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Stafford County Sun | Area deaf and blind woman's artwork gets seen in Richmond
For Jenny McKenzie, even a simple task like ordering food or taking a bus can be a big challenge. She's deaf and blind, with limited use of her hands, because of cerebral palsy.
"Taking a bus is a hassle," said McKenzie, 66, of Woodbridge. "I can't read the destination or route number on the bus. I can't understand the driver if I stand in the door and ask 'Do you go...?' so I must climb onto the bus, stick my head close to the driver's and ask. Usually they say, 'No,' so I get off and ask the next bus, and the next bus, and the next bus until I get the right one."
Her disabilities haven't stopped McKenzie, from graduating college, working and, now, creating artwork. Some of her art -- 13 pictures of landscapes, pictures with her original poems and animal pictures, under the pseudonym Jenny Ohs (for her grandmother) -- are on display in the General Assembly building in Richmond through March 8. They are displayed near Senator Toddy Puller's (D-Fairfax, Prince William) office, room 328.
McKenzie, who was born in Seattle, was pretty much always into art -- but she wasn't always deaf and blind.
"When I was three and a half, I contracted viral encephalitis, which almost took my life," McKenzie said. She said she was in a coma and doctors told her parents there was no hope.
"They suggested that my parents pray and here I am," McKenzie said. "I am here today by the grace of God."
At first, McKenzie said her hearing and vision were not affected, but she had trouble with her hands. She went to a school for children with physical disabilities.
"By the time I was between nine and 10 my hearing and vision had gone down. I could no longer understand what the teacher said or read the blackboard."
McKenzie went to Gallaudet University, where she graduated with a BA in English. A self-described bookworm, McKenzie said she tried to get a writing job, but nothing panned out. She found work at a small political action committee and later, at Fairfax Opportunities Unlimited and Virginia Industries for the Blind.
She volunteers extensively for people with disabilities, serves as president of the Virginia Association of the DeafBlind and works for the Virginia Relay Advisory Council and the Medicaid Infrastructure Grant Buy-In Advisory Council, which helps people with disabilities return to their jobs without losing their Medicare or Medicaid benefit.
McKenzie said deaf and blind people fall under a big umbrella, which she calls "DeafBlind." This encompasses anyone who is hard of hearing in one ear, to legally blind or totally blind.
McKenzie, hard of hearing and legally blind, can read lips, if the speaker is close enough.
However, for the purpose of this article, questions were asked sitting next to her, typing onto a computer. McKenzie would read the large type on the screen and answer.
"A lot of people do not understand that not all DeafBlind are the same," McKenzie said.
And not all deaf and blind people create art.
"I can't remember how or why I started," McKenzie said. "I love to draw landscapes and flowers and trees. I also draw cats, then dogs and horses... . I retain enough vision to enjoy nature."
McKenzie works in colored pencils, markers, watercolor pencils or sometimes a combination. She is able to draw by pressing the pencil in her fist, guiding it with her chin, moving her shoulder.
Her work has been featured in local craft shows, such as the Dale City Recreation Center's Holiday Craft Show and at Woodbridge and Gar-Field Senior High Schools.
She takes between one and four hours to finish a picture.
She's been doing this for eight years.
"I hope that people will see that God created something in everyone," McKenzie said of how she hopes people will respond to her artwork. "Everyone has a purpose here on Earth? gifts and talents are God's gifts to us, for use to share with others. So I hope that people who buy my artwork or just look at it will see that disabilities do not prevent a person from engaging in God's creation."
Last year, McKenzie was on the Virginia Statewide Independent Living Council, attending Independent Living Day at the General Assembly in Richmond, discussing disability issues.
"I noticed they had pictures all over the place, photography and drawings," McKenzie said. She asked around as to how the pictures wound up there. Most people didn't know, but soon she had a number for someone who would look at her portfolio, which she had with her.
"Not only does she draw, she can write poems," friend of nearly 40 years Peggy Walch Daniels said. "She is a person you can learn from; She loves to laugh."
Walch Daniels, of Springfield, is deaf with mild cerebral palsy. She's known McKenzie since their days at Gallaudet University.
"Despite her handicaps, she is able to function quite well in the normal world," Walch Daniels said in an e-mail. "She is a leader and an advocate for the deaf, the deaf/blind, and the severely handicapped."
Holly Frisch, president of Volunteers for the Blind, a non-profit organization based out of Prince William County, met McKenzie in 1995 and has worked with her through the years.
"I've always admired and respected Jenny," said Frisch. "She owns her own home and has a college degree? she has more common sense and kindles and patience than anyone I know. She's definitely a source of inspiration for me. I can't very well claim that I can't do something if Jenny can do it. She has a wonderful sense of humor, too."
Frisch, who is totally blind, founded her organization in 2006 with the purpose of pairing blind people with volunteers who can assist them in their daily living. She said she is thrilled McKenzie's art is in Richmond. She also said that right now, her service only has a couple active volunteers.
"We need people in Prince William County to know that the service exists," Frisch said. "Jenny could definitely use some help."
