Artyleigh - Coventry
HOPE PROGRAMME FOR PARENTS OF AUTISTIC CHILDREN
CARERS TRUST HEART OF ENGLAND
As a neurodiverse multi disability, self identified alien mum to a super cool kid, life has been interesting! But not very easy.
Back in the first lock down when the dreaded COVID swooped in and infected our vocabulary and screens, locked us in. I was away from all the things and people that help alien me feel a bit of an honorary human. People became faces in boxes, voices through speakers, I could turn them up or down, turn them off, look at them or not. I thought that sounded great before lockdowns were a thing, I thought that would be quite perfect. I was wrong.
I really struggled without my humans. I realised how lonely life had been and how much people mean to me. As an attempt not to explode from all the cakes I’d failed at baking but didn't fail at eating, I began to do the daily walks we were permitted. I love to walk, despite health conditions that make it painful for both me and my son, I walk as much as I can, I like to push myself, I like a challenge.
I began logging all the birds we saw and painting them in hope that life would start again soon, in hope that my family and friends would all get through this scary new world of death statistics, tests and vaccines. It became an obsession that didn't just get me through all the lock downs but it has led me onto new opportunities and friendships, I’ve taken part in things I never imagined I could.
So this artwork I have created is called “flight of hope”. It’s a thank you really, to all those humans who give us hope when life feels hope-less.
