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Physically disabled and drawing from the shoulder

1:19 PM, Wednesday August 5th 2020

Hey, I'm a wheelchair user with hypermobile EDS, so my joints are too bendy, my muscles are weak, and my bones don't stay in place right. It's like the glue (aka collagen) that holds everything together is too stretchy. I dislocate joints and struggle to hold my torso or head upright. It's exhausting and annoying when I'm trying to work through the exercises.

Getting disability income means I have very few time commitments, so - in theory - I could draw as much as I wanted, yet it's taken me nearly two and a half months to get to the plotted perspective exercise in Lesson 1 in the boxes section.

My problem is that I spend so much energy during exercises trying draw from the shoulder that I end up too exhausted to draw for days after. U/Uncomfortable recommended we keep going with the shoulder drawing to build the strength, which I'm really trying, but EDS doesn't care.

I use a tilted surface to draw on, I support my sides with pillows, but I can't figure out a way to actually draw from my shoulder. I can barely even finish one line from my shoulder, so I need to adapt this process somehow, whether it's a way to support my arm or compromising with the limits of my body and drawing from the elbow, which I can do, but I understand it's not ideal.

U/Uncomfortable mentioned it's not ok to rest your elbow on the drawing surface, though you can rest your hand gently on the paper, because resting the elbow is too heavy an anchor and gets in the way of shoulder drawing, but I've only been able to draw at all by resting my elbow, so I'm unsure how to proceed.

Any ideas for how to accommodate this?

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4 users agree
2:06 PM, Wednesday August 5th 2020

To be completely honest, I think this is going to be better asked to a physician who is more familiar with your specific challenges. At the end of the day, every restriction and requirement I set out for students - drawing from their shoulder, not leaning on their elbows, etc etc etc. gets thrown into the wind when we start taking physical disabilities into consideration. While I have to be pretty firm with people who don't have diagnosed disabilities that the muscle exhaustion they experience after drawing from their shoulders is normal, that we are pushing ourselves to do things in a way that inevitably will be uncomfortable for us, simply because people have a tendency to think themselves uniquely unqualified for the tasks, your situation is fundamentally different.

Talk to your physician and find out what kind of stress your body is going to be okay with, and what might actually be harmful for you in the long run. If drawing from the shoulder is simply not an option for you, then that changes things - it means you'll be drawing from the elbow at best, and suddenly anchoring your elbow on the table by leaning on it becomes a useful approach, rather than something to avoid.

Always remember that you are going to have to be extra patient with yourself, and accept that because your situation is more unique, there will be "rules" that simply cannot reasonably be applied to you. This doesn't mean you can't draw, but it does mean that there will be new strategies you'll have to come up with along the way for yourself, and that these more generalized frameworks won't necessarily apply to you in every possible way. There's still plenty of value here for you, but don't hurt yourself while trying to conform to every little bit.

2:42 AM, Saturday February 20th 2021

Since my original post in August, I did talk to my doctor, who referred me to a physical therapist and an occupational therapist. I'm very grateful I had access to their support, because I'm able to draw again. I dropped out of drawabox for a while because my hand and wrist issues got worse and worse, until I couldn't draw for even 15 minutes without giving up any use of my hand for the rest of the day, like lifting a spoon.

I didn't get much drawing done in that time, but that was for the best because I could rest and build strength to get where I am now. Originally my question was influenced by understanding drawing from the shoulder is recommended for a reason, and knowing my disability affects every joint in my body, I figured it would help to draw from my shoulder since the muscles are bigger and stronger. That wasn't possible then, but now I can draw from my shoulder some of the time, which saves my wrists and hands from damage.

I only did a couple assignments after what I'd mentioned in the first post, so I'm going to restart drawabox now that I'm finally able to draw more reliably. It took a lot of accommodation and physical therapy, which I discussed a little more in another reply, and I'm ready to try again.

Since I've had to build up functional use of my hand again, I'm glad I'm starting over because tbh I'm basically a beginner again, at least in my mechanical skills. That perspective, plus the extra patience and evaluating what strategies I can and can't do make a big difference.

Thanks!

