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Click on picture to see larger whole image	"Outlook" Julia, Age 28, San Francisco, California Biographical materials	Picture Details Click on the pictures below to see details of the painting
	Tunnel Vision Straight lines have always frightened me. I get dizzy when people tell me who I am before we say "Hello." Flexibility is strength. Survival of the fittest means ability to tap dance while the bullets fly. Perpetually moving, I avoid being stuck. I want to grab the world's eyes in my fists and drag people through symbols of ignorance. Past what they know is true, into what they know is real. We all use tools (adaptive aids) to survive. So much bigger than us, what is it that we fear? The sight of another's limping reminds us of our own hideous fragility. Mortality. How Boring!! Why not see with vibrant eyes the brilliant contrasts of colors? Not dualistic light/dark, but mixtures, changes, contradictions. Opposites that are points-of-view of the same thing. Let it in. Don't accept the obvious. Straightlines have always frightened me. Keep my eyes and heart open. Celebrate my fragility. Recognize my temporary mortality for the gift that it is. - Julia
Watercolor by Julie Cohn This painting, "Outlook" is Julie Cohn's interpretation of feelings arising from an interview with Julia. The accompanying text, written by Julia, represents some of her feelings about her life and disability.
The Athlete, Julia:
I was scared. Julia was the first person I interviewed. I felt very comfortable with her on the phone, but how would she look? Would I be sensitive enough during the interview? The minute we met, she allayed my fears. My layers of prejudice fell off one by one as we talked and laughed.She responded to all my questions without hesitation or condescension, and my fears, built up over 35 years, started to disintegrate. We were enjoying ourselves so much that we extended the interview from two hours to four. She was quite knowledgeable about disability rights and was the first person to tell me that everyone is normal, yet what is normal for one person is not necessarily normal for another. At 11 years of age, Julia was in a serious auto accident caused by another driver who swerved from the other side of the highway, crushing the car into Julia's side. Now 28 years old, she has undergone fourteen operations. Presently, she walks with a colorful cane crutch, which she has decorated herself. Julia dances in and produces shows involving drama, poetry reading, and dance. Her aim is to bring people together from various communities who want to create a strong voice through multimedia projects.People with and without disabilities, people of all colors, lesbians, and those with a broad scope of cultural experiences all contribute to her shows, artfully entertaining while addressing human rights and freedom of speech. Julia helped me to use my strongest sense, sight, with more discretion. After our interview, I noticed more keenly than ever how my vision of disability had been distorted. I traced through all of my visual reactions toward people who use tools for their disabilities. All the eyes in Outlook express the degrees of feeling I've had from childhood up to the present. What was I seeing in the past and what is it I really want to see now? These tools now read as positive vehicles like any other tool we might use to perform a task - a pair of scissors, a pen, a can opener. Which eye is yours? What do you want to see? - Julie Cohn