I’ve been really fortunate on this creative journey and managed to knock on the right doors at the right moment.
Back in 2022, when I was trying to work out what direction to travel in creatively, I was searching for somewhere that helps disabled and/or mentally unstable artists with getting their foot in the door. On that journey I found Disability Arts Online (DAO) and managed to take advantage of one of their free artist support sessions.
Who are DAO? Taking their write up from their website, I can confirm that…
We are an organisation led by disabled people, set up to advance disability arts and culture through the pages of our journal. Our raison d’être is to support disabled artists, as much as anything by getting the word out about the art being produced by artists within the sector.
We give disabled artists a platform to blog and share thoughts and images describing artistic practice, projects and just the daily stuff of finding inspiration to be creative.
This is the perfect place to go if you’re like me – challenged physically and mentally and struggling to carve out a career that can work around your limitations. As I spoke to one of their representatives I realised there might be an opportunity to blog on their platform, so I offered to join in and was accepted!
Why did I offer? Well, to be honest, I don’t feel like an artist at all, but I certainly do feel limited by my brain and body and I’m trying to accept myself as a creative, so I thought my voice might fit in with others who feel the same. Assuming more people like me exist 🙄?!
I try to write something about my struggle to be an artist every week or two, and so far I’ve had some inspiring feedback and comments, as well as some refreshing ideas about my own work.
I’ve been finding the artistic pathway a struggle to stay on lately, with Anhedonia (post coming soon) making it harder to engage with illustration and writing. I started thinking differently about the inspiration I use for my drawings and, as a result, I was able to create some different pieces, including these blueberries!
I’m not sure why I’d come so far away from my roots, but drawing this mildly realistic piece left me with a bit more pride than usual. Don’t get me wrong, I love drawing kawaii and it still makes me happy to see the bright colours and smiling faces, but on the whole it’s become hum drum to me. I needed a break. Blueberries were the perfect antidote….and I’d never have seen them without the thoughts of other dao visitors.
So if you’re looking for an outlet as a disabled artist, or you need support in the same area, then maybe visiting the Disability Arts Online website could be a good start for you too. Their artist support sessions are really valuable and worthwhile if you need some creative inspiration or a bit of a shake up.
You can find my DAO profile on the Steph Clark page of the DAO website.
Good luck on your adventure, and thanks for reading 💜
Creative Steph 