Meet Olivia Castro Cranwell, an Argentinian and French artist.She is one of the four artists who designed our limited-edition audio processor covers. In this blog, Olivia explains how she became an artist against all odds, the effect of her hearing journey, and how nature inspired her to create a colorful and unique design cover masterpiece.
我的名字叫奥利维亚（Olivia），我在布宜诺斯艾利斯（Buenos Aires）担任艺术家，我将一生致力于绘画。我还教绘画，说明，绘画以及与视觉艺术有关的一切。我在自然和音乐中找到了我的艺术灵感。
耳鼻喉病引起的单侧聋
我有一种称为耳硬化的遗传疾病。当我还是个孩子的时候，我的母亲和老师经常说我分心，即使我是一个好学生。我的母亲总是想知道我怎么了，为什么我没有更专心。然后，有一天我14岁，一位老师建议我带我去一名ENT医生进行听证会。
That’s how my parents found out that I couldn’t hear in one ear. No one could tell us how long this had been going on. Although, the doctors suspected that my hearing loss had been there for a while because, during an operation, they saw that things were very calcified. From that point on, I began to lose the hearing in my other ear as well.
15 Years Without Music
到20岁时，我什么都听不到。多年来，我在一只耳朵里戴了助听器。我总是必须得到更强大的助听器，直到没有更强大的尝试。对我来说，进行手术的决定非常困难。到那时，我花了15年的时间没有听音乐，我几乎无法理解有人在和我说话。
The Incident That Changed My Life
I only got my hearing implants when I was 50, even though my doctors had told me about the advantages of a cochlear implant (CI) for a long time. The reason for the delay was my fear of the surgery.
I changed my mind after an incident when I got water in my ear and wasn’t even able to use my hearing aids anymore. Even though the complete silence was very difficult, this incident changed my life. I met with an ENT specialist that I trusted and decided to get my CI.
听力的奇迹
今天,我赢了der what would have happened if I had received implants at a young age. My life would have been easier. Since my implantation, I couldn’t be happier. Coming from a world of complete silence, every sound I can hear gives me great joy.
这也是我的动力博客and through it, I was able to share my joy with many people. People from all over the world wrote to me because they also dared to get their CIs. For me, experiencing the miracle of being able to hear again felt like a rebirth.
我作为艺术家的历史
At a very young age, I visited Paris and discovered my love for art, especially painting. Unfortunately, my father forbade me to devote myself to or study art. Instead, I had to study architecture. However, my deafness prevented me from finishing my studies. My situation was also difficult because my family didn’t accept my deafness or try to help me at that time. Since I had trouble understanding my professors and felt very lonely with my hearing issues, I decided to stop studying and travel the world.
During my travels, I taught myself to paint. At first, I painted small paintings with watercolors that I then sold. One day, I got an invitation to exhibit my art at Casa Franca in Brazil. From that point on, I began to work as a professional. In 2007, I learned more about painting techniques in a studio in Buenos Aires. I particularly learned about acrylic painting—which is what I work with most now.
我的设计封面背后的含义
With my design cover, I wanted to show what sound means to me. I consider sound to be something very abstract. Nature, and especially birds, inspired me. Nature is full of sound, and the chirping of birds was the first thing I heard after my activation.
With my design, I wanted to send the message of the joy of sound. I hoped to convey this through the colors, variety of plants, movement, contrast of green and orange, and the little chirping bird. For me, sound connects you to life, yourself, and other people.
Music as Artistic Inspiration
I have always listened to music while working. After I lost my hearing completely at the age of 15, working without music was very difficult for me. With the implant, I am able to listen to music again. I like to listen to Brazilian music, jazz, and bossa nova. This kind of music is the inspiration for my art.
我的艺术总是有信息。我的绘画中的颜色传达了喜悦，悲伤，黑暗和启蒙的感觉。音乐可以帮助我在艺术中表达这些感觉，并在听众中触发情感。
Art as an Act of Giving
It is an overwhelmingly beautiful feeling to know that other CI users will wear my design cover on their audio processors. I am very happy that I can share my art with others. At the end of the day, that’s what art is: an act of giving and of sharing. If you paint a painting and don’t share it, there is no point in it.
Social media helps us artists reach more people and share art with others. Social networks have brought us together and reduced distances. Also, there is content in so many languages nowadays, which is why it is accessible to so many more people.
Expressing Yourself Through Art
I believe that art can help you overcome problems. Being unable to express something limits your communication, and that’s exactly what hearing loss does. Since we are social beings, this leads to many problems, especially psychological ones.
But through art, you can express yourself. And that’s why there’s something very healing about it. You can show on the outside what you feel inside. You send out a message and show yourself. We should never let ourselves be pushed into isolation, but that is exactly what deafness does. Art is one way to defeat that isolation.
Thank you, Olivia!
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