Artist with cerebral palsy paints as an expression of faith, ministry and charity

Oct 29, 2023

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Erin Diericx lives with cerebral palsy, but the affliction doesn’t inhibit her artistic flair. Above, Diericx, 40, works on a Christmas-themed painting as she paints with acrylics. Her paint room in her house, “E’s Messy Space,” has paint splatters all over the wall behind where she usually sits on rubber floor mats.

When artist Erin Diericx – or E, as she prefers to be called – paints, she sits on the floor, and more often than not, makes a mess.

Her paint room in her house, “E’s Messy Space,” has paint splatters all over the wall behind where she usually sits on rubber floor mats.

She even has a sink on the floor so she has access to water while she paints.

With a paint brush in one hand, she uses the other hand to keep the painting hand from flailing and flinging paint where she doesn’t want it to go.

Some of Erin Diericx’s paintings are sprinkled about her Lecanto home.

Some days, it’s just not happening, and she does something else.

“I have cerebral palsy, which affects muscle control and my speech,” she said, using her Tobii Dynavox TD Pilot, a speech-generating communication device that uses eye control.

To talk, or write an email or search the web or do anything online, E uses her eyes to “type.”

Conversation is slow this way, and also tiring.

A funny phrase on Erin Diericx's wall keeps the mood light in her studio.

“It’s a whole different muscle group that you use; you have to focus,” she said. “I have to take breaks, but I really use it for everything.”

She said when she was younger, long before technological help with communication, she would talk and her younger brother was her translator.

If you spend enough time with her and concentrate, you can learn to understand her speech.

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At 40, E is an artist and also a seminary student working on a Sacred Master of Theology degree from Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Wisconsin.

She already has a Masters degree in New Testament from Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in marketing from the University of Wisconsin.

Beckie Murdock, left, assists Erin Diericx with a hair dryer Friday afternoon as they work to dry the acrylic paint used in a painting. To view or purchase E’s artwork, go online at www.esmessygallery.com. She also has a small selection on Etsy.com as “EsMessyGallery.” She hopes to return to the Market at the Depot on first and third Saturdays when the the temperatures get cooler.

She lives in her own home, with the help of caregivers – neighbors and friends, like next-door neighbor Beckie Murdock.

“She’s pretty amazing with all she can do, and she’s smarter than all of us,” Murdock said.

Erin Diericx flashes her smile toward Beckie Murdock Friday afternoon, July 28, as she works on a Christmas-themed painting.

E, who grew up in Wisconsin, came to Florida in 2009 after her dad, mom and stepdad moved here.

“I started painting when I was in college,” she said. “I’ve taken a few workshops, but it’s mostly trial and error.”

Each Friday Erin Diericx works from her Lecanto home on original paintings.

For E, painting is spiritual. As she paints, she prays. Painting is ministry.

She paints as Erin, or E, but she also paints as NATErin, in memory of her soul mate, Nate, her friend who was also in a wheelchair.

“He died eight years ago,” she said. “I met him when I was 3 years old, and we were constant until I was 18, and then (years later) we reunited through Facebook.

“It was a miracle that he was still alive,” she said. “I grew up knowing he could die at any time, even from a cold.”

She started painting as NATErin to work out her grief, she said.

Erin Diericx has a large supply of well-used brushes used to paint her creations.

“I feel him around when I paint,” she said.

The NATErin paintings always contain a gold “bird of peace,” and they are always a gift, never for sale.

“That’s part of my ministry,” she said.

“I did one of a couple who lost their 8-month-old child,” she said. “When I paint, I feel whoever has passed away.”

This past year, E has begun a new project she calls Sowing Peace.

“Last fall I met a young family who are Ukrainian refugees; the wife works for me as a personal caregiver,” she said. “After meeting her and her young daughter, I painted a blue and yellow sunflower and had a pin designed from the painting.

“Now I sell pins, stickers, keychains and necklaces with the Sowing Peace sunflower. All the proceeds go to Operation Mobilization, specifically to the program that helps Ukrainian refugees,” she said.

“I painted the Sowing Peace logo as a way to process Russia’s invasion into Ukraine,” she said. “It still doesn’t make sense to me. When I met my (Ukrainian) neighbor, I was excited about learning about her culture and about how we are alike.

“These are people that have everyday lives, and then one day they’re running for their lives,” she said.

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E also has a passion for what she calls “disability theology,” and educating church leaders about ways to include people with disabilