Michael Unleashes His Creativity…

Michael discovered his love for art when studying at college. He quickly found that his passion lied with painting, but wanted just a little bit more independence and to not have to rely on those around him to bring his ideas to life – he wanted to do that himself.

 

As a keen boccia player, he had a helmet that he thought may be able to help him. So he started himself, taping paintbrushes onto his helmet and this made painting himself work. For Michael, being able to paint independently was his goal. When he reached out to Remap, our volunteers adapted his helmet to include a fixture to make it easier to swap paintbrushes which would help Michael take more control of his paintings and improve his skill.

Flash by two years, and he has recently had his paintings commissioned by Scope, with his designs featuring on the Scope online store. 

 

We spoke to Michael to find out what it has been like bringing his dream to life, with help from custom-made equipment:

“I was so excited when Scope reached out to me, it made me happy to get some recognition for my designs. It’s great to see people buying my designs and doing something good for charity.”

 

Michael says his dream is to one day, have his art featured in the Tate Modern art gallery, and he has already become somewhat of a local celebrity where he lives, featuring in many art exhibitions. He tells us how the adaptation made to his helmet has helped him improve his skill and enjoy his hobby more:

“I found painting so much easier, I could have a bit more independence and create pieces myself without too much help.”

The service Remap provides is available to anyone with a disability in the UK. Our volunteers work through local branches, designing and creating equipment for people’s particular needs.