Artist @ the Library. Works of Madeleine Sabo on display March & April

Art Without Sight

We sometimes take our eyesight for granted as we go through life. But, to those who lose this precious sense, it can be overwhelming.  A lose of sight is even more devastating to an artist – a person whose life’s work and world revolves around creating art and seeing it evolve.

Fortunately, even if an artist suddenly becomes blind, the artist can still use the “mind’s eye” to create art. Claude Monet painted even though he had failing eyesight.  Van Gogh often complained of vision problems and is rumored to have been color blind.  

Blindness is debilitating, but as some of the masters have shown, this does not make it impossible to create art.  Throughout her entire life, Madeleine Sabo has been in love with art and expressed herself through her creative artistic skills.  In 2008 Madeleine had a dramatic change in her life.  She had contracted MRSA, a type of bacteria that is resistant to certain antibiotics, resulting in a blood staph infection that left her with detached retinas.  After many surgeries and drug therapy, Madeleine has only slight blurry black and white vision with some color perception in the periphery of her left eye.

As a person who does not give up, Madeleine continues to develop and utilize her life skills as an artist.  Prior to losing her sight, she painted in great detail with acrylics.  Now, still using the same medium, she paints bigger, freer more abstract, more electric and definitely more colorful paintings!  While painting is still her first love, Madeleine has now taken on new new medium, clay.  Ceramics have provided her with a rewarding art form in which she can use her tactile skills.  Her ceramic leaf bowls have become extremely popular.  And, she continues to work on a wood lathe, creating beautiful wooden vases and bowls.  Because of her developed tactile touch, she prides herself in the satin like finishes applied to the wood. All of this – done by a woman who is almost completely blind!