art smarts

Chapter 6. Technique and Adaptability

One of the things that I had trouble with in school was writing. I would have a lot of ideas and they’d all be interconnected and I wouldn’t know how to put them in order. So a page that I wrote would end up being all scratched out with little notes here and there, some scratched out parts circled, some circled parts re-scratched out. It was really, really hard to write, because that’s what my paper would look like. I would try and decipher what I was doing and copy it out, but it was a very anxious and time-consuming process, because I was always trying to make things go in order and losing things that were part of it but didn’t fit in.

When people started using computers I kind of thought, “Oh well, I’m gonna go through my whole life and never be able to use one of these because I can’t use a typewriter.” If you can’t use a typewriter you certainly can’t use a computer. But I was doing a lot of sculpture that had text in it, so I asked someone to show me how to use her computer. I wrote down everything she said, and I would just refer to the notes all the time.

Much to my surprise I really loved it, because by writing on a computer, I didn’t end up with a million scratched out, circled, re-scratched out, moved around, pasted on things: I ended up with fragments. I would have a bunch of fragments that weren’t all scratched out, because I could add new thoughts or move my thoughts around without chaos ensuing. So then I had a writing style, which was a fragmented writing style, and people really liked it. And it wasn’t “disabled writing,” it was a post-modern style. But of course it came directly out of my learning disability, and this tool that I could use to move things along was my new toy.
persimmon

The important thing is not to let your disability prevent you from making art. It may be more difficult and it may take longer, but with determination and creativity you can usually find a way to do it – by getting help, by adapting your tools or working environment, or by actually changing the kind of art you make.

In the winter, when it’s impossible to go outside, I work in my studio. Sometimes I paint from sketches, but most of the time I complete paintings that I started outside. It’s a time to study, a time to try new harmonies, new colours, to do research. Also, I’m trying to accumulate sketches now for the future, because it won’t be long before I’m not able to go out in the field anymore. Now I’m absorbing the atmosphere of outdoor painting. Once I’m resigned to painting inside, then maybe all the sketches I’ve accumulated will become something new – still figurative, but maybe more abstract. And painting in my studio will be a way to survive.
roger

don’t let your disability prevent you from making art

We used to travel. I had a bunch of guys in the band with me who could help out if I ever got in a jam. That happened a lot, too; they had to carry me into a club if it was upstairs. “Oh man there’s a lot of stairs here!” “Well, we’ll carry you.” Back in those days, who cared? We didn’t have any pride. I just got on somebody’s back and they hauled me in. That’s the way it worked. “Just get me in, I want to be part of this!” It was lots of fun. But I’ve found as a solo artist that’s a little bit more difficult.

I’ve had to be more careful over the years, too. So I have a stool now that is mine; I’m really, really comfortable on it. One night I sat down on it, and I wasn’t totally comfortable on it yet. I was nervous the whole first part of the performance that I was gonna fall off this stupid thing. The next part of the show I got secure on it and I felt really comfortable. I have two friends who are both in wheelchairs, and they came up to me after the show and they said, “We gotta get you a new seating arrangement on stage; you don’t look comfortable on that thing.” And I said “Well I am.” “Yeah but you don’t look comfortable.” The thing they want to see out in the audience is that you look really comfortable.
joe

If you need to consider different tools or equipment to do your art, you can seek advice from an occupational therapist at a local health unit or rehab hospital; your doctor may be able to refer you. If there are commercially available products that will meet your needs, there may be a private agency or service club willing to help you purchase these. But if you need to adapt your existing equipment or environment, there’s also an organization – the Tetra Society of North America – that may have a chapter in your area and may be able to help you.

The Tetra Society, in its own words, “fills a large gap in the health care system for people with disabilities in the area that addresses quality of life. Tetra fills this gap with its technical assistance program which matches volunteer professionals with people with disabilities.” Tetra recruits skilled volunteer engineers and technicians to create assistive devices for people searching for greater independence and integration within their communities. The solutions are often simple, but they can change your life.

Some examples of the ways that Tetra has helped artists with disabilities are:

a swing arm support for a painter with MS, that reduces the effort needed to move her arms across the canvas
an adapted music stand for a cello teacher with a visual impairment
a bow holder for another cello player with a brain injury, that prevents his bow from slipping down the strings
an instrument support for a violin player with hemiplegia, that enables him to direct the bow movement with his upper arm
an easel and paintbrush holder for a mouth painter with quadriplegia

You can find out more about Tetra on their website: www.reachdisability.org/tetra.If you would like information about Tetra chapters across Canada, or you have difficulty contacting any of the chapters listed on the Tetra web site, you can phone or (e)mail your enquiry to:

Pat Tweedie (for BC, Oregon, Washington and Alaska): ptweedie@tetrasociety.org
Sarah Davies (for the rest of Canada and USA): sdavies@tetrasociety.org

Tetra Head Office
Plaza of Nations, Box 27
770 Pacific Blvd. S.
Vancouver, BC V6B 5E7
604.688.6464
Fax: 604.688.6463

Chapter 7. The Business of Being an Artist