This series of three drawings is titled Jim. It is inspired by my many conversations with my community partner, Jim.
Throughout his life, little has stopped Jim from achieving his goals. He started college at the early age of 16, balanced working full-time while going to night school, earned a doctorate in material engineering, and raised a loving family.
Over the past several years, Jim began experiencing vision loss that is incurable, untreatable, and progressing. In many ways his life has changed, but his spirit and drive have not. Despite his vision loss, Jim is an avid writer of poetry, runs a local trivia group, and is unmatched on the dance floor. In his own words, “you don’t need eyesight to dance.”
This series of drawings captures Jim’s happy and determined attitude towards life, gives insight into how he sees the world, and highlights one of his favorite quotes from literature.
About the Artist: Steven Zheng
Studio art has always played a large role in my life; however, as I have progressed on a path towards medicine, it has been increasingly difficult to explore my love of the humanities. One of my goals has been to find bridges between the worlds of art and medicine and to carve out a role for a physician-artist. SCOPES provided a perfect opportunity to explore these interests and utilize artistic creativity and observational skills to tell a patient’s story. As I continue with my medical education, I hope to expand on my SCOPES experience and further examine the connections between humanities and medicine.
