The Alt Black

What would you do if you were blessed with an undeniable gift? A gift that not only brought joy to yourself, but to others around you? Now imagine if one day, unexpectedly that gift was taken away from you. Imagine having to go through the ringer with nothing but your faith in Jesus that you would someday recover. This interview that I conducted is with Tyre Brown, a phenomenal visual artist who recently graduated from the Corcoran School of The Arts and Design. This is her story of discovery, loss, and recovery.

As early as elementary school my classmates would often say how much they loved my drawings, some of them would even encourage me to enter in the school-wide drawing competitions. It helped with my confidence to continue to draw knowing that my peers were rooting for me. As I got older I realized that drawing was something God gifted me with.

After realizing that my drawings were more than just doodles, my eighth-grade art teacher encouraged me to apply to Suitland High School‘s visual and performing arts program. Once I was accepted into the program the instructors at my school helped me to gain the knowledge of how to better my craft. This paved the way for me to attend the Corcoran School of The Arts and Design at that George Washington University to graduate with my Associate’s degree in Fine Art.

In 2015 I was in a car accident injuring my spinal cord. My injury is called Incomplete tetraplegia, a paralysis that affects all four limbs. The paralysis affected my right hand the most, which was my dominant hand. I had to learn to function solely with my left hand even with its limited mobility. My injury helped me become patient as a person and an artist.

Could you also discuss where you were in your art career at the time of the accident?

Before my injury, in May 2015 I completed two years of college at the Corcoran School. After the accident, I was hospitalized for two weeks and rehabilitated for two months. My occupational therapists really helped me and in encouraging me to continue my art and taught me to use my left hand to draw. I was then admitted in a nursing home but my recovery to being independent was still slow in the beginning but in October 2015 I was admitted as an inpatient at National Rehab Hospital where they helped me a great deal. I began to be more confident with my physical self and this prompted an attitude of determination for me. I was also encouraged to continue with my art by my recreational therapists and was given the necessary tools to do so. Even though I wasn’t in college because of the injury that never stopped me from making art.

What did you have to do to recover mentally and artistically?

Through my faith in Jesus I was and I am still am able to have joy in the midst of my situation. It takes praying and believing in Jesus to get through in life and I’m so blessed to be a Christian. God helps my physical recovery every day and with physical therapy I’m able to use the functional mobility I have and strengthen it to help me be independent with daily tasks.

Could you describe how you felt when your work was shown in the 2018 Exhibition at the Corcoran school?

After being in rehabilitation and the nursing home for a combination of almost a year I was finally able to return home. After settling in I was encouraged to continue my education. I needed one more credit to receive my associate’s degree and I was able to complete the necessary class and finally receive a degree. My original graduating class was in 2017, but it wasn’t until 2018 when I received my degree.

I wasn’t expecting to be in the Thesis show, I thought I wouldn’t be qualified. A friend of mine who graduated in 2017 asked if I was going to be apart of the 2018 Thesis show, initially replied “no”, unaware that I should ask the people in charge of the show. I prayed to God and my Pastor prayed for me as well and from there I found out I was able to participate in the NEXT 2018 Exhibition Thesis Show and I was extremely excited. If she never asked me if I was going to participate in the show I would have still felt unqualified and probably never would have done the show, thank you, Amber!

Lastly, could you describe what it meant to graduate from Corcoran and how it felt?

The Corcoran has changed since being first admitted into the College. It was its own institution before going through a jeopardizing situation. The George Washington University stepped in to preserve the School, but still, changes were made and the small community of the college was absorbed by a very large University. The class of 2018 was the last admitted class of the Corcoran’s original Institution. It was a powerful moment knowing that I had the opportunity to graduate with my legacy students of such a beautiful College as the Corcoran.