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Connor Grossman takes four marbles, dips one at a time in a cup of paint, and shakes them around an old cigar box, tracking each marble’s path along his canvas. He’s more than just a 5-year-old creating art — he’s an artist helping to change lives around him, starting at home.
Connor, of Penfield, is the braintrust behind Marbles for MS, a not-for-profit that sells these marble paintings across the continent to raise money for the Multiple Scleroris Society, a foundation that hits close to home.
“I’m trying to fix my mommy,” Connor said. “I want to fix the other people with MS.”
Connor’s mom, Annette, was diagnosed with MS five years ago, just shy of Connor’s first birthday. The auto-immune disorder affects the brain and spinal cord, disabling certain functions, such as walking or eyesight.
The idea for the paintings came when Connor received cigar boxes in which to store his marbles. He dipped the marbles in paint and shook the box, in order to make a painting. What came out was art.
“I was joking and said, ‘You could make a lot of money on these,’” Annette said.
The thought resonated with Connor, who decided that the paintings would be sold to benefit the upcoming MS Walk, for which his brother’s Boy Scout troop was planning to raise money. The family had been involved with the MS Walk before, since Annette’s diagnosis. But MS runs in Annette’s husband Michael’s blood; his sister, aunt and cousins also have the disease.
“It can hit anybody at anytime,” Michael said. “It hits everybody differently and in different ways.”
“It has a dramatic effect on your lifestyle,” Annette added.
Michael created a website for Marbles for MS and within an hour, Connor had sold his first painting. In the three weeks since the website launched, more than 300 paintings had been sold, from coast to coast and into Canada.
Connor’s brother, Jackson, serves as the “production manager,” helping to make the paintings. Of the 50 colors the brothers have to choose from, 9-year-old Jackson’s favorites are black, turquoise and fluorescent pink. Connor’s favorites, however, are blue, green, orange and yellow. The paintings have been custom-ordered too, for favorite sports teams or favorite color combinations.
Connor’s original goal was $2,500, but he’s already surpassed that. The new goal is $5,000, as he approaches upcoming MS Walks in Rochester, Canandaigua and Greece on May 1. More than $1,600 in paintings were sold at an event at Eastview Mall earlier this month and the paintings will be on sale through a vendor at the walks. He’s raising more money by hand-signing the paintings, perfecting his kindergarten penmanship at the same time. A $5 donation will get a custom-designed painting. A $20 donation gets the signature, but the ultimate painting, an 11-inch by 14-inch work, will be sold for a donation of $1,000, with a full spelling of his name — Connor MacQuarrie Grossman.
“We’re raising awareness of people who wouldn’t normally be paying attention to MS,” Michael said. “A 5-year-old is bringing out the good in people, that’s just amazing.”
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Connor Grossman takes four marbles, dips one at a time in a cup of paint, and shakes them around an old cigar box, tracking each marble’s path along his canvas. He’s more than just a 5-year-old creating art — he’s an artist helping to change lives around him, starting at home.
Connor, of Penfield, is the braintrust behind Marbles for MS, a not-for-profit that sells these marble paintings across the continent to raise money for the Multiple Scleroris Society, a foundation that hits close to home.
“I’m trying to fix my mommy,” Connor said. “I want to fix the other people with MS.”
Connor’s mom, Annette, was diagnosed with MS five years ago, just shy of Connor’s first birthday. The auto-immune disorder affects the brain and spinal cord, disabling certain functions, such as walking or eyesight.
The idea for the paintings came when Connor received cigar boxes in which to store his marbles. He dipped the marbles in paint and shook the box, in order to make a painting. What came out was art.
“I was joking and said, ‘You could make a lot of money on these,’” Annette said.
The thought resonated with Connor, who decided that the paintings would be sold to benefit the upcoming MS Walk, for which his brother’s Boy Scout troop was planning to raise money. The family had been involved with the MS Walk before, since Annette’s diagnosis. But MS runs in Annette’s husband Michael’s blood; his sister, aunt and cousins also have the disease.
“It can hit anybody at anytime,” Michael said. “It hits everybody differently and in different ways.”
“It has a dramatic effect on your lifestyle,” Annette added.
Michael created a website for Marbles for MS and within an hour, Connor had sold his first painting. In the three weeks since the website launched, more than 300 paintings had been sold, from coast to coast and into Canada.
Connor’s brother, Jackson, serves as the “production manager,” helping to make the paintings. Of the 50 colors the brothers have to choose from, 9-year-old Jackson’s favorites are black, turquoise and fluorescent pink. Connor’s favorites, however, are blue, green, orange and yellow. The paintings have been custom-ordered too, for favorite sports teams or favorite color combinations.
Connor’s original goal was $2,500, but he’s already surpassed that. The new goal is $5,000, as he approaches upcoming MS Walks in Rochester, Canandaigua and Greece on May 1. More than $1,600 in paintings were sold at an event at Eastview Mall earlier this month and the paintings will be on sale through a vendor at the walks. He’s raising more money by hand-signing the paintings, perfecting his kindergarten penmanship at the same time. A $5 donation will get a custom-designed painting. A $20 donation gets the signature, but the ultimate painting, an 11-inch by 14-inch work, will be sold for a donation of $1,000, with a full spelling of his name — Connor MacQuarrie Grossman.
“We’re raising awareness of people who wouldn’t normally be paying attention to MS,” Michael said. “A 5-year-old is bringing out the good in people, that’s just amazing.”
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