Rosa Fiorelli Winery joins in for Autism Awareness Month

Rosa Fiorelli’s shed was graffitied Wednesday — but she was okay with it.

She asked for it. 

“I’m doing this for the neighbors, and for charity,” she said. 

Fiorelli has joined the growing community for autism awareness month, taking an idea from her neighbors, the Sarasota Manatee Association for Riding Therapy. Matt Bruback, SMART’s autism awareness campaign manager, told Fiorelli about the campaign over a glass of wine, and about Natalie Palumbo, the Ringling College student who had painted a mural for SMART.

Fiorelli decided to join in and became a sponsor for the SMART family event April 23, and Bruback found a Ringling student for Fiorelli’s own mural.

Tyler Lefebvre, a junior studying motion design, said the project was a personal endeavor. 

“I have Tourette’s (syndrome), so it was cool to help out in that way,” he said. 

Lefebvre, a Sarasota native, isn’t new to graffiti; the mural was his second “commissioned” piece, although he’s doing it for free. The paint was donated by Blue Line in Sarasota. 

The design — the puzzle piece over the SMART logo — was Bruback’s making. The creator of the Miracle Belt wanted to bring together both the campaign at SMART and the traditional symbol of autism awareness. 

“It’s about the whole community rallying behind those with autism,” he said.