Unknown Cause

Unknown Cause

The artwork is a line drawing in marker with colored pencils for emphasis. The piece shows the merging of health, struggles with addiction, pain and diagnosis with visuals of a bloodstream flowing through pills, flowers, plants, quotes, medical bills, and diagnoses, some from doctors and some from friends, family, or acquaintances. Text: Live and Let Live; "fight flight and freeze behaviors are unconsciously reflexive"; Robotic laparoscopic hysterectomy; emotional abuse; Disorder, Unspecified 300.02; Insurance Denial; "What story are you telling yourself"; This, too, shall pass; to remove the uterus (womb); patient balance- $29,886.61, insurance balance; "When pain becomes chronic, the nervous system naturally becomes overactive"; pain 1-5 (worst); Depressive Disorder; "There is so much we don't know, and to write truthfully about your life, your own or your mother's... is to engage repeatedly with those patches of darkness, those nights of history, those places of unknown...(R.Solnit); post traumatic stress disorder.
The artwork is a line drawing in marker with colored pencils for emphasis. The piece shows the merging of health, struggles with addiction, pain and diagnosis with visuals of a bloodstream flowing through pills, flowers, plants, quotes, medical bills, and diagnoses, some from doctors and some from friends, family, or acquaintances. Text: Live and Let Live; “fight flight and freeze behaviors are unconsciously reflexive”; Robotic laparoscopic hysterectomy; emotional abuse; Disorder, Unspecified 300.02; Insurance Denial; “What story are you telling yourself”; This, too, shall pass; to remove the uterus (womb); patient balance- $29,886.61, insurance balance; “When pain becomes chronic, the nervous system naturally becomes overactive”; pain 1-5 (worst); Depressive Disorder; “There is so much we don’t know, and to write truthfully about your life, your own or your mother’s… is to engage repeatedly with those patches of darkness, those nights of history, those places of unknown…(R. Solnit); post traumatic stress disorder.

Meet the artist


Solomon, she/her, an artist
Solomon, she/her, artist

About the artist:

Stephanie Solomon (she/her) is the new Youth Program Coordinator with the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence.  She spent over 3 years as Prevention Coordinator with the Youth Services Bureau of Monroe County, with a focus on promoting healthy relationships and environments for youth and families.  She is a graduate of Indiana University with 19 years of experience in the social service sector and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Public Health at Indiana University.  Stephanie is an adult ally with the Kaleidoscope Youth Community. She is passionate about primary prevention and building spaces that promote belonging for youth and families.  She enjoys karaoking to Barbara Streisand songs.

About the art:

The artwork is a line drawing in marker with colored pencils for emphasis.  The piece shows the merging of health, struggles with addiction, pain and diagnosis with visuals of a bloodstream flowing through pills, flowers, plants, quotes, medical bills, and diagnoses, some from doctors and some from friends, family, or acquaintances.  Text: Live and Let Live; “fight flight and freeze behaviors are unconsciously reflexive”; Robotic laparoscopic hysterectomy; emotional abuse; Disorder, Unspecified 300.02; Insurance Denial; “What story are you telling yourself”; This, too, shall pass; to remove the uterus (womb); patient balance- $29,886.61, insurance balance; “When pain becomes chronic, the nervous system naturally becomes overactive”; pain 1-5 (worst); Depressive Disorder; “There is so much we don’t know, and to write truthfully about your life, your own or your mother’s… is to engage repeatedly with those patches of darkness, those nights of history, those places of unknown…(R.Solnit); post traumatic stress disorder.

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When you subscribe, you will receive editorial and creative writing, art, videos, and news written by Disabled people and people with disabilities, including cognitive and developmental disabilities. The disability justice and violence prevention hub is a online resource that centers the voices of survivors of violence with disabilities. We share these voices through webinars, advocacy, accessible evaluation, and primary prevention promising practices, and other educational resources.

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Arms Up for Blessings and Breath

Arms up for blessings and breath

This is my reflection of how nature is able to rejuvenate the spirit and the senses in many forms. These photos were all taken on my cell phone as I am traveling to many places with a fresh outlook on life.

By Christina Marie Martin 

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All That Is Mine Is Yours

I am sharing this project with all of you because I want to show the beauty of parenting with a disability and the beauty of being a child with a disability. I want to show the joy that my unique family shares. This project will probably continue as my son grows. I hope to share with him the same kind of amazing experiences I was given. I also hope to give him some that are all his own.

We adopted our son three years ago from the other side of the world. I found my son when searching the Internet. I read about a little boy who was so sweet and kind and had the cutest smile. As I read further, I found out that he had the same disability as me, spinal muscular atrophy. It felt like the stars were aligning. I had found our child.I am sharing this project with all of you because I want to show the beauty of parenting with a disability and the beauty of being a child with a disability.

We brought him home after a year-long process. When my husband brought him home from a 12-hour flight and I got him in my arms at the airport, I never let him go. I still watch with wonder as he grows into an amazing young man. I try to shield him from the hurts of life as best I can and at least let him know that I’ve been there before.

I started this project when I was going through photographs from my childhood. I noticed that there were a lot of photos of me growing up that matched photos we now have of my son. I wanted to show the journey we are both taking side-by-side. I wanted to show him that the love in our family is full-circle, and circles never stop.

Please tap/click on the pictures to’enlarge and view them.

In this picture of Katrina, she’s in her power chair, wearing brownish glasses, a white long sleeved top, blue jeans, and high black boots. She has white skin,
blue and purple curly hair. She’s also smiling.

Katrina Gossett Kelly wears several hats. She is an attorney at Faegre Baker Daniels in Indianapolis, specializing in the complexities of e-discovery and trade secret litigation. She also performs improv at ComedySportz Indianapolis and serves as a disability advocate throughout Indiana. Her favorite job of all, however, is being mom to her nine-year-old son who is also growing into a disability advocate in his own right. Katrina lives in downtown Indy with her son, two dogs, and a cat.

Scarlet

Scarlet

Title: Scarlet

Description: Girl crouched down on her heels, holding her knees. She has piercing blue green eyes and flames of fire around her. Some people get lost in the fire, and some people get built from it. 

Artist: Liz Williamson

Liz Williamson is an artist who enjoys everything creative. She lives in California and uses art to help express herself after not being able to for so long. 

Explore other artists on the hub . . .

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