poet, photographer, printer & painter

it might be a day where …

I call myself a disabled writer, contemplative photographer and visual artist, because I use so many different processes to express myself and share my ideas and story, and I no longer believe that I ought to specialise! I could equally call myself photographer, poet, painter and printer. I live with a chronic illness and a functional neurological disorder which means that each day has variable energy, fatigue, pain and concentration levels. It might be a day where all my words desert me and I struggle to communicate. Alternatively, my body might choose that day to throw the curve-ball of a seizure into the mix, and suddenly any plans I’d made come to a screeching halt. I also suffer from clinical depression. Any combination of these and I can end up bed-bound for days, without leaving the house for weeks.

a stop/start, multi-layered, inconsistent process

So all this means that making ‘work’ is a stop/start, multi-layered, inconsistent process. I am learning (after twenty plus years) to try to accept my limitations rather than get frustrated by them, but that’s mostly an ideal rather than the actuality! Part of this learning has recently meant embracing the label and language of disability, mostly so that I might encourage others (as I encourage myself) to keep creativity as their lifeline, no matter the seeming setbacks any day might bring. For creativity is vital to the flourishing of my heart and soul, body and mind.

I really hope that the work I produce (in whatever medium, however large or small) will help the viewer to pause and breathe and take a moment to be present to where and how they are.