Rose Kamma Morrison
Port Alberni, B.C., Canada
“My horizon is broader than my tunnel vision.”
Though Usher syndrome, a rare progressive condition affecting both vision and hearing, slowly lessened Rose Kamma Morrison’s (she/her/hers) field of view, creativity gave her the ability to adapt and create opportunity for her future.
Rose’s parents left the Netherlands for Canada to raise their family with an adventurous agenda: from sailing and hiking to skiing and outdoor recreation. First generation Canadian, Rose was surrounded by the vibrant landscapes and colors that continue to inspire her artistic expression. Born in Port Alberni, B.C., Canada, Rose loves to travel and even spent three years on the road, all across the country. While she believes every province has its own beauty, she considers Vancouver Island to be her forever home.
Rose studied art throughout her school and college years, with a particular affinity for watercolors. At 16, she was diagnosed with Usher Syndrome which causes progressive deaf-blindness. She shares, “Art was part of me during my developmental years into adulthood. It wasn’t until I was forced to retire due to my blindness at the age of 40 that art became more involved in my life.” As the disease worsened, Rose’s vision diminished to only 10 degrees of peripheral vision, no acuity in her left eye and severe blurriness.
As an experiment when Rose’s vision lessened to five percent, she began creating art whilst blindfolded, adapting and learning to work from her mind’s eye and muscle memory. Creating an entire series of work in this fashion, Rose’s experiment proved successful and grew her confidence in her ability to create without vision. “I now know not to underestimate the power of my mind.”
Although she has explored various mediums including acrylic, pen, and watercolor, her true passion lies in the challenging and unpredictable realm of alcohol ink art. Having started out with realistic landscapes and portraits, her artistic practice underwent a transformation in response to the continuation of her vision loss. Eschewing realism because of the needed attention to fine detail, Rose began leaning into abstraction, a perfect conceptual pairing to her love of alcohol ink work. “I have learned to manipulate the inks in ways that are so unique. I love that ink has distinctive properties, much like a fingerprint.”
Rose’s experiments with blindfolded creation has also informed her ability to teach and confidence in art connecting people. She shares, “I have recently developed a class to teach people with low vision/blindness called ‘Art Without Boundaries’. It is amazing when I am teaching people that say “I can’t create” become excited with their finished pieces. Art truly connects us and together we can create a colorful community. Changing the stigma of disability, one brush stroke at a time.”
In addition to her plans to “keep creating,” Rose’s future goals include teaching more accessible art classes. “What I love about art is that it constitutes an expression of color and design that lends itself to multiple interpretations. It brings diversity and culture together connecting people in conversations and community. Art has an emotional connection; it is thought provoking and stimulating.”
While Rose loves the vivid colors of alcohol ink and its unique formations when dropping onto canvas or yupo paper, she is also fascinated by its ability to be manipulated into interesting shapes and textures with the simplest and homeliest of tools. “My favorite tools are just things I find around the house: plastic straws, Q-tips, sponges and canning jar rings are my favorite tools to paint with.”
When Rose comes up with a creative idea, she writes it down, plans her colors and theme, and allows her mind's eye to become the process, visualizing each step as if she were actually painting. “My artistic inspirations can stem from my dreams, mind's eye and nature. I love to take photos of things that would inspire me to paint. I have found that my artistic journey can thrive by letting go of the apprehension to explore new possibilities, leveraging the emotional impact of vision loss to fuel my creative process and foster novel adaptive concepts. I have learned to maintain an open mind for innovative ideas and to continually pursue personal growth.”
Rose is passionate about educating society about deaf-blindness and encouraging others to advocate for themselves through guidance and experience. In addition to her education advocacy, she volunteers in the field of human rights, and advocates for low vision/blind runners to find guides for training and running events. A runner herself, she was guided by her husband during the 2009 Boston Marathon, becoming the first Canadian woman to compete in the blind category. Rose credits her husband Chris and daughter Emily with their endless support of her achievements. ArtLifting is honored to represent Rose and contribute to spreading her activism and art.
“I will continue to challenge myself; it is part of who I am. I will always be creative and adventurous, and I don’t plan to slow down any time soon.”
