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!