For Jenny McKenzie, even a simple task like ordering food or taking a bus can be a big challenge. She's deaf and blind, with limited use of her hands, because of cerebral palsy.
"Taking a bus is a hassle," said McKenzie, 66, of Woodbridge. "I can't read the destination or route number on the bus. I can't understand the driver if I stand in the door and ask 'Do you go...?' so I must climb onto the bus, stick my head close to the driver's and ask. Usually they say, 'No,' so I get off and ask the next bus, and the next bus, and the next bus until I get the right one."
Her disabilities haven't stopped McKenzie, from graduating college, working and, now, creating artwork. Some of her art -- 13 pictures of landscapes, pictures with her original poems and animal pictures, under the pseudonym Jenny Ohs (for her grandmother) -- are on display in the General Assembly building in Richmond through March 8. They are displayed near Senator Toddy Puller's (D-Fairfax, Prince William) office, room 328.
McKenzie, who was born in Seattle, was pretty much always into art -- but she wasn't always deaf and blind.
"When I was three and a half, I contracted viral encephalitis, which almost took my life," McKenzie said. She said she was in a coma and doctors told her parents there was no hope.
"They suggested that my parents pray and here I am," McKenzie said. "I am here today by the grace of God."
At first, McKenzie said her hearing and vision were not affected, but she had trouble with her hands. She went to a school for children with physical disabilities.
"By the time I was between nine and 10 my hearing and vision had gone down. I could no longer understand what the teacher said or read the blackboard."
McKenzie went to Gallaudet University, where she graduated with a BA in English. A self-described bookworm, McKenzie said she tried to get a writing job, but nothing panned out. She found work at a small political action committee and later, at Fairfax Opportunities Unlimited and Virginia Industries for the Blind.
She volunteers extensively for people with disabilities, serves as president of the Virginia Association of the DeafBlind and works for the Virginia Relay Advisory Council and the Medicaid Infrastructure Grant Buy-In Advisory Council, which helps people with disabilities return to their jobs without losing their Medicare or Medicaid benefit.
McKenzie said deaf and blind people fall under a big umbrella, which she calls "DeafBlind." This encompasses anyone who is hard of hearing in one ear, to legally blind or totally blind.
McKenzie, hard of hearing and legally blind, can read lips, if the speaker is close enough.
However, for the purpose of this article, questions were asked sitting next to her, typing onto a computer. McKenzie would read the large type on the screen and answer.
"A lot of people do not understand that not all DeafBlind are the same," McKenzie said.
And not all deaf and blind people create art.
"I can't remember how or why I started," McKenzie said. "I love to draw landscapes and flowers and trees. I also draw cats, then dogs and horses... . I retain enough vision to enjoy nature."
McKenzie works in colored pencils, markers, watercolor pencils or sometimes a combination. She is able to draw by pressing the pencil in her fist, guiding it with her chin, moving her shoulder.
Her work has been featured in local craft shows, such as the Dale City Recreation Center's Holiday Craft Show and at Woodbridge and Gar-Field Senior High Schools.
She takes between one and four hours to finish a picture.
She's been doing this for eight years.
"I hope that people will see that God created something in everyone," McKenzie said of how she hopes people will respond to her artwork. "Everyone has a purpose here on Earth? gifts and talents are God's gifts to us, for use to share with others. So I hope that people who buy my artwork or just look at it will see that disabilities do not prevent a person from engaging in God's creation."
Last year, McKenzie was on the Virginia Statewide Independent Living Council, attending Independent Living Day at the General Assembly in Richmond, discussing disability issues.
"I noticed they had pictures all over the place, photography and drawings," McKenzie said. She asked around as to how the pictures wound up there. Most people didn't know, but soon she had a number for someone who would look at her portfolio, which she had with her.
"Not only does she draw, she can write poems," friend of nearly 40 years Peggy Walch Daniels said. "She is a person you can learn from; She loves to laugh."
Walch Daniels, of Springfield, is deaf with mild cerebral palsy. She's known McKenzie since their days at Gallaudet University.
"Despite her handicaps, she is able to function quite well in the normal world," Walch Daniels said in an e-mail. "She is a leader and an advocate for the deaf, the deaf/blind, and the severely handicapped."
Holly Frisch, president of Volunteers for the Blind, a non-profit organization based out of Prince William County, met McKenzie in 1995 and has worked with her through the years.
"I've always admired and respected Jenny," said Frisch. "She owns her own home and has a college degree? she has more common sense and kindles and patience than anyone I know. She's definitely a source of inspiration for me. I can't very well claim that I can't do something if Jenny can do it. She has a wonderful sense of humor, too."
Frisch, who is totally blind, founded her organization in 2006 with the purpose of pairing blind people with volunteers who can assist them in their daily living. She said she is thrilled McKenzie's art is in Richmond. She also said that right now, her service only has a couple active volunteers.
"We need people in Prince William County to know that the service exists," Frisch said. "Jenny could definitely use some help."