3:36 AM, Saturday February 20th 2021

I'm thrilled to hear that! Honestly it's a bit crazy how impactful physiotherapists can be. My girlfriend (one of the TAs here, ScyllaStew) has had limited use of her right arm for quite a while, due to overdoing rather physically taxing work in the past, and she just assumed that she'd be limited to only being able to use it to draw/write/type for an hour or two per day. Since we got her going to a physiotherapist though, she's made considerable progress and we can already see her endurance increasing a great deal.

On the topic of drawing from your arm - make sure that if you haven't yet, you check out the updated material on that topic. I'm currently going through the whole course, starting from Lesson 1, and updating the videos and explanations to make them more succinct and to eliminate certain wording that may have snagged students at times. For example, instead of talking about locking the elbow, in the newer video I now just talk about drawing from the wrist vs. using the whole arm. I feel this will be beneficial for students.

1 users agree
2:13 PM, Wednesday August 5th 2020

Hi, sorry to hear of your situation. I think you really need to cut yourself some slack on this issue as it shouldn't interfere with your enjoyment of drawing. I would suggest two possible options one involves pursuing drawabox and one not.

Drawabox option.

De-emphasise the shoulder thing. Yes ideally that is what we should be doing but if you can't, you can't. Your situation is much different to someone that just isn't putting in the effort. Focus on just doing your best to achieve the results in those lessons you can. Much of the construction approach applies regardless of whether it is one fluid line or ellipse or not. Try to achieve a similar result even if not strictly in the manner specified. Maybe work on a smaller scale, microdrawabox :-) or something like that.

Non-Drawabox option.

Look for other courses or options. You will find that many artists don't particularly follow the from the shoulder approach to produce their work ( most of those on iPads for a start ). Often the limitations that we have actually encourage us to find solutions that create highly unique and brilliant works in new styles. Matisse made paper collages when his health was unwell and couldn't paint.

Hate to thinking of you sweating over this fairly technical aspect when you could perhaps be really enjoying some other style, method or technique.

2:35 AM, Saturday February 20th 2021

I didn't get back to you when I made the original post, but I did read this message and thought about it a lot.

As for the drawabox option, I took that spirit of the rules rather than letter of the rules concept to heart, and took the analytical aspects of drawabox into other methods I tried. That helped a lot, but it improved my observation skills more than the hand skills of drawing. Unfortunately, that caused a lot of disappointment in my work as my mechanical skills lagged so far behind my analytical skills.

I combined the drawabox and non-drawabox options, eventually, and also looked into a lot of artists and other creative people whose technical limitations had a major influence on their work. Matisse is a great example. After reading more into him I learned several impressionists' distinct styles developed out of their physical or mental limitations, even Monet's distinct view of color came from visual issues he had. It was fascinating to revisit so much art and thinking of it as a physical expression of how each artist viewed the world. I found a lot of encouragement and inspiration in that.

Finally back over 6 months later, but I wanted to follow up on how your comment helped me in the time I was away.

10:20 PM, Saturday February 20th 2021

I'm glad it helped. Challenges do drive creativity and often end up in unique pieces of art. Van Gogh is my favourite and there is no doubt that there were mental challenges driving him. Given I have mental challenges I am hoping I will be the next VG :-)

Good luck with your artistic pursuits.

0 users agree
10:27 PM, Monday August 10th 2020

Have you tried putting a sock or something that will glide smoothly along the table around your forearm/elbow? You would still be resting your arm on the table but some sort of cloth material would likley decrease any friction that would occur with skin to table contact resulting in a smoother line.

I'm a physical therapist and I've used this technique while working with patients who are unable to lift limbs but I still want to target certain muscle groups. I'd recommend just cutting off the end of a tube sock and wearing it like a sleeve. If your arm has a tendancy to get sweaty, you may need to use another type of wrapping/bandage that won't get "soggy."

Please let me know if this does/doesn't work for you and we can further discuss other options

2:17 AM, Saturday February 20th 2021

That's a great suggestion! I haven't tried that yet. I've had a lot of success working with a PT and an OT who specializes in hand issues, and anything I can try to support myself is definitely appreciated.

I'm only seeing this 6 months later, but if you see this again I'd love to discuss more with you. My PT and OT are both very experienced with the physical issues I have, but I'm interested in your perspective as a physical therapist and an artist.

