Hello. I’m Helaine and my Leader Dog #2 is Zara; we were matched in April of this year. I waited a very long time for Zara due to Covid and the brutal Texas heat! It was very hard to be without my first Leader Dog, Chapman, and meeting Zara at the Leader Dog campus and having Linda [Fisher] as my instructor again after 14 years was a gift like no other!
I lost most of my vision in 2003 when I had a stroke. The blood clot hit my occipital nerve and the rest, as they say, is history.
After working in commercial real estate for many years, I had to redefine and rearrange my life. I tried returning to work, but I wasn’t able to make that happen. I tried to finish my master’s degree; again, it wasn’t meant to be.
I was playing with some crafting projects when I met a well-known mosaic artist online. We became fast friends and with her encouragement, I entered the art world and I’ve never looked back.
Photo description: A square mosaic on a wrought iron stand. From the middle of the artwork to the outside: a glass circle with a white flower and a light blue coloring around the edge surrounded by small rectangular, multicolored pieces of plates. Next are two circles of white oval glass beads, in the outer circle there are also several dark blue round glass pieces and several white and light blue round glass pieces. The next circle is comprised of light blue-green rectangular glass pieces and round blue-green pieces. From here four leafy metal stems project from the circle to the four corners of the square. The remaining area is covered with glass pieces forming a solid background – the pieces vary in size, are all square or rectangular, have a metallic shine and range in color from light blue to dark blue.
After five years, my doctor suggested I get a dog and he recommended Leader Dogs. My life began to change once Chapman and I met and became a team. Having such a special partner changed my life even more.
With newfound confidence and mobility, I continued to explore art. Susan, my mosaic mentor and now dear friend, helped change my life even more. I had been told by another art teacher that my low vision would forever limit my creative abilities. I shared this story with Susan, and she was incensed! She made it her mission to help me learn modern mosaicking with my unique challenges being a gift rather than a deterrent. With her patient ways, she helped me find my creative voice and I became addicted to the process of creating and I never looked back.
After a medical incident left me legally blind, I was forced to give up my career in commercial real estate. This left me in search of something that would bring the same sense of accomplishment that my career had provided for me. I made a decoupage guitar for a friend and then decided to move onto mosaics. I found it extremely challenging and fulfilling. After meeting a well-known artist, I began to find my voice through a mixed media format called pique assiette. In this style of mosaic, the artist incorporates pieces of broken ceramics – plates, dishes, cups, tiles – and other objects like jewelry, seashells, and fused glass into the design. The appeal and expressiveness of pique assiette lies in the ideas of lateral thinking, humor, recycling and the significance of the other objects.
I reside in Houston, Texas where my guide dog, Chapman, is with me in my garage studio while I work. I have focused on tranquility and expression through my mosaics. I hope you find them to be inviting and inspirational.
Below the photo are the following quotes: “He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.” – St. Francis of Assisi
“Art is not in the eye of the beholder. It’s in the soul of the artist.” – Seth Godin
Now I am part of a fabulous online community of artists. I sell my art online when I can. Zara keeps me company while I create. Her presence is comforting, and she keeps her eyes on me in a protective way.
As with Chapman, Zara will eventually attend a mosaic workshop which I try to do every few years. Having a dog allows me to travel without anxiety and traveling to be with sighted artists is a wonderful adventure I’m glad I can enjoy with complete independence.
There will always be a special place in my heart for Leader Dogs for the Blind and where I am now in my life.
Helaine and Leader Dog Zara are pictured at the top.
As part of the grant, the Gary Sinise Foundation is sponsoring seven Future Leader Dogs. The first two puppies are Labrador retriever siblings who will be raised by the Fisher family and Linda and Tony Gimble. The Fishers are very experienced, having raised 10 Leader Dog puppies in the past. “When we heard that the Gary Sinise Foundation was sponsoring puppies, we immediately wanted to be a part of the partnership,” said Laura Fisher. “My husband, Paul, is an Army veteran and I work for Leader Dog. It’s like raising one of these special puppies in our home was meant to be.”
This will be the 23rd puppy that Linda and Tony Gimble of Moline, IL have raised. “We are already great supporters of Leader Dogs for the Blind and to be able to raise a puppy sponsored by the Gary Sinise Foundation just makes this more special to us,” said Linda Gimble. “Our son retired after 20 years in the Air Force, and this is a way for our family to honor his service and the service of millions of others like him.”
You make our mission possible. You can make [something] happen. You can make a difference, an impact. You can change a life. Our mission needs you. We need your help. We can’t do it without you.
There’s a lot of passion here at Leader Dogs for the Blind. Our team has many years of experience, plenty of plans, ideas, talent and tools, and the drive to make things work. But at the end of the day, all those things aren’t enough.