sue murray

HEAVEN
I always
on the beach under the stars
but I never got to do it

A SMILE A DAY
No matter where life takes me, I try to smile. Sometimes that smile is on the outside, Sometimes it is in my heart. But every day I take the time to look into the mirror and smile at my reflection and say ‘Good Morning”
You know, a smile costs nothing, but it sure can make you feel better. No matter whether it is only me that sees it, or for everyone to see. A smile can heal the soul. Sometimes for just a minute. Sometimes for a whole day. I know how much a smile can help me through the day

STYLE WITHOUT STIGMA
With disability comes invisibility and I spent years fighting to exist in this place. The fears and phobias of spinal cord damage wore me down. I felt I no longer mattered.
Then one day I looked at some photos and saw the beautiful woman I used to be and realized, that is who I am. I created the stigma and wore it as a shawl to hide myself.
I am a wonderful person, an interesting person, a brave and fearless person and a lady with style. No stigma attached.
I stand on the new moon and plant the seeds of abundance with the stars to light my way.

SELF PORTRAIT - ASCENSION
I am a quadriplegic digital artist living and working on the far north coast of NSW. I work with a computer using a mouth controlled mouse to create my images.
My artwork was originally inspired by creating a tattoo, and from there I have developed my ideas in both subject matter and style.
This image is my first self portrait. The image I have placed over my face is called Ascension. It was the first piece of art I produced after my accident and making this image changed my whole outlook on life.

FITTING IN
It’s almost forty years since my diving injury and I still don’t fit into a wheelchair …or a bed or a car… At 194cm, with a lot of muscle spasm and neuropathic pain it has always been a struggle to find comfort. I just have to keep moving. Every morning I do 20 minutes of stretching before I can get up.
Socially, it has been difficult to fit in – I still feel self-conscious in my local shopping centre. Only when I’ve travelled to India have I lost myself in the crowd.
For many years I was disability activist trying to carve out a world I could fit in. Now, living in the Northern Rivers I have found my niche, I have carer’s now, have stopped driving and begun using a power chair… I am letting go.
Best of all I’m back in the surf, I love the constant movement of water over my body. Yes, in the ocean I fit.