All you can see is the muted orange light from behind closed eyelids, denoting the bright room around you. The wooden pencil feels gritty in your hand as the nub scratches against the smooth scrap of paper before you. You’re playing Pictionary. And your mission is to draw a turkey… blind. Moments later, your friends are rolling on the floor laughing at the odd scribble you’ve made that vaguely resembles a donut with stink lines. You laugh too. Perhaps in that moment, you’re grateful for the ability to see. Perhaps you’re raring to go again, eager to challenge yourself further. Or perhaps, like John Bramblitt, you’ve realized there’s more than one way to see art.
John is an internationally recognized artist. He paints custom commissions for clients inspired by a song that reflects a moment in time they’d like to capture. John has Synesthesia, allowing him to see music as colors. Only there’s one more thing. John is blind.
He wasn’t always; he lost his sight as a child. To an aspiring artist, you’d think his dream would have faded to black along with his vision. And yet, John found a way to see his paintings using touch and spatial markers with paint. To watch him work is truly a marvel.
Creativity is boundless; it burns bright within us, an unflappable ember ready to burst into flame if we continue to fan it.
What ember is glowing inside you today?
