The fine art prints I sell as a disabled artist with a speech disorder
In case you missed it: the Quiet Grief Club introduction, Part I: The Diagnosis that Changed Everything and Part II: The Aftermath of Brain Tumor Surgery Nobody Talks About are in the letters before this one.
After my brain tumor surgery, I became disabled. One of the effects was a speech disorder. Speaking takes effort and doesn’t always work the way I want it to. Drawing doesn’t depend on words. I don’t have to explain myself or keep up a conversation. I can be present and express something without talking. That’s why I started drawing. Not with a plan in mind, but because it was a way to communicate when speech became difficult.
Somewhere in the 3 years after the surgery, my kitchen table became the centre of this new life. It held sketchbooks, tubes of paint, scraps of test paper, failed attempts, odd ideas, and slowly, work that actually looked like something. It became my studio and still is, although honestly, I really need more space.
