How Great Thou Art

By Amy Longmoore

I often wonder how some people are so artistically talented. Where did they learn how to draw, paint, or compose artful bliss? Were they born with that talent, or did they carefully observe the craft and learn to create masterpieces?

I am not artistically gifted, but several of my children are. My daughter Sierra is one of those gifted artists. She was drawing Thomas Kinkade mockups when she was 15 years old. And she is left-handed which accounts for about 15% of all people. But at 17 years young, she suffered a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) and wasn’t expected to survive.

Among the plethora of thoughts that consume your mind along the TBI journey, one of them was wondering if she had lost her creative, artistic ability due to the parts of her brain that were injured.

She couldn’t speak due to her trach. She couldn’t move the left side of her body due to a stroke she suffered. But she did show early signs of forward progress. She eventually gained tonality on her left side and with many hours of therapy and rehabilitation, she was able to hold writing instruments again. Eventually we placed a paintbrush in her left hand, and she began to stroke the outside of the wood picture frame with green paint. We let her go at her own pace and make her own creation. Eventually, she collected Scrabble pieces, a few laminated words, and some hearts to add to her masterpiece.

There is no right or wrong with art. There are techniques, but the final masterpiece belongs to the imagination of he/she who designed it. Some fun projects to create with your loved one include shaving cream art, geometric design art, or drawing figurative art using graph paper (see the You Tube link below).

Art stimulates parts of the brain and brings along with it more blood flow and oxygen which helps to heal the brain.

Traumatic brain injury can affect someone’s ability to speak, but art gives them another outlet in which to express their selves.

Sierra did not have many opportunities to engage in art projects that could stimulate her brain and I am hoping our organization can bring additional opportunities to other TBI survivors and their loved ones.

The Sierra Project is one of our first endeavors. You can read about it here: