Friday, May 14, 2010

The Blinking Artist: Thomas Nelson

"With little time to mourn my losses, I turned my face to the wind and never looked back. "
~Thomas Nelson, Musician, Artist


One of my Internet friends and close friend of my cousin Vivian, Terry, sent me an email tonight about the art work of his younger brother, Thomas Nelson. You really need to take a look at this and read the story of this artist.

See, what is so inspiring is that Thomas is a quadriplegic and he now draws pictures by blinking his eyes.

Talk about courage...and living life...

From his website:

Eight years ago, at 57 years old, Thomas was living the life of his dreams. But then he received devastating news that would radically alter the course of his life. He writes in his online journal:

"In 2001 I was a year into retirement and having the time of my life as a full-time working musician. Little did I suspect that fate was winding up to deliver a curve ball that caught me right squarely between the eyes.

"This particular missile came in the form of a diagnosis of ALS. I guess I'm fortunate that my version of paralysis began in my feet and worked its way up because it gave me a few extra years before my arms and hands became too weak to play."

ALS, also known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease", progressively shut down the functions of Thomas' muscles. He was forced to adapt. "With little time to mourn my losses, I turned my face to the wind and never looked back. The constant through it all has been my computer. Through the computer I stay connected with friends and family, manage my personal affairs, read books, and communicate with the people around me."

As a creative outlet, Thomas devised a way to draw. He uses E Z Keys scanning software, Xara Xtreme graphics editing software, and an IST switch that emulates a mouse click when he moves his cheek. Amazingly, he connects vector points and draws lines by blinking his eyes.
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Read more....and see his gallery...and you may want to purchase his drawings. Here he is at Facebook, too.

~Linda

2 comments:

Liara Covert said...

I have a friend whose life initially ended when she became physically blind. This forced her to stop living in certain ways and re-evaluate what is truly important. This turned out to be how her body responded to her thoughts and behaviour that were not true to her inner self. Over a period of two years, after traditional medicine offered no explanations or solutions and even conceded she would be blind for life, this friend proceeded to shift focus, mindset and heal her sight from within. Her recovery may defy science but she is now true to soul. She sets an example to show everyone they have power to heal or change from within.

Linda Pendleton said...

Wonderful story, Liara. I've learned in my life how we have choices when going through a life-changing or tramatic event. It is the positive things we chose to do that make life joyful and fulfilling, no matter the challenges we may face, as you well know.