Six years ago, a stroke robbed artist Bill Forester of his voice, but his need to communicate and be understood remained. Forester found ways beyond words to give him a broader and more nuanced language of creative expression. Through painting the self-portrait, Forester has found his voice. This show represents a passage through the threshold of recovery and celebrates life and love as Forester “faces forward.”

Artist Statement

My stroke took my voice away August 17, 2009, but it didn’t rob me of my need to communicate and be understood.

Instead, I found ways beyond words, ways that have given me a broader and more nuanced language of creative expression.

This show lets me share my new tools of expression in the hope that other victims of stroke – and anyone in need of healing – may find a similar way home. More selfishly, this show helps me to pass through a threshold of recovery, to express my gratitude for a life I love and to face forward fully and creatively self-expressed.