Apparently this forum comes with a Member’s Area, which site visitors can use to get to know each other and personalize their profile pages. Members can also add new posts, write comments, and like posts.
Please use this space to introduce yourself! Tell us a little bit about who you are, your interest/involvement in collective care projects, and where you are located generally speaking.
My name is Allison. I have a neuromuscular disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy. I turned 37 last month, and I’ve been living independently since 2009. I live in Missouri, USA. I’m originally from the suburbs of St. Louis, but I live in Columbia now. I moved here for college and ended up staying. I have a BFA from the University of Missouri, Columbia. I don’t have much support. So, I haven’t been able to continue in academia. There are still, though, a number of ideas that I want to explore through visual art and, possibly, writing. Right now, I stick mainly with digital collage. The wheelchair I use causes me a lot of pain. Makes it difficult to concentrate. Writing can be especially hard. I have finally ordered a new chair, though. So, I hope things improve soon.
I live on my own. My family are hardcore conservative evangelicals who don’t respect boundaries. To paraphrase The Big Lebowski: they don’t approve of my lifestyle and I don’t approve of theirs. Missouri medicaid has a “consumer directed” services option. So, I get to find and hire my own people. I don’t get enough hours, and the state doesn’t pay my attendants enough— a constant stress. I get by, though. I live in a college town. So, there are always new students looking for jobs. It’s hard to find community, though. This town is a weigh station for most, not a destination. People are always moving on. I hope I can make some connections here.
some finished pieces:
https://www.behance.net/allisonreinhart
professional bits:
https://figfive.com/about.php
current insta:
https://www.instagram.com/trompe_lol/
past insta:
https://www.instagram.com/feistycrip/
https://www.instagram.com/fig.five/
a clip a journalist friend produced about me when I was in college (describes, in part, how my impairments inspire my art and thinking):
https://vimeo.com/37782124