Recently I had the time of my life. Literally an experience of a lifetime. through the Universal Access Artist is Residence I got to share my art and the tools that enable me to keep creating. It took a village to get me through it, but WE did it and I will never forget and I am so grateful and thankful.

If you are in the Raleigh area in North Carolina, please go enjoy my show, “Portrait of a Conversation” at ArtSpace in downtown Raleigh.

This month is disability pride month, and I would like to talk about a few things over the next couple of weeks.

Featured here is a detail of my piece Portrait of a Conversation. The whole piece is of 2 individuals, and how they interact with each other and how they interact with you. their feet come off the page and you really don’t know where they are looking.

the detail here is of one of the individuals and they have multiple sets of eyes looking in different directions.

One of the things that I think about is when people completely dismiss me and do not talk to me directly. They seem to believe I am cognitively unable to engage in conversation.

Even if I engage with them, and ask a question, they do not answer me, and instead turn to whoever I am with and answer. Or, they will not even listen to begin with and completely act as if I am not even present.

It is a horrible feeling to be treated as if I am invisible. Is it because I am in a wheelchair? When I was in a manual chair, people ran into me. They would say, oh, sorry, I didn’t know you were there.

I love my powerchair. It is one of the tools of adaptation I love because it can raise up. I can be at eye level, and I can tell you it makes a difference in how I am treated. I have far less experiences of being invisible.

It is not long ago that insurance didn’t cover this feature. When I purchased this wheelchair eight years ago, I had to pay for it. the DME said if I got the model I did buy then they would give me half off for the elevate feature.

Community helped me afford it. I couldn’t do this without community. This is a privilege. too many do not have community and support. It is not easy. It can be circles when the right tools can help facilitate and enable a person to engage and seek community. And without the right tools, it can be very isolating.

I advocate for people having the right tools. With the right tools so much more is possible.

The simple elevate feature on my chair enables me to better interact with others. I am far less invisible.

Portraits of Conversations go many ways. How can we make sure that all people are visible?

This month I would like to focus on sharing some of the tools that help me function and create.

paint much love, always,
Connie Karleta Sales
a.k.a. This Crooked Little Flower