Today we’d like to introduce you to RJ Higgins II .
Hi RJ, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
In 2010 I suffered a severe spinal cord injury in an ATV accident. Fractured C1,2,3 and burst C4. I was paralyzed from the neck down. Eventually re-learning how to walk, even though I can’t feel much from the upper chest down. I used to be right-handed, but it hasn’t regained function, so I taught myself to be left-handed through art: drawing and painting. Over time I became more proficient at it. Before the accident, I was an industrial mechanic, and once I got strong enough, I decided to see if I could teach myself to weld left-handed. It took a while, but I did it. Using those skills from art and industry, I began creating sculptures from whatever I could find. Eventually, sharing what I was up to with friends encouraged me to share it with the world. It is both mental and physical therapy.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Finding the strength to push on was daunting, to say the least Going from using a crane to hoist me from bed to a wheelchair so my wife could brush my teeth to the semi-independent person I am now has been the most challenging endeavor of my life. Being strong for my family and trying to be a good husband and father helped keep me focused. Everything is a struggle. From opening containers to getting dressed some days, walking takes everything I’ve got. It doesn’t get much rougher when everything is taken from you.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
The ocean inspires my work, the shoreline, the creatures that inhabit them, etc.—creating paintings and sculptures from reclaimed, recycled materials and sending them back into the world as something interesting and beautiful—giving them a second chance, like me. Seeing people react to my work and the smiles makes me proud. Having a positive impact on the people I meet makes me proud. I cannot feel the hand that I use to create. To draw, paint, weld, and use the plasma cutter or acetylene torch, I have to maintain eye contact with my hand, or I’ll drop it. Every step, every movement is a conscious effort. I want to be left-handed, so there isn’t any muscle memory to lean on. As a result, much of what I do and the process involved are unique to my situation.
Alright, before we go, can you talk to us a bit about how people can work, collaborate, or support you?
Artbyrjhiggins.com is my website. There is a video link on my page to YouTube that tells my story. It’s titled “The Art of Recovery.” Artbyrjhiggins on both Instagram and Facebook. I have a booth at the Saint Augustine Farmers market every Saturday morning from 8:30 to 12:30 at the Saint Augustine Amphitheater on Anastasia Island.
Contact Info:
- Website: Artbyrjhiggins.com
- Instagram: Artbyrjhiggins
- Facebook: Artbyrjhiggins
