Hello everyone,
It is a pleasure for me to introduce you to a person whom chance has put in my path recently. She is a lady with whom I share a lot in common, in particular, perseverance and Parkinson's disease. His story is living proof that Parkinson's is certainly a chronic disease, but we can always get something positive out of it!
This is Mrs. Entissar Gharbi, a Moroccan painter, who has the ability to transcribe her dreams on a canvas as she says in her own words "My art reflects my dreams and my memories". And the result is breathtaking!
Now in her 60s, Entissar has had Parkinson's disease for at least 20 years but was only diagnosed in 2013. After her diagnosis, she says she questioned everything because it was a real shock for her. She saw her whole life that was going to be impacted. Here is how she experienced this period and how she was able to accept her illness and take advantage of it to become an artist. I quote her:
“At first I just wanted to hide and not appear anywhere. At the very beginning, I managed to control the tremors as well as all the other symptoms, without doubting that one day it was going to help me to continue my path in life, and especially a momentum towards painting. I had on my desk a calendar illustrated with beautiful paintings that I started to look at in a different way, telling myself it's beautiful and at the same time it's not rocket science and directly I went to take the necessary to paint.
I stood in front of the canvas with brushes soaked in paint in bright, primary colors. I let my hand place shapes and colors expressing all the ideas that come to mind in a raw way. This is called Naïve Art!
What is extraordinary is that when I finished a painting, I stepped back to see it. The painting begins to speak to me, to remind me of a place I used to frequent, to remind me of people very dear to my heart or of scenes experienced at one time or another in my life.
After having made about twenty paintings, I had a blockage and could no longer use the same type of art, despite the fact that I was always attracted to the canvas. So I had to change my style and switched to Abstract Art which gave me more space to express myself.
After some thought, I came to the conclusion that:
- At first I needed to express my feelings about Parkinson's disease. And that’s what allowed me to accept my diagnosis with resilience.
- Subsequently, I so enjoyed being in front of a canvas to explore my creativity, that I had the impression that I was in another world. This allowed me to forget my symptoms and the constraints they pose to me on a daily basis.
Currently, I have made about a hundred paintings, which have had great success during an exhibition. A success I never dreamed of before, and this is what my Parkinson's gave me!''.
You can discover all of Entissar Gharbi's paintings on Facebook and Instagram by clicking on the following links: https://www.instagram.com/entissarharbi/ https://www.facebook.com/entissar.gharbi
If you wish to share with us your story with Parkinson, please contact me by clicking on the below button.
Cheers,
