Challenge 57: World In Your Eye

[minoanmiss]

This is a much belated entry for the Disability Diversity challenge.

Artist: minoanmiss
Rating: G, PG at most for implied injury
Content Notes: see after drawing.





Where this drawing came from:

As I wrote in my journal some time ago: I was reading the TV Tropes Handicapped Badass page for ideas/inspiration and was reminded that my favorite aunt is a real life handicapped badass. She lost her eye in a classic childhood accident (don't run with sharp things, yo) and went on to a full-life career in education, up to becoming a principal and then a regional administrator (you know how most teachers are women and most principals are men? It's worse in Jamaica) and she also raised several children, including one of my cousins from the other side of my family (this aunt is my mother's sister, and she raised the daughter of my father's youngest brother for several years). I'm not going to try to draw her specifically, but I could draw someone in her honor.

Where the title came from: Alice Walker's beautiful essay “Beauty: When The Other Dancer Is The Self”, which was mentioned to me when I described the project to my friend whuffle. Basically,she had a scarred eye which she was ashamed of until her little daughter said, "you have a world in your eye!"

Comments

[cmcmck]

It's funny how thing vary.

Here in the UK' handicapped' would now be a real no no as a term.

In teaching it depends- I was the deputy head (principal as you say) and my boss, the head, was also female.

[goss]

Aww, I love the world in her eye concept! <333 And thank you for sharing about your aunt - it's wonderful to know that she went on to have such a successful career in Education. Great entry for this challenge! :)

[med_cat]

Love the drawing and the story :)

[amberdreams]

Sometimes kids see through all the dross and find something wonderful. What a beautiful story to go with your art.

[amaebi]

I love both the picture and the story. Thank you so very much!

[acelightning73]

I always loved that story. An injured eye does look a bit like a busy, lively planet. My friend SeaDragon injured his eye when he was a child, but he had good enough eyesight to enlist in the Navy, and he's a nuclear engineer - he keeps the propulsion running aboard an aircraft carrier (he's apparently been awfully close to Ukraine and Gaza). He's the person who first showed me how photosensitive lenses behave in sunlight.

I also know a few goths who have managed to afford weird contact lenses - bright blood red, with a square pupil, or green with oval pupils, or spice blue from Dune. My bifocal prescription can't be made as contact lenses. But people used to call me an "alien" or a "Martian" when I was a kid, even though I have normal Caucasian pale grey-green eyes.

I hope your aunt was the adult who helped you reject your parents' abuse.

[lunabee34]

This is lovely (and based on such an amazing woman in your aunt!).

[yhlee]

This is such a beautiful drawing - thank you for the story of your AMAZING BADASS aunt. :D