Usher Type 3A
Dana - Reinventing Myself
“Reinventing myself and being able to change my direction is a key ability one must have when one has a progressive condition that is always changing.”
I am a retired librarian with Usher syndrome 3A which affects both my sight and hearing. My vision loss is affected by retinitis pigmentosa (RP), which is part of Usher syndrome. This is a progressive eye disease that slowly destroys the rods and cones in the retina.
Because of my severe hearing loss, I was actually a very visual person. When I was in my 20s, I developed a love and aptitude for painting and art. I could not drive so I moved to New York City, where one could get around by bus and subway. I received a grant and became involved in the art scene, with a solo show in the East Village. I had other abilities such as using the computer, searching for information, and a love of reading books. These skills eventually landed me a job as a librarian with the New York Public Library.
I have worn hearing aids most of my life but in 2003, I received my first of two cochlear implants. This has greatly improved my hearing and quality of life. My vision loss began with trouble seeing at night in my teens, progressed to severe tunnel vision, and then a gradual loss of my central vision. In my 40s and 50s, I could still read with strong glasses. I did not use a cane to get to and from work until I was in my mid-forties. Now in my 60s, I use the cane all the time and travel around New York City with my wonderful husband.
Shortly before I retired, I began to return to my interest in art and organized several programs to bring art museums to people with low vision. By then, I found it more difficult to do my art. So in 2012, I joined the Seeing Through Drawing workshops at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as a way to return to my art and learn new ways to create art using tactile and other materials. I am looking into ways to combine collage with paint and other media, incorporating my other senses such as touch and emotional feeling into my art.
2023.5
