ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
Brenna Ann
Get to know Brenna Ann and check out their artwork available through the Positive Work Art Auction, going live January 16th, 2024!
“Hello! My name is Brenna, I am an autistic and disabled person. I have loved arts and crafts my entire life, but I started painting at about age 15, 9 years ago. It was a hobby and something I loved, but I never thought of it as a career. When I was 18, I started working for a civil engineer, and began my civil engineering bachelors degree soon after. I worked on residential engineering projects as I went to school for 4.5 years; until in August 2021, I went to the hospital and then couldn't get out of bed. For 2 years after, I was in daily excruciating pain, lost my job and almost every ability I had, and I went to 25 doctors trying to find answers to get back to life.
Throughout that time, art was the hope in the middle of darkness. At one point of this, I was slowly becoming blind from a CSF buildup in my brain. So I finger painted with color straight from the tube. Art helped me cling to life when all my body felt was constant suffering. I am proud to say, I am now 4 months into recovery from the major surgery I needed, and my healing journey is started. I have painted over 15 paintings in the past 4 months of recovery. My journey is only beginning, and I am so excited for my future as an artist, an activist, and hopefully someday a civil engineer again.”
“All of my art is built and viewed through my disability as a lens. The way I interact with color and perspective, the way I hold my brush, the length of my painting session, all of it is built with accommodations in mind for myself. I have found a process that works for me and my multiple disabilities, and I love that process. I love my routine of creating, and I love the way that I can see the world and share it.”
“I have been disabled since birth, and my disability is not a tragedy to be pitied. I am a whole person, with a rich life, and plenty to be happy about and proud of. However, disability is also not something that we need to overcome to live a good life; but when we are accepted and accommodated by the communities we are in, we can truly thrive. I would like to bring awareness to the fact that in the United States today, disabled people still do not have marriage equality, still live in forced poverty with an income cap, and make up a large sector of the homeless population. It is time for disabled people to live in a society that treats us as equal beings, worthy of life and love and every other human need. Thank you.”
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BRENNA’S FEATURED ART
Sunflower Fields
Oil on Wood Panel. 8x10 cm.
“A couple months into my recovery from major surgery, my husband and I were invited on a sunflower field outing. Unfortunately, I was not feeling well enough to attend so my husband kindly took photos for me! I love to be included even if it is in a nontraditional way. The next day, I was able to paint this piece and have my own memory of that day in my own way. I am thankful for the people who love me in the ways I need and want to be loved. Sunflowers are also a favorite painting subject of mine, as it is the international symbol for hidden/invisible disabilities. My whole life I have been compared to a sunflower, and now I can continue to wear it as a badge of pride: both the brightness of my personality but the symbol of unity with my disabled community.”