Everyday Matters #33, Draw an Eye
This is my sketch of an eye, not my own. I found a book at the library on drawing eyes, then clipped some photos with eyes, and worked from one of those. I'm pleased with the result.
My eyes have given me grief for years. I was a first grader when I got my first pair of obnoxious cat eye style glasses. Nearsighted. Mother said it came from sitting too close to the television, but I am sure I sat close to see the picture better. Maybe it was from a particularly nasty case of measles I had. I don't know. But my nearsightedness worsened every year, requiring thicker and thicker lenses. In high school I tried contact lenses, with limited success. In college I tried soft lenses, a bit better, but it uncomfortable with all the reading I did as an English major. Finally about twelve years ago I had RK surgery (this was before Lasik), and that seemed to solve my problems. No more heavy glasses, no more fogging up in temperature changes, no more being blind in the swimming pool. I felt safer, because I didn't need glasses to find my way out the door.
Then in 2002, near disaster. I was eating lunch when I painless fireworks exploded in my right eye. Bright sparkles, followed by ominous swarms of black dots, followed by a dark fog. It was a detached retina, a danger for very nearsighted people. I had emergency surgery, and woke up looking like the pirate queen, with bruises and a spectacular eye patch. I had a shelf of antibiotics and other medications, and I had to hold my head sideways, almost on my shoulder, to keep a gas bubble the surgeons injected in place. I slept sitting up for weeks.
Gradually the post surgical pain lessened, the fog began to clear, and I began to heal. Today I can see pretty well. I have a few floaters that are mine for life (I named one Casper), but I can read, watch movies, do my artwork, carry on with my life. I have a half dozen pairs of reading glasses scattered around the house, but I am happy to be able to see my little corner of the world. For that I am very thankful.
13 comments:
Glad your vision was saved, so that you can continue to share your art, poems and misc. thoughts with us! Eyes are difficult to draw, but yours is very good. I also like the cow - there's just something appealing about those big sweet eyes.
Did you get attached to the cows on your parents farm? (I've read memoirs by children who grew up on farms/ranches and grew to strongly dislike the cows, describing them as stupid, filthy animals, which seems harsh to me. But I've never had to care for them. Maybe it was having to eat all those cow's tongues for dinner...)
It was fun to watch the video and I tried to recognize which paintings the faces were from as they went by.
This is right on - beautiful!
Wonderful; I like your explanation of the process!
Great eye! Glad you can see well enough for artwork. My left eye sees distortion and no color, so it can get interesting. I'm with you on having reading glasses available throughout the house.
Sharon, I liked cows pretty well, though I wouldn't say I was ever attached to them. I was interested in them, how they were milked, how they gave birth, even how they died. I only hated them when they got into the corn in the middle of the night and had to be chased out. I remember one night, me in a nightgown and curlers and rubber boots, slogging around in the field. It made me want to scream. Cows are not that bright.
Sherry, your post knocked my socks off with similarities!! I have wrinking on my macula and just saw the doc who explained the surgery to me, which is so similiar to your repair. I got so scared when he told me everything I decided to try and live with my blurry vision. Mine came from the floaters breaking away from the retina.
And, Penny from EDM, has very little vision in her eye and suggested a 'blurry eye group' :)
And my last name is Casper!
Thanks for sharing all this info.
Teri, all those similarities are just freaky!
You really know how to connect!
I may be too sensitive to read your stuff as i am now blinking compulsively & cringing at the thought of sleeping sitting up having my head lopped over my shoulder.
I almost feel like a blog stalker but I can't leave without chiming in again.
PS
Your Pandora Radio widget is excellent. I'm programming a Dylan station now & lots of great stuff I never heard before is popping up.
Thanks.
Sherry -- Great eye. Glad you're seeing reasonably well.
Sherry and Teri -- You gals are scaring me! I, too, have always been very nearsighted and have had floaters as long as I can remember, mostly in my left eye. (I LOVE that you named yours, Sherry!) A couple of new ones have showed up in the last few years in my right eye, which is the dominant and stronger eye. YIKES! My eye doc says don't worry -- until something serious like you two have described happens. I'm going to think healthy thoughts for my eyes -- for all our eyes -- from now on! -- Linda
This is a beautifully drawn eye - I'm so glad yours was able to be saved. I've just discovered your blog for the first time - what lovely work you do!
You can feel good about this eye, it is well done! I'm happy along with you that your vision has returned...
Ronell
Wow, glad your vision was saved. I, too, am very nearsighted. I got my first pair of glasses in 7th grade, but probably should have had them in 6th grade. Got contacts when I was 16, a b-day gift from my parents. And my eyes keep getting worse every year. I got bi-focals when I was 40. I just can't bring myself to have lasik surgery. I don't want to lose my close-up vision becuase of how detailed I work. This is a glorious sketch of an eye. great job!
Sherry, you did a magnificent job drawing the eye! I'm so glad you ended up getting your vision back....an artist's worst nightmare, I'm sure. I can't imagine how uncomfortable it must have been having to sleep sitting up for weeks.
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