· By Betina Genovesi
BREAKING NEWS: Clara Woods’s Winter Olympics poster just unveiled!
Hi guys,
Today’s one of those days that makes me stop and cry. The good cry.
Clara’s official Winter Olympic Games poster has just been presented in Italy — my Clara. Our Clara!
The same girl doctors said would never walk, talk, or do anything.
The same girl people said would “never make it” as an artist.
Now she’s 19. And she’s one of the artists representing Milano-Cortina 2026.
On the day we were supposed to present the new artwork to the committee, something happened we’ll never forget.
At 7 AM, as we were heading to the office for the call, Clara had a partial seizure. It was the first time I had ever seen her having a partial one.
I froze. I didn’t know what to do. I asked her if she wanted to reschedule, or not do it at all. But she looked at me — and she wanted to go on.
So we did it.
We went into the meeting. I was shaking the whole time. Holding it together. She showed up like a warrior.
And the moment we turned off the call, we both cried. From the stress!
When the Olympic committee came back, they asked for some changes:
“Can you make it more about winter? About sports?”
She cried, but she didn’t get discouraged.
She went back to the studio, and she created a whole new painting.
This week I read something by Virgil Abloh that spoke so much to my heart:
“You could work at Louis Vuitton. You could make paintings about your circumstances. You could work at Nike. You could be a kid that looks like me, create something around it, and not be a victim of statistics.”— Virgil Abloh
That’s what Clara is doing. That's our goal with The Inclusion Matters Movement!
She’s not a victim of statistics.
She’s showing the world that your diagnosis, your problems, and your challenges don’t define your future. You can build something, dream big, and keep going — even when people doubt you, even when the adversities are too high!
I still remember when we launched her first shop.
People literally said: Who’s going to buy from Clara? No one’s going to wear a hoodie with her art on it. Don’t waste your time. You’re being unrealistic.
Imagine if we had listened.
Imagine if we gave up because other people couldn’t see what we saw.
Clara was only 12 years old when we heard those words.
And now — she’s painting for the Olympics.
This is why we fight. This is why we believe! This is why we invest!
This is why The Inclusion Matters Movement matters— because it’s not just about Clara.
It’s about every kid, every adult, every dreamer with a disability who deserves to be seen, supported, and celebrated.
So don’t give up on your dreams.
Even when people say they’re impossible.
Especially then.
Help us grow the Inclusion Matters Movement.
Hang a piece of Clara’s art on your wall.
Support her voice. Share her light.
And do it now!
👉 Click here to see the collection
💛 Use code OLYMPICS at checkout to get $5 off your order! Valid until June 21, 2025
The first 5 orders over $100 will receive a mystery box full of surprises from Clara’s world!
We’re just getting started.
Let’s go.
Let’s make the impossible happen — again and again.
Love, love, love!
Betina
29 comments
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Clara…….thank you for giving me hope. At times, i feel so overwhelmed——I deal with having been born with Chiari Malformation, and it has caused me to have syringomyelia in my spine. I deal with symptoms from those, alongisde of facing various co-morbidities, head on. I see though that it’s all just tantamount my feeling sorry for myself. I have always, in the past kept putting one foot forward one step at a time, following wisdom espoused by my mom, of “it never hurts to ask”. I think folks today, phrase it as “nothing ventured, nothing gained”. Regardless of what it’s called, it came down to persisting, and being tenacious/not giving up ever, and having the gumption to ask. Someitmes through the years it’s felt as if the passage of time, was blurring my edges, affecting my wherewithall, and mindset, joie de vi. Having happened across you and your artwork, via Facebook, is inspiring me, It makes me want to continue onwards, regrouping as ai go, and when feeling like i want to cease, I realize instead, that I to back up, and double down, and keep going. Thank you so much Clara. Thank you to your parents too, for realizing the light that Clara radiates, and thus imbues her pieces with. I am hoping once i get caught up with some of my bills, i can at least purchase one of your prints. And who knows, maybe in my time, I can, eventually afford to consider an original piece. I would love to see you interpret me, and to view how i might be perceived, in your eyes, by you. Thank you.
My best regards, to you.
Loma Johsnon
Loma Johnson on
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I love your pictures but most of all I love your attitude. Keep painting and fighting for all the people you inspire.. I’d be proud to have you as a daughter. I have a son who has no ambition or desire to better himself..
Mary Kleinhans on
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I love Clara’s work, I love her “stay-with it attitude I love her stories and I love her emotions !
Keep on doing what you are doing and what you are so good at doing.
😍Val on
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Clara, you are a true ambassador of the American Dream. Through your paintings, your perseverance, and your unwavering determination, you reflect the very spirit of hard work, passion, and purpose. Your journey and your talent are an inspiration, and the beauty you create speaks volumes about your strength and dedication.
Steven Iles on
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Hi Clara and Betina!
You are in Italy now, to be at the Olympics, to show Clara´s art, and to meet some friends, supporters, and to just be in Italy for a while, where you had been living for sooo many years. I am happy for you and I wish you the best! Greetings and hugs from Salamanca, MajaMaja on
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Incredible. Lady, you are a refreshing ray of sunshine and the moon all at once. Thank you for sharing your talents with the world. I wish you success and love because it’s what you so profoundly did for me this morning. I purchased a print and a jacket and am in absolute love with your art. Thank you for never settling, settling a crazy boundary no one can meet and offering such beauty with every stroke of your brush. You are talented and I cannot wait to see your art continue. Stay brilliant. You have my support as small as it may be, it feels big and my heart filled. And I learned from you today, thank you for that. Be well sister!
Nickole Moore on
