After 5 years, I found myself able to sing again! I have many things that impinge on my singing ability in regard to my sight, my hearing, my exhaustion, my attention and more.  My ability to take a deep breath is kind of slow, but lately it has improved.  I still need to read the lyrics off of the page.  It seems I can glance at a few lines and remember them, but very quickly my brain heads toward nothingness.  I know that is hard to comprehend, and would be a welcomed situation if it wasn’t for wanting so much to remember by heart the words that I once knew so incredibly well.  Oh, well.  Just after the stroke, one of my doctors said that he expected me to regain most of the brain power that I had lost….I am counting on that. That is what keeps me pushing so hard.  Even so, I am grateful to have come so very far as I have.

 Krempel’s Center is a place in Portsmouth, Nh, that caters to people with all types of brain injury. I haven’t been able to make use of it so much because I have a young daughter, but the work and community that is built there has a tremendous amount of merit.  I am very proud to have performed my first concert there since my stroke. Most humble thanks to Jenny Freeman, who works there, and hired me to sing for the people at Krempel’s Center.  After the performance, Jenny said that they would love to have me back to perform again, and so I am planning a return visit sometime after the first of the year.

My mother, whose stories can be heard on this website, always wished that her performances were recorded.  It is because of this that I decided to record this performance (even though my voice isn’t what it was or could be- perhaps you can hear me gasping for air and clamoring for a shred of energy) .  Regardless- I want my children and grandchildren to be able to hear me sing!

I was accompanied by our friend and local musician and recording engineer, Jim Prendergast (Mill Pond Studios), who also plays (and sings) with my husband, Steve’s band, Great Bay Sailor.

I hope you enjoy this show!

What have they done to my song

Pretty Peg

Leatherwing Bat

Both Sides the Tweed

Annan Waters

Foggy Dew

Part 2: 

Kremples Part 2

This is the first time I have written on this site, and the first time I have written publicly about my stroke.  It is the first of many blog posts, and I am immensely grateful to anyone who would take the time to read it.

Speaking of firsts, since the stroke 3 years ago, I decided to try painting on pottery to try and rehabilitate my right hand.  It was so slow and frustrating, but it is paying off, as you can see from the photos of my Tiger Mask that I completed after 2 years of painting on tiles and other pieces. It took me many, many, many hours to paint, but it was worth it!

If you care to see this for real, it is on display at Firefly Pottery in Portsmouth Nh.  http://fireflypottery.net

There has been quite a lot of improvement on many things,  and I look forward to keeping you posted on how I’m doing and how the recovery is going.   Thanks for reading!

e

Below is the press release:

March 18, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Hilary A. Niles, h@nilesmedia.net, 603.332.9029

Painter Elizabeth Stewart
Art Sale to Benefit Injured Painter

For one afternoon only, a special exhibit and sale of paintings by Elizabeth Stewart will be held on Saturday, April 3. All proceeds will benefit the painter, who suffered a major stroke in January just six days after giving birth to a healthy baby girl.

The exhibit and sale will be held on the upper floor of The Press Room on Daniel Street in Portsmouth. The location is significant: Elizabeth and the baby’s father, Steve Carrigan, met at the venue’s longstanding Irish music session in 2008. They were married last year.

“I’m incredibly grateful that she’s alive,” Carrigan says. Elizabeth could muster almost no movement on the right side of her body after the stroke, and now Carrigan is seeing her recover a little bit at a time. Her smile, for example, is coming back, he says. She no longer drags her foot when she walks.

Elizabeth tires easily and doubts that she’ll be able to attend the benefit, but her husband Steve will be there on her behalf, perhaps with the couple’s baby Saoirse. Pronounced “SEER-sha,” her name is Gaelic for “Freedom.” Elizabeth’s other children, Gabe, Noah and Forrest, may attend, as well.

Elizabeth, a self-taught painter, has developed a unique style of portraiture that incorporates Celtic patterns and design concepts. Best known for her series of pet portraits, Stewart’s work resonates with a chord of deep connection to nature. She paints on both canvas and clayboard and her work is often self-framed, meaning that she paints a visual frame-sometimes quite intricate-around the image.

“In a way,” says Carrigan, “this show will be a retrospective of her work before the stroke.” She recently started some simple line drawings and they both agree that her style will no doubt change as she continues to regain fine motor skills. She is now working hard with speech therapists to regain her command of language.

“It’s one line but it covers the whole page,” Elizabeth slowly describes her new work. She says that it’s symbolic of the aphasia-an inability to process language-she’s dealing with now. “All I can keep track of is one line, and some of the pieces really speak to how I was feeling,” she explains. For example, she drew one line with “teeth” because she felt like someone was chewing on her words. “It was a way I could express myself without having to talk to anybody. It feels good,” she says. She plans to send some of these new line drawings to the show, as well.

Original paintings in a full range of sizes will be exhibited. Giclee prints and her own line of greeting cards will also be available. “There will be something for everyone there,” says Elizabeth’s brother-in-law Jim Carrigan, who is coordinating the benefit efforts. His intention is to offer enough of a range to match anyone’s price point, so that no one is left without the opportunity to help the family.

He also intends to streamline the purchasing process to make it easy for buyers. He will collect contact information from those who wish to purchase paintings, and will deliver them personally after the show for no charge. Payments in cash or check can be made at the show, or a bill can be requested. The show is not an auction. Items will have a set price from $3 (for cards) to $40-$60 (giclees) to several hundred dollars for original paintings.

Elizabeth’s work has been featured in shows from Newburyport to Concord to Kennebunkport, including juried exhibitions at 100 Market Street, the Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery and Heartwood College of Art. Her pet portraits were featured in a very successful solo exhibit at the Elysium Arts Folk Club last year, and Elizabeth’s work has won many awards, including “Most Original” at the Maine Women in the Arts Fine Art Competition in 2006. Elizabeth has donated many paintings to the NHSPCA’s fall auction (her love of animals in action), including a special portrait of a much-loved homeless dog named “Shadow” last fall.

The April 3 benefit sale at the Press Room will be graced by the live jazz music of Larry Garland and Friends, who will perform for their standing Saturday lunch gig downstairs starting at 1:00 p.m. (no cover). The family is grateful to The Press Room and manager Bruce Pingree for making the upper room available for the benefit.