Pauline Stewart's battle with MOGAD turned into a canvas of hope.
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Pauline Stewart has a fear of hospitals, but when an excruciating migraine and the unusual weight of one eyelid woke her up, she knew it would be a day to face her fear.
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About six years ago, just before her son's birthday, Mrs Stewart received a life-changing diagnosis: a rare autoimmune condition called MOGAD, which she describes as a “turbocharged, nastier version of MS”.
Similar to MS, there is no cure for MOGAD, but Mrs Stewart is using her passion for painting to raise crucial funds to find one.
She said she uses painting and paint pouring as a relaxation tool in the mornings to distract from the “constant migraine” she feels on a day-to-day basis.
Pauline Stewart's uses artwork to alleviate pain from her MOGAD diagnosis.
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Her painting journey began following the permanent loss of sight in one eye and attacks on her optic nerve, which robbed her of depth perception, and during a sleepless night, battling discomfort, she found herself browsing social media, and came across a video.
“I was scrolling through Facebook and came across these paint pouring videos, and found them very soothing and relaxing,” she said.
“And, I thought to myself, why am I only watching?”
She told her support worker at the time she wanted to pick up some paint supplies — and the rest was history.
Evolving from canvas to jug painting, Mrs Stewart now runs her own business, Pieces by Polly, where she sells her creations and contributes 10 per cent of sales to MS Australia
One of her pieces of art.
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“(Painting) is just so relaxing just getting out there and playing with my paints,” Mrs Stewart said.
“Sometimes I’ll be pouring, and I’ll have a muscle spasm and the paint just goes everywhere — but it all makes a piece of art in the end.”
A collection of her art work will be featuring at the Kyabram Town Hall Art Gallery in August, her very first exhibition.
“I’ve never had an exhibition, so I don’t really know what to expect,” she said.
“If there’s one thing I want people to take away from the exhibition, it would be hope.”
April marks MOGAD Awareness Month, shedding light on a rare neurological condition that affects only one to three people per million.
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