Learning differences inspire Staten Island artist’s children’s books and pet portraits

STATEN ISLAND, NY — Many people in the Chinese adoption community choose to believe in the Red Thread Proverb, a piece of folklore stating that an invisible red thread connects people destined to meet.

For Tia Qiu Chan Schioppo, 27, a Westerleigh-based artist, this legend shines true. Tia and her younger sister, Maya, were born in China and were later adopted by a family of gifted artists in Westerleigh.

“My dad was an artist. His whole family are artists. They’re interior designers, painters, a curator at the Smithsonian. Myself and my brother were graphic designers,” said Lauri Jean Phillips, Tia’s mother. “So for her to land in our family? There are no accidents.”

Staten Island artist starts pet portrait business and publishes children's books Westerleigh resident Tia Qiu Chan Schioppo graduated with honors from FIT in 2024 and has published two children’s books drawing from her personal experiences, while also running her own pet portrait business.Advance/SILive | Nicolette Cavallaro

At a young age, Tia was diagnosed with ADHD, PTSD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, speech delays, and language-based learning differences, which sometimes made school more challenging.

“I’ve always been a kid with learning disabilities or learning differences my whole life,” she said. ” I wasn’t academically gifted in school, but I did get my grades through. But that doesn’t mean that you’re dumb or stupid. There’s different types of intelligence in the world, and if school doesn’t work for you, it’s okay. You can just do your best, and then you can go on to find out what’s your true color.”

Tia’s true color was art. She started drawing when she was four, and mostly focused on clothing and animals, with a special love for horses.

As she got older, she began drawing people and faces, developing an interest in illustration, especially in books that portrayed kids like herself.

“I always wanted to help kids with learning disabilities,“ she said. ”I think we should make that much more prevalent in the media these days, especially in children.”

In May 2024, nearly two decades after she first picked up a pencil, Tia graduated with honors, from the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in illustration and a minor in art history, while also interning at the ArtLab in Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden in Livingston.

During her senior year, she wrote and illustrated two self-published children’s books, which both focused on key aspects of her life.

The first was “A Shell for Shellby,” a story that brings attention to the commitment that having a hermit crab entails. Tia got a pet hermit crab, Sheldon, in 2020, and noticed that even though he was just a small crustacean, he had a personality. The book centers around the quality of life a pet like Sheldon deserves.

“He’s been such a beautiful thing in my life, and I just wanted to give back to him by educating people that he is not a beginner’s pet,” she stated while flipping through pages of her book. ” I want to make sure that the people who are considering getting one, that they don’t kill them by accident. That’s all I could ever do for the little guy, to help the species along.”

After Tia got the taste for writing, she decided to tackle something a little more personal — her ADHD.

In her second book, “ADHD, it’s just a part of me,” she created a character named Benny who shares many of her own qualities. It focuses on a child’s experience with ADHD and how their differences are not something to fear. The picture book, which is presented in “little kids terms” shows how situations can be adapted for children with ADHD, such as using a yoga ball or wiggle mat for those who have trouble sitting in chairs or relying on fidget tools or origami if you need to keep your hands busy.

“I wanted to help kids just like me and parents who don’t really understand how to navigate their child’s condition and help them understand that they’re not broken, they’re not disabled. I hate the word disabled,” she expressed. This belief is why Tia gravitates towards the word “difference” when referring to her diagnoses.

After finishing school, Tia started the long journey of becoming a paid artist. Although her mother worries about the ups and downs of being a professional artist, she is extremely supportive of her dreams.

“The arts are hit and miss, but you can see that she’s very passionate about it and she talks all the time about how she wants to find a way for her art to help other kids that are struggling,” Phillips said.

The first piece of art she ever sold was a portrait of Joe, a corgi who she saw playing in a dog park. After seeing the digital drawing of their beloved pet, the owner paid Tia $50 for it. This led to the creation of Pet Portraits by Tia, a business focused on bringing art of people’s beloved companions to life through detailed and intricate designs.

One of her favorite pieces she’s done since starting the business was one of a small, aging white dog. In the photo she was given, his hair was thinning and patchy. To help make him look more high-spirited, she drew his paws up in front of the image, making it look like he was ready to jump out of the frame.

This month, Tia was able to open up her own kiosk in the Staten Island Mall, New Springville, which she hopes will showcase her artwork and give her the boost she needs to continue her career. At her stand, she has displayed her books, many of the pets she’s worked on, and detailed human portraits, as well as realistic postcards and stickers of animals.

She hopes to devote her time to drawing the animals she loves and working on her next book.

“It’s OK,” Tia’s third picture book, which will focus on the challenges of dyslexia, is in the works and is also inspired by her own difficulties.

Tia’s artistic goals are to work on larger, more abstract pieces, while keeping true to her roots in animal artwork. She dreams of helping organizations involved in wildlife protection or showing her work in a gallery, but also wants to use her talents to help other kids with learning and cognitive differences. To her, that’s what makes all of her art important:

” If I could change one life, my life would be worth it,” she said.

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