Vitality Stories

From Brain Trauma to Art

Brain Freeze

Over the summer I found myself in Port Angeles, Washington, killing five hours until the next ferry to Victoria, Vancouver Island. We wandered next door to the Heatherton Gallery which hosts artwork for more than forty local artists. Ted noticed a black and white piece with three hummingbirds. The ink seemed to rise off the paper and the flowers and birds seemed multi-dimensional. Ted walked over to the register to buy it.

The cashier was explaining how the gallery worked like an art co-op and he asked Ted, “Did you read the artist’s story? It’s on the wall.”

I was still looking at Erica McClain’s pieces. There was an asian influence to her work and I had future plans to visit Japan. I found her bio:

“Erica had a major vehicle accident in February 2008. It resulted in her having a traumatic brain injury. Prior to the accident Erica was a leather artist, creating one of a kind shoes. After the accident she started creating art using tooth picks and ink. Many pieces have 100-200 hours of detailed designs in them. BRAIN FREEZE is her first work after her accident. It depicts the human brain in watercolor. It is a happy mystery for her to discover her fascination with Asian Art. ‘It is truly a gift that I have been given since the accident and I do not take it for granted,’ says Erica.”

I looked at BRAIN FREEZE with renewed interest.

 

My mind was spinning. I didn’t know which fact to juggle first. Erica McClain went from having a traumatic brain injury to being an artist; she creates images with toothpicks and ink; she recognizes and iss grateful for the gift that resulted from an accident.

Which is most impressive? The brain? Or gratitude and resilience?

I immediately thought about my interview with Director, David Wachs who hopes to do a feature film about Mo Bourner, a young man who suffered traumatic brain injury after a racist attack. When Mo came out of his coma, he began writing prolific poetry and rap lyrics against hate crimes. I wanted to know where the feature film was documenting Erica McClain’s life. There must be a movie about her experience.

There isn’t though. I know because I checked with Sir Google as soon as we left the gallery. I couldn’t find information about her anywhere on the internet which is almost unheard of these days. A month later, I was still thinking about that bio and BRAIN FREEZE so I contacted the gallery to see if they could put me in touch with Erica McClain. I sent her an email and asked her if she’d be interested in speaking with me for Vitality Stories.

 

A new world

I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Erica in person yet, but I have plans to visit with her in January 2016. We’ve spoken several times since I moved to Seattle a few months ago. I’ve quickly learned that Erica is a kind, sweet, and earnest person. While I don’t know all of the details of her accident, I know it has created specific challenges and she is still picking up the financial and independent pieces of her life. Not only has the quality of her life changed, being an artist is an entirely new world and identity for her to wrap her brain around. She once was a leather artist who made one of a kind shoes, and she was opening a store prior to that fateful day in 2008. She managed her leather working business. But this all changed with the accident and at some point in he recovery she started dreaming beautiful images and when she woke up, she started creating the visions. Some of her pieces take several hundred hours to create.

When we first spoke, her work was only at Heatherton Gallery and she was feeling overwhelmed about the next steps as an artist. She was eager for any help and advice, but I know nothing about the art world, neither the aesthetic or business side. I couldn’t answer her questions on copyright laws, or give advice about protecting her work or the handmade tools she designs. She was like a fledgling artist-bird ready to fly from the nest but unsure where to go. I was frustrated I couldn’t be of more help. I mean, here is this talented artist, and no one knew about her.

So I offered help in the only ways I could. One, I could sponsor and create a website for her, and two, I could eventually interview her for the Vitality Stories newsletter. I only started my own website in the past thirteen months, but I know something is better than nothing. For people to learn about her work, she needs to be present and available somewhere, somehow. Erica’s website is up:  http://www.ericamcclainart.com. We’re not setting up an RSS feed or subscription, yet, but we will eventually. Until then, feel free to share, share, share.

 

The artist’s nest

Now whenever I call Erica, she has something going on. She is always working on a new piece, or she has reached out and taken a chance, leveraging some connection with promising results. She is moving forward and quickly. I just love her momentum and am so excited where she is going. She’s beginning to fly. Since that first time we spoke when she was feeling overwhelmed, she has taken pictures of her work and filed copyrights. She has coordinated showings of her work at Hart’s Fine Books and with Starbucks in Sequim, Washington. She donated a piece of work to the local animal shelter. She’s taken photos of her work so I can post them to her website. And recently, she asked me to add her contact information to the website. Her actions are significant. She is making choices that will lead to resources and independence, two things I know Erica deeply desires.

Something Director, David Wachs said reminds me of Erica. David believes that speaking your visions out into the world helps to make them a reality, and that is a work philosophy that has carried throughout his career. Every time I speak to Erica she speaks as if ‘something is already happening’ and great things are on the horizon. And each time we catch up, something has changed, something is indeed happening. I love talking to her.

In January, I’m going to hear Erica’s full story and I will ask her the staple Vitality Stories interview questions. I’m curious about her perspective, after all, she sees her art as a gift after a horrible accident.

In the meantime, check out some of her work on HER website:  http://www.ericamcclainart.com.

 

What I learned

I’m blown away by the mysteries of the brain and the power of human resilience and gratitude, and I have more to learn. Do we each have a talent we are unaware of or don’t know how to access? This brings Carlen Maddux‘s journey to mind. Carlen’s newsletter and forthcoming book, A Path Revealed, shares the journey he and his wife, Martha, began when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease at only 50 years of age. In Carlen’s words,

“Our story, however, is not about the fallout from this degenerative disease. Rather, it’s the story of a path that emerged during our darkest hours, a path that we neither planned nor foresaw.”

In one post, Finding Unexpected Gifts Deep in a Crisis, Carlen explains how his wife dove into painting, something she’d never shown an interest in before, and she did it with confidence and boldness. And this was only one year into a seventeen year journey. I’m patiently waiting to read his book to see where the journey took him and what he learned.

So I don’t think this lesson is over for me, and for now, I accept how little I know about my own brain.

Have you ever been surprised by a talent of your own? Or do you know someone who found talent after a life changing event?

Teri

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