that she had intention when she drew or painted.”
Curious to see what else Sevy could do, the family gathered
some old sheets of plywood and house paint from the garage and asked Sevy if
she would like to paint. She immediately started throwing paint onto the
plywood and rummaging through the garage gathering tools like crowbars,
scrapers, and old paint brushes to use.
The piece that resulted was a myriad of colors and textures.
Sure, many may think it is all random, but when Sevy works you can see the
gears turning in that head of hers. She uses each tool and each color carefully
to get the effect she is looking for. While having a similar aesthetic and
process, each piece produced by Sevy is completely different from the last.
“That’s when we realized, she wasn’t just playing around,
she was totally an artist,” Lisa says.
Unsure of whether they were “just being those parents” who
wanted to believe their child was exceptionally good at something, Lisa decided
to post some of the photos of Sevy’s art on her social media. Being a lifestyle
blogger with over 28,000 followers on Instagram, there were plenty of people
who were ready to pitch in their thoughts.
Luckily, many of the comments consisted in things like,
“Wow! That’s incredible work!” and “Did she really paint that herself?”
This piece, “Discovered,” comes from Sevy Marie Eicher’s second collection Proof of Life (2018).
Knowing there was something truly artistic within Sevy, the Eichers set out to provide her with the right tools so she could truly begin to chase her passion. And it didn’t take long for people to take notice. After a few paintings were posted on Lisa’s social media, followers started requesting to buy the 13-year-old’s pieces…
Knowing there was something truly artistic within Sevy, the Eichers set out to provide her with the right tools so she could truly begin to chase her passion. And it didn’t take long for people to take notice. After a few paintings were posted on Lisa’s social media, followers started requesting to buy the 13-year-old’s pieces…
Sevy Marie Art has sold out two collections in the past year
(priced between $300 to $2,000 per work) in as little as 30 minutes. From
locals to collectors in France, The Netherlands and Ireland, there is no cease
in demand for these expressive pieces.
The first collection, “Girl Unlocked,” was about allowing
Sevy to find her artistic voice through her paintings. It was also how the
family realized they were all coming together to help contribute to each piece,
and ultimately, the fight against misconception…
Each painting typically has about 10 layers on them before
Sevy has deemed them finished. Being ambidextrous, her process is a flurry of
paint. At certain times, she might have a crowbar in one hand and a foam roller
in the other — texturizing and rolling out paint at the same time.
Of course she has to revitalize the creative juices with
frequent dance parties involving the whole family before settling back down at
a corner of the canvas and furiously painting away. Once Sevy feels the piece
is finished and signs, someone in the family will name the piece.
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