Name/Title
Morning Tweets - Pearl Pooner - Mission PlazaDescription
Pearl is a survivor. She is finally home again after five surgeries, five months in the hospital and one month in a coma. During her recovery, with two sheets of white paper and a pen, Pearl slowly tried to gain control of her fingers by drawing shapes. Circles at first, then triangles and finally her toy dog. The work she is creating now is inspired by the dreams she had while in the hospital.
Growing up in San Francisco as a mixed-race child, she suffered discrimination and “ugliness.” Doing art was a way to bring something beautiful into her home. Her mother, who was raised with art in Mexico and an uncle who told her, “You have a creative mind,” inspired Pearl to draw. Her father gave her a Playboy Magazine so she could study figure drawing. She kept the magazine under her bed so her brothers wouldn’t find it.
Pearl took art classes at City College, but had to give up studying for many years while she worked and raised a family. She began painting again just a few years ago. Now, she carries with her the two white sheets of paper from her hospital days. Although she is in pain much of the time, the crude drawings remind her that she is a survivor and an artist.
