College Tuition: My Disease, My Dream and I

My name is Sarah Bernard, a self-taught artist from Aiken, South Carolina with a passion for anatomical drawing. At only 18 months of age, I was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis and spent the majority of my early life in and out of doctors’ offices in hopes of finding the right medication to treat my pain and inflammation. It was there in that medical environment that I was exposed to the inner workings of the human body. It sparked within me a deep fascination in bones and I took to collecting them. In the woods near the horse stables where my parents worked, I’d search the underbrush for animal bones and the artist in me would then spend hours at a time sketching them. I loved figuring out which pieces fit together, it was akin to solving a puzzle without a picture.

Though I knew I was enamored with both art and anatomy, I was unsure about which one I wanted to pursue more as a career. It wasn’t until my own Rheumatologist introduced me the world of medical illustration that I knew what I was meant to do. Thrilled that there was a possibility that I could do both of the things I grew up to adore, I set my sights towards the field of medical illustration and persisted with my interests. However, my arthritis was doing the same and began to make itself known after a short period of remission. It settled in the worst place possible for an artist, the joints of my hands and wrists. Performing even the simplest of tasks such as grasping a pencil became difficult and drawing was near impossible. Spending my days at home instead of at school due to the chronic pain, I began to feel like life was leaving me behind. A career in art was beginning to seem like less of a reality and more of a dream.

Fast forward 8 years since my arthritis presented in my hands, past a dozen different medications and their side effects, past joint injections and steroids, past an unsuccessful drug trial and occupational therapy; I am now 19 years old and still working towards my dream. I’ve been accepted into the Cleveland Institute of Art, a specialized art school with a biomedical illustration program. It stands to be one of only a few colleges in the United States to do so. The scholarships and grants that I’ve been awarded cover 70% of my tuition but finding the rest of the funds necessary to attend such a school remains a road block in the middle of what has already been a long and difficult journey. After traversing through so many challenges to get to this point in my life, giving up is not an option for me.

I am hoping to raise the remaining $18,000 dollars of my tuition and living expenses. I am aware how difficult it is to barely scrape by, but I seek and appreciate any assistance you can give in helping me reach my goal of becoming a professional medical illustrator.  Here's a sample of my work:



 To see more of my artwork and to learn more about me please visit my artist page on Facebook at Sylvia Pearl Illustrations  or Instagram @Sylvia_Pearl_Illustrations 

For more information about medical illustration please visit the Association of Medical Illustrators  .

Thank you for taking the time to read my story.