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Hi, my name is Bobi Earp.
I am legally blind after years
of being totally blind. I had several very technical surgeries
that restored some of my vision.
You cannot imagine
what a difference it was to go from seeing nothing but the detection of light
and where it was coming from, to being able to see people,
cars, colors, and
the whole delight of our world. I can even read the Cambells
Soup cans, but they have to be very close. Most products have
labels that the legally blind can read, but the ingredients
or recipes are beyond our ability.
I still use a white cane when walking outside,
as it helps me to determine how high the curbs are.
The white cane also alerts
drivers whenever I accidently walk against a light.
I started painting for the first time in 1998.
My apartment
building offered watercolor classes in one of the public rooms, and
as it was so accessible, I joined. I have been painting ever since.
I produced cards of my artwork for the first time in 1999,
to take to a family reunion. Cards are so much more
portable than large pieces of artwork.
My mother then started selling these cards to her friends,
and a small business was started from there.
My mother is still one of my greatest
fans, and a great art manager. She will often insist I enter shows
or craft fairs she has heard about.
All of my education and work experience was in Business.
I worked 10 years in the hi-tech industry as a
Production and Inventory Control Analyst/Manager.
Blindness required me to get out of the field, as there
were so very few tools available then to assist the visually impaired.
Now days, there are great computer programs to assist
with reading text, (my program is called Zoom Text!)
as well as many other devices that were not available then.
I live in Portland, Oregon, as does most of my family.
My mother, Barbara, my daughter, also Barbara,
her husband, Dave,
as well as my sister, Karen, her husband Ken, with Jon, Tami, and Le,
my nephew and nieces, all live in the area, and we get together frequently.
I take art classes almost every term, and enjoy every moment of them.
The classes through the Parks Department, the online and even
the TV classes are great in
what you are taught, but also what you teach yourself
by practicing
on a regular basis. I also teach small classes occasionally.
Aside from artwork, I recently taught myself HTML,
and was able
to put up this website by reading all of the
free HTML tutorials.
I also volunteer with several non-profit organizations, and
usually
assist a Soup Kitchen for the homeless once a week.
I hope you too, will be inspired to try painting.
It is such a rewarding way to spend the afternoon.
I would love to hear from you.
Bobi Earp
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