A solo showcase put on in Form.

Description:

‘Ailie Clark is a freelance Illustrator based in Hull and works out of her studio in
Humber Streets, Juice. She creates fun, beautifully nostalgic illustrations
influenced by her love of bold colours and simplicity of line. She has created
work for clients such as the NHS and exhibited in large shows such as Print
Club London Blisters 2018.  Ailie is in the early stages of her career as an
Illustrator and hopes to build upon her already growing portfolio.
Being an illustrator it is Ailie’s job to visualise a message or meaning. Her
showcase is no different.
Ailie lives with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis and a few months ago whilst at
the Rheumatology clinic she noticed something… all the patients were
female. This made her think, how many women live with this in comparison to
men?
This thought then expanded to other autoimmune conditions. Ailie set about
researching and found that 75% of people with autoimmune/invisible diseases
are women. The reason? Well it’s not clear but it is thought that the drastic
changes in hormones that women experience in their lifetimes could be a
factor.
Ailie knows many amazing women that live with autoimmune/invisible
diseases and has created this showcase to celebrate them. Their illnesses
may be invisible but their badassery isn’t.’

 

All images are copyright Ailie Clark and Ailie Clark Illustration 2021.

AILIE (me): I’m Ailie and this is my showcase. I work as a freelance illustrator as well as an operations manager for a charity that provides art workshops for young people.
I’m at the beginning stages of my career as an illustrator. Some of the highlights so far have been being a part of Print Club London’s 2018 Blisters exhibition, which saw over 2000 people through the door on opening night and I also had the honour of creating a large scale mural for the NHS’s 70th Anniversary.  The hussle is real and I live for it everyday.
I love comedy gigs, I’ve travelled to 14 countries and one of my favourite things to do is head down to the beach in my spare time… on a good day. The reality is that you will mostly find me sat in the corner of my sofa willing myself to not be so tired.
I live with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis and have done so for the past 20 years. I have no idea what it’s like to not be tired. I have lived in and out of wheelchairs, been washed and dressed by family well into my teens, experienced pain from the weight of a duvet or lifting a fork to my mouth.  I’ve faced discrimination because of it, but you know what? It only makes me more determined.

STEPH:
I’m 25, and a marketing officer for a charity. I’m an advocate of pushing your comfort zones, and a staunch believer that hard work and kindness can get you anywhere.
At heart, I’m a writer. I fuel my love for words by working freelance as a copywriter, and as a Staff Writer for an online magazine. I’ve written pieces spanning mental health, female friendship, and body positivity, and thousands of people have (by some miracle) read my words.
I play synth in a post-punk band, and am slowly becoming accustomed to, perhaps even enjoying, being on stage. Having never gigged, or even played a synth before joining, this was a comfort-pushing venture bordering on stupidity. But, with plays on Radio 6 and Radio 1; (and spending time with some of the best people I’ve ever met) I’m so very glad I did it.
When I have any free time, you can find me drinking one too many pints, partaking in one of many unfinished projects, or resting. Resting, because for the past 14 years, I’ve lived with M.E.
My life has been built from a starting block of being bedbound; unable to wash or dress myself, and sometimes unable to speak, let alone write. Even now, I experience extreme, untreatable exhaustion, muscular aches, and reduced cognitive abilities. But with things to do, places to go, and comfort zones to push – I’m not about to let that stop me.

CHARLOTTE:
Call me crazy but I won’t be stopped! Having already lived in 3 different countries, travelling has become part of my life. Sometimes I get called ‘brave’, because I just do things no matter how big or scary I think they will be, if I find them exciting, or beneficial then I am off. I love colours and often dress very bright. I am an artist who loves painting and sculpting. I have for the past 6 years worked in a foundry casting small and large-scale bronze sculpture. Being surrounded by men, and working in what many think is a “mans” job has shown many challenges, however, I love proving people’s expectations wrong and showing them the true strength of a woman! I’m shy, yet you’ll often find me talking to anyone, anywhere, about anything. I also take great joy in reading, knitting, cooking and baking, playing my bass guitar, listening to music and snuggling with animals. Resting and listening to my body is important. For the past 4 years I have lived with the diagnosis Ulcerative Colitis, and for the last 3 years I have lived with an ileostomy. I need to plan certain things differently, think about how I do things, what I do, and how much my body can cope with, keeping energy levels up, drinking plenty of water as well as food and mineral levels up. I won’t let this stop me though – just watch me go!