As for what's worked so far, I've been working on postural strength with my physical therapist, and we do a lot of isometric exercises to strengthen core muscles. When I first posted this in August, I couldn't do diaphragmatic breathing upright. I spent a lot of time in bed where I'd practice deep breathing. The most helpful source at that point was actually YouTube videos on breath support for singers, and I did those lying down. Living bed-bound is pretty boring, and it was a challenge, so I practiced a lot!

Today, I do a 10 minute seated tai chi routine 3x a day. It includes seated horse stance, seated crane arms, seated crane breathing, seated bear roots, seated flying crane, and seated bathing in the light. The biggest challenge with those is coordinating my arms, legs, AND breath, when necessary.

As I'm typing this message, though, I am sitting upright without support. It's still strenuous, but I'm also learning to take breaks when I need to.

My OT suggested a night brace for carpal tunnel (mild carpal tunnel is one of my issues), which helps once I removed the metal bar. It helps unless I wear it too long, or if I'm wearing it when I have nightmares, which causes me to tense my fists.

The biggest differences, other than building strength itself, are 1. A tilted surface, and 2. Wrapping tools in a foam grip and coban. The bigger surface to grip AND the friction together made it much easier to use tools.

I went from being unable to draw more than 15 minutes without excruciating pain to drawing for a few hours last night, and still being able to type and wash laundry today :)

I gave a lot of information, so if you see this and read through it, thank you very much!

0 users agree
5:28 PM, Tuesday August 11th 2020

Hey, I just noticed your post by coincidence and it really stood out to me. I think it is super inspiring that you are putting so much effort into trying drawabox despite your physical limitations. I'm no expert, so take my advice with a grain of salt. However, I do believe that if you are pushing yourself this much to follow the rules given by uncomfortable, it may be beyond what is necessary. Since it seems you are willing to put in the time, I would experiment with the best compromise that you can find, and don't be afraid to bend the rules to work in your favor. After all, the idea of drawing from your shoulder comes from an assumption that drawing from your shoulder IS the most effective way to achieve smooth lines for the majority of people. If this isn't the case for you, I urge you to find some way to achieve as smooth a line as possible without pushing yourself to the extreme. This may involve resting your elbow, or even drawing from your elbow if necessary. I'm getting quite redundant, but I hope you understand my point. I'd love to talk with you more about what strategies you've tried and what works/ doesn't.

2:28 AM, Saturday February 20th 2021

Thanks for your response! I appreciate you saying I'm putting so much effort into trying drawabox. I dropped out for a while as my hand and wrist pain got worse and worse, until I realized I couldn't draw like I had been without permanently damaging my joints. My disability, EDS, isn't progressive, but it does cause tissue degeneration a LOT faster than is typical. Knowing that, I calculated the risk of drawing when functional use of my hands isn't going to last forever, and decided it wasn't healthy for me to try drawabox until I built up strength and worked with my doctors to make it safer for me.

In the 6 months since my original post, I've made a lot of progress in bulding strength and regaining function in my hands and wrists. Just as important was changing my perspective on bending the rules. If bending the rules is about accommodation, then it's a way to level the playing field, and my own body is the best guide for what rules I should or shouldn't bend.

Drawing from my shoulder is helpful now that it's possible, but it's still difficult and strenuous so I'm learning to adjust what muscles I use and when, and listening when I need a break.

My occupational therapist said a very helpful thing in line with bending the rules. She told me I need to respect pain, which hit me wrong at first. In my mind "respecting pain = stopping," so I said, "I'm always in pain, if I had to stop every time I hurt I'd never do anything." Obviously just never doing anything isn't good for me either, and she suggested I take pain as a prompt to try whatever I'm doing differently.

That's really at the core of bending the rules, imo. It's also the same kind of self-reflection on what works and what doesn't work that drawabox is all about, you know?

0 users agree
9:41 PM, Wednesday August 24th 2022

I've always wondered if disabled people can use steroids? I mean, how can they affect their muscles?

0 users agree
1:32 PM, Tuesday September 24th 2024

This was great to read. I don't have EDS but I am disabled to the point where drawing from the shoulder really limits my drawing time both for the course and for 50/50. I think I'm going to modify my drawing after reading the thread, start from my shoulder so I can continue building that muscle up and switching to elbow when it becomes too painful. OP: Thanks for bringing this up!

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