Hi, I'm Theresa Jackson I am from Wallington UK and I have cerebral palsy. This can limit my abilities and bounds me to a wheelchair. However, I haven't let it stop me from doing what I love- art. I draw animals, people, buildings, objects and take requests! I put a lot of time, energy and dedication into every picture, and each one takes from an hour to three hour and maybe even an month depending on what I’m drawing at the time.

My business is one of a kind where I can achieve my goal of being an big artist. No matter what I have to challenge in day to day life I still make time for my drawings and business. Evan though I am disabled I am no different to any other person, when I have a bad day I still put a smile on my face and think about my artwork. You can achieve your goal if you put mind to it.

I made my website during lockdown because I did a lot of drawing due to mental health reasons and I realized that I wanted to be an professional Artist in life. I have come more confident by doing artwork I have brought out a lot of expression into my artwork to show my feelings at the time when I am drawing, I have found that when I’m angry I can take it out on my drawings.

I have been in foster care all my childhood from the age of 8 years old due to a family breakdown. My foster cares were very kind and caring I felt really safe with them and I found them very supportive. When I first met them I felt very nervous because I didn’t know what to expect when I first met the family they asked what do I like doing in my free time I said that I love doing art and drawing. I then moved in with my dad and step mum when I was 10 years old I was grateful to move in with them now I felt apart of a family. It was going well for a few years I saw my mum and step dad every weekend I use to stay with them on a Friday to Sunday until my mum and step dad moved to Australia. I was really upset when my mum emigrated to Australia because I wanted to go with them and I couldn’t move with them because I was living with my dad at the time. I lived with my dad until I was 14 years old when my step mum strangled me, I went back into care again when I moved to a children’s home in Cambridge. It was very nice there the people were kind nice and very supportive, we went out a lot I was there for the summer then I went to my new boarding school in Hampshire. I was there 2014 till 2018 where I did my GCSES and I went to college and studied level 1 Art and Design where I studied this for a year and found out that I wanted to be a professional artist.

My cerebral palsy has limit my hands and muscles I do find it difficult to keep my hands steady while I am drawing I do need to take a lot of breaks due to my spasms. Living with cerebral palsy is a big challenge in day to day life there is a lot of things that being disabled that can effect such as being employed.

Employment is a struggle for disabled adults that want to work I have experienced a lot of problems when trying to get an job. Some people will turn you down before you go into the interview without knowing you or your skills. It can become very irritating for some people that really want to work and don’t want to rely on benefits such as PIP DLA, DWP,UC and many others. They can easily put their minds to achieving their dream jobs it is not just an hobby you can make your very own business. I am really enjoying having my own business because I can now love the work that I produce and give it to someone who is interested in art they can share with their friends or family. Also I can fit all my health requirements around my work and business I can allow myself to do my artwork around my busy lifestyle.

Doing artwork has helped my mental health in many ways in the past whenever I have gotten really upset or angry I can always rely on my art to calm me down. I have something called Borderline Personally Disorder (BPD) I got diagnose in 2020 when I almost committed suicide and self-harm. Art is a really good technique for calming down as you can get all your emotions out on paper whether its pencil pen or paint you can get a lot of your emotions out through art. I would encourage more people to get into Art because its an amazing thing to do.

I would like to sell my work that I have produced to many people and places that would like a piece of artwork but the trouble is that I have tried everywhere around Surrey UK and everyone has just said no I find it very hard to believe that no one wants to buy any. I have even tried art events to sell my work but there is nothing about and all the events that I have applied for all have said that they are full up or that they don’t have any disabled access.

My dream job is to set up a charity for people who have faced similar difficulties and experience like I have done over time. I would like to get young people more involved in having their say and to help them to have a good life despite their difficulties in young people lives. I would to help young adults achieve their goals in life.

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