William is inspired by mystical characters and make-believe worlds. He loves experimenting with different materials and incorporating sensory elements into his art. He has been working on ‘Mickey’s World’ for the past two years. The story and artwork were designed with particular consideration to accessibility for people with autism.
The work shared below was exhibited alongside fellow Pyramid artist Ria at their joint exhibition ‘This is Us’ in Feb-March 2024 at Archive, Kirkstall.
‘Mickey Mouse Goes to Mars’ is a story written, illustrated, sound designed and narrated by William Stapleton. Let William tell you the immersive tale of Mickey Mouse’s adventure to Mars, making a pitstop along the way to pick up a familiar face in the city of love!
Download and Print Colouring Pages
William has created these exclusive colouring pages of new images for ‘Mickey Mouse Goes to Mars’ for you to download and print at home – You could also colour them digitally!
Behind the scenes with William
“My name is William Stapleton. I am an artist and have done some work on the theme Mickey Mouse goes to Mars. I liked learning new skills, they were digital art, sound effects, light boxes, a story, drawing. I felt happy and proud. I want to be a famous star.
I worked with Sammy, Alice B and Alice C. Sammy is a musician and helped me to do my audio book. I had to read the story out and make different sound effects, like zipping up an astronaut suit, crunching on food, and a rocket taking off. Alice C is a textile artist and she helped me make cushions. I wanted my exhibition to be sensory. To make my cushions I had to sew on a sewing machine, and stuff my cushions to make it soft and comfy. Alice B is my D Team artist. She helped me make my story together. To make my story I drew on a digital computer, I came up with the plot and then it got printed out as a book, what Sarah from the office got done for us.
I had an exhibition with Ria. Ria is another artist, and everyone came and see it. It was at Archive. It made me feel joyful, everyone was happy, and thought my story was funny. This put a smile on my face.”
