Peg's Legs Update: Nose Painting

Here's the Peg's Legs Update I just sent out today:

Aloha Peg's Legs,

Hope everyone had a great holiday season. Ours was fabulous...we'll be sure to put some photos online soon of all the happenings around the Chun house.

Speaking of photos - we've added some photos of Peggy and latest adventure in the arts - NOSE PAINTINGS! You can click here to see the photos http://pegslegs.shutterfly.com/

You can also view 5 new Peggy Chun original nose paintings at the Punahou School Gallery at the Punahou Carnival this coming weekend Feb 2nd and 3rd.

Each of Peggy's original nose paintings, which retail for around $300, come with information about the process, written by Peggy. Here is what she says:


"I am a watercolor artist. I was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in 2002. When the ALS caused me to lose the use of my dominant hand, I began painting with my left hand in 2003. When my hands could no longer hold a brush, I painted holding a brush in my teeth in 2004. When my mouth could no longer hold a brush, I painted digitally with a computer that I could control with my eye movement in 2005 and 2006. Now, due to my inability to blink, my eyes are too dry to paint with my computer. But my creativity knows no bounds.

One of the things I miss the most, is the touch and the experience of painting; the sensual nature of the paper and the paint. So, as the next phase in my artistic evolution, I have begun “nose painting” with the help of painting assistant.

I work with an assistant who does all the preparation and is fully involved in the painting process. We begin by my choosing a palette for a particular concept. My assistant sets out the paint in order of the progression of color I think will work together, usually 5 complimentary colors. All of my nose paintings are done “wet into wet”.

Next we choose from an assortment of “nose strokes” I have already described in detail and organized on a chart. This chart eliminates the tedious work of having to spell out directions each time on my communication spell board. To begin, my assistant paints the tip of my nose with the colors I’ve chosen as the base colors. Next, she picks up the paper and moves it parallel to my nose using the stroke I’ve chosen. We continue to use the paints and the strokes in the order I have chosen. Each time I change colors, my assistant has to wipe the paint from my nose and dry it before applying the next color.

Inevitably, while painting I begin to see images emerging that cause me to change my original plan. This is challenging because we have to work fast to keep the paper from drying. I find this to be the most exciting part about painting abstractly. I name my pieces based on what I see and feel, but take great joy in hearing what others discover in my paintings.
I hope you enjoy these original nose paintings. I have never felt more challenged as an artist and am pleased to share this part of my artistic journey with you."


So as you can see, Peggy is as busy as ever. She's been enjoying having a baby around the house again too. Little Sawyer is now 5 months! Big sister Indy is 3 now and loving preschool.

While Peggy's ALS has slowly progressed over the past year, bringing various challenges, she is blessed with the best care in the world which has kept her infection-free and comfortable. The biggest challenge has been Peggy's eye health. Since she has lost the ability to blink her eyes on her own, she struggles with dry eye which unfortunately has interfered with her use of the ERICA computer. But our caregivers are fast and efficient with the "spellboard", which is a good thing, since Peggy has plenty to say!!!

Until our next update...

Me ke aloha,

The Chun Ohana

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http://www.pegslegs.shutterfly.com
http://www.peggychun.com