#nelclectic

On 2/6/26, I celebrated 2 1/2 years of my Stroke Recovery.

I get very emotional whenever I talk about what it felt like to suddenly lose connection with my Dominant Hand and Vision. I take immense pride in my Recovery, especially having had to relearn EVERYTHING all over again.

Muscle Memory can last just a few moments, so I’m very happy that I figured out that my love for Art and Creativity are so deeply ingrained into my brain and body, that not even a stroke can stop me from reconnecting with myself.

Having a Near Death Experience (NDE) both shook and shaped me as an Artist, especially as a Visual Artist.

After temporarily losing my Vision and still working hard in Vision Rehab to gain it back, I can’t help but to remember what I saw during those very long hours of Brightness.

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For those who don’t know, I have Visual Snow Syndrome (VSS), among other visual disorders as a result of my brain damage. My Artwork is a direct reflection of how I now see the world from Eyes that saw Too Much.

— ART ANALYSIS:

It’s National Poetry Writing Month; I love this font & my Eyes really hurt.

Red is a color I unfortunately cannot see very well anymore, so I think it’s interesting to see how I use Red to Hide things within my artwork… a self-portrait with hands covering a big swatch of red paint says a lot about how I’m feeling lately.

Authenticity most times feels like trying to exist Calmly while wearing the most Alarming color. You stick out so much just by existing unapologetically. Your name is synonymous with Warnings. It’s exhausting.

Anger is honestly a very tough emotion for me to feel, but is surprisingly easy to visualize.

I have learned over the years that Anger can be a protective emotion, and it often represents the voice of my other emotions, mostly Disappointment and Exasperation.

More recently, I am accepting that acknowledging my Anger has led to an incredible amount of self-growth forgiveness. Flowers still grow from my Inner Fire.

Every now and then, I write a very short Poem that turns into a Collage, that turns into a Self-Portrait.

I write and create for the Unloveables, a lot. Especially my lifelong muse, Eve.

• I’m always thinking about Eve’s perspective and psychology. • I studied & researched for a little over 1 year to write my Honors Senior English Thesis in college, about Eve. • I talk about Eve in my therapy sessions, in my Poetry groups, in my journal.

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I relate to Eve, a lot.

And I think about why that is.

I’ve been getting a lot of new Beauty Marks out of nowhere for years now, and they’ve been permanent… it’s very cute AND very Spooky! —

This poem cover was super fun to make today, it took me about 1.5 hours. I find it a lot easier to finish a collage whenever I start with a piece that has a lot of color.

Honestly? I get pretty nervous posting my more abstract artwork and poetry.

I really love working in that realm though! Bringing voice to a new or otherwise not considered perspective, making historical and mythological references and writing with hidden meanings…