Living a creative life with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

Posted on Mar 06, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, MCS, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

Artist Kate Pennington writes about her dollmaking and life with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

kates-dolls1One of the biggest heartbreaks at having Multiple Chemical Sensitivity is how it steals your energy that would otherwise be spent on being productive and creative.  Kate at Sacred Seeds Weblog writes this week about two things: the joy of making Wiccan God and Goddess Altar Dolls after spending most of last year swimming through a molasses vat of MCS-related issues, and about the hoops she goes through to stay safe in her own home.

Kate makes incredible dolls out of nontoxic and recycled materials, decorated with beads, paints and fabrics– they’re beautiful! In addition to dollmaking, she’s also a writer, and just published an article at Artfire on How to Be Friends with People with Allergies and Chemical Sensitivities. It’s chock full of good information about fabrics, art materials, personal products, and about creating a safe place for yourself and then sticking to your guns about who you allow into your space. Brava, Kate! You are an inspiration.

My artwork, my friends and my family are huge parts of my life. Acquiring supplies, working with different tools and mediums, getting to see people, hang out, doing things out and about, all the things anyone would think of living life is as important to me as for anyone else. But for me there is a catch. I have Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. MCS is a chronic and often invisible illness that affects my breathing, my digestion, my thought process, my ability to concentrate, to hold a job, and even do things with my children. MCS caused my body to be hyper sensitive to a vast array of chemicals most people deal with every day. In my body, they have become poison. Simple things like laundry detergent can make me violently ill for a day or even a week. Perfume can bring on an asthma attack or even send me to the hospital.

Link to full article.

Photo used with permission.

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5 Responses to “Living a creative life with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity”

  1. Leslie

    06. Mar, 2009

    I think being creative is what keeps me going- without that I become really down and feel the discomfort of being stuck at home alot more.
    I have found alot of people are willing to be friends with me and do things special to get to hang out- like not wash in detergents or use scented soaps. I also have to remind people of some stuff or just say no to other things which sucks but the symptoms are so much worse then trying something I know makes me sick. It is a difficult balance to strike some days, and i have had people look personally insulted a few times when i say they have to leave my house cause i am getting sick from them being in here. It’s hard for them to understand cause they feel fine and live like that everyday. I try to explain it like having an allergy to cats or asthma – something people are familiar with and can relate to.
    But i can say for myself, i get really tired of telling people they have to leave, or running out of other people’s houses all the time – sometimes i choose to be alone so i don’t have to deal with the social pressures of that.

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  2. Mokihana

    06. Mar, 2009

    Remaining creative is as Leslie said, is what keeps me showing up for more. Social is tough with MCS, and that’s just part of the challenge. I have come to love the way my internal spirit maker gives me directions: “Yes, it is tough. Yes, you can ask for what you need. Yes, they might not get it. Rest, and then there will be more. Trust.” Creating beautiful dolls … BEAUTIFul. Creating beautiful stories, building a gypsy’s wagon that is MCSensible …beautiful. I grieve the losses, and lean on people who love me through them. I love them back, and create something beautiful when someone else just doesn’t get it or get me. Thing is, I get me and there’s a mastery in that.

    Thanks for sharing this Susie, Mahalo.

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  3. Susie Collins

    07. Mar, 2009

    Leslie and Mokihana, you both are so creative! I love following your adventures and am constantly inspired by your enduring spirits. When I was diagnosed with MCS, the first thing I set about salvaging was my ability to create and produce. Safe home, safe work, safe friends– all flowed from the need to find a way to keep being creative and productive. Even on the worst days from an exposure, I figure out a way to drag myself outside to at least putter in the garden, plant something, tend something, prune something to make it more beautiful. Creative activity like that is as important to my health as clean air and good food.

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  4. Linda Jitmoud

    07. Mar, 2009

    I also have to agree with Leslie–being creative is what gets me through this. I’m a writer so my materials are few. With MCS, at least, I have the freedom to stay home and write my books. There are times when, because of financial issues, I’ve felt like I should get out there and work. But MCS gives me a great excuse not to. :-)

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  5. Susie Collins

    08. Mar, 2009

    Linda, you and I are so lucky we are writers making a living at it, a profession that one can do at home. And we are lucky that it suits us. Some people have such a hard time with the isolation of MCS, but I have always loved being alone and I love the solitary and creative activity of writing. Although I do need to have some contact from time to time with my friends and community to feel fully alive, being able to make a living in a safe home office, and feel content with it, is a blessing.

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