Today I went up to a famine village with the Coolaney Drawing Project. We have been visiting various places near our village and drawing them. The last time I went up to the village with the group was last year.
I remember being deeply depressed and never thinking I’d ever feel better. Just going through the motions and pretending I was OK. The mask and the smile was fixed on but inside I was sad and frightened.
What a difference a year makes. Today I was happy to be there. I’ve been part of the drawing group since it started. Art has helped me turn my life around and it wasn’t something I’d ever considered before. I tried other things to help me feel better such as singing in a choir and dancing lessons – they didn’t help for me, in fact they just made me feel more inadequate.
With art I’m not thinking about anything else only what I’m trying to do. I’m not at all good at drawing and that’s OK. I know that I can’t see straight lines which is quite a downfall especially when I’m drawing and taking photos. I’ve sort of learned to get along with it. I’m convinced that I have dyspraxia which is a disorder affecting motor skills. It took me years to be able to tie my shoe laces and tell the time when I was a kid. My co-ordination wouldn’t be great either and I struggle actually seeing things that I’m looking for.
Jono was diagnosed with dyspraxia when he was 8 years old. Of course there was nothing known about it when I was a child so I just had people giving out to me because I was slower at picking things up than other children. It’s OK though I got where I wanted to be in the end the journey just took a bit longer.
Anyway I’ve gone way off topic. The point of this post is to say you might not be in a good place today but tomorrow is another day and there is always a glimpse of light even if you can’t see it at the moment. Our coffee morning is on Monday so if you want a chat come along to The Blind Tiger in Sligo from 10am – 12 noon. Hope to see you there.
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