About Joey

When she started losing her vision as a sophomore in high school, Joey didn't know anything about vision loss or blindness beyond the inaccurate stereotypes portrayed in pop culture.  At first, she didn't realize that vision exists on a spectrum. She also didn't realize that blind people can lead full, art-filled lives.

Over the course of a couple months, her sight deteriorated from relatively average to the point of legal blindness due to what would later be diagnosed as Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON). Joey's center field of vision (where most people get their fine color and detail vision) became permanently blurry. Around that time, Joey also began to constantly see moving neon dots. Her "lights" are what sparked her initial interest in painting. 

Frustrated that she couldn't find images representing how she saw the world, Joey decided to pick up a paint brush to try to show it herself with acrylics. Her first acrylic paintings were attempts at her own vision simulations. She quickly fell in love with the medium and has been painting ever since. Now, she tries to blend neon colors into her paintings as a way to represent this aspect of her identity. 

Her work has been featured in several shows, including the international APH InSights Art competition.

Joey uses a variety of adaptive strategies to create her works. She hopes to change the narrative about who can create and enjoy art. 

Joey is a proud alumna of California State University, Fullerton. She aspires to someday teach other blind and visually impaired people how to travel independently as an orientation and mobility specialist. When she's not painting, Joey enjoys skateboarding with her white cane, playing with her cat, and telling terrible puns.