MAIRI:

For the past 2 and a half years since leaving university, I’ve been working as a graphic designer in London which means I’m skint most of the time, have zero personal space and always looking for the nearest, quietest pub.
It sounds like a typical life of a 25 year old however I’ve also been balancing a side to me I don’t often share. I’ve lived with chronic fatigue (or M.E) since I was 14 years old, IBS since 17 and along with those two bad boys this has also impacted my mental health. Despite this, however –
I have got through the pressures of school, college, living away from home and going to university, getting involved with some fun exhibitions, and working and living in London. I’ve also moved up and down the country more times than I cared for, meanwhile sharing many a night out with my friends, going to concerts, comedy gigs, workshops, exhibitions, markets, holidays, and festivals
/ many a day in bed. [very important for M.E sufferers] Doing these things do come with extreme consequences, days of nausea, headaches, body pains, extreme tiredness that no amount of sleep resolves. The problem is with ‘invisible’ illnesses is they are ‘invisible’. When living with a condition like this I’ve become so used to hiding my symptoms or downplaying it because I feel embarrassed, misunderstood or fear judgment. By doing this I’ve learnt it was only to the detriment of myself. It’s time, to be honest, so here it is, this is me (…queue the greatest showman soundtrack…)

SAM:

My name is Samantha and I developed M.E when I was 11 years old. Back in those days it was not very well known, and I had to travel to a lot of different doctors all over the country and have weekly blood tests to try figure out what was going on with me. I lived with it undiagnosed for two years, until they finally figured out my prognosis. At that point I’d missed two years of school, and the following two I only attended an hour a day. I’m now going on 28; I graduated with a Fine Art Degree, and currently I’m a practising mixed media artist striving to make that a bigger part of my everyday, as well as a manager at a wellness company & cafe in Brighton. I’m also in training to become a TFT & EFT Practitioner. I’ve pole danced for fitness and done yoga for years; gaining strength and control of my body has been so important to me, as for several years of my youth I slept for 20 hours a day, could barely eat or drink, and had to get carried just to go to the toilet. Because I know what it’s like to struggle and feel hopeless I want to help others make it through their own battles, and for them to know there’s light at the end of the tunnel – always. It just isn’t necessarily where you would expect to find it.

YASMIN:

I’m an 18 year old musician and college student. I’ve performed since primary school, but I’ve gigged since I was 12. Music is my true passion, and I find so much love in evolving my sound and performing.
I always make an effort to please and be the best version of myself, which does feel amazing but sometimes comes at my own downfall. Generally, I feel a lot of pressure to perform well in college, as well as being a well-respected musician, constantly needing to write and improve. These pressures have always affected me as well as other aspects in my life, which lead to a constant struggle with stress issues and stress sickness.
Appearance is also an aspect that affects my self-esteem, and at age 15, I developed a skin condition called Vitiligo. Progressively, pigmentation on my skin has changed and there’s no telling about the rate it will continue to, nor the original cause, though it was assumed it was due to stress. As an already self-conscious teen, who struggled socially in school, this change severely affected my mental health, causing me to cover up the patches, especially for school or my gigs in front of an audience.
However now, I like to look at myself as an ambassador for embracing your ‘inequalities’, and talk about my condition on social media.  Starting a new life in college really improved my confidence, as well as realising that many people deal with skin conditions. Stress will always be an element of my life, but my condition is not really a condition to me anymore, it’s something I like to show off as part of me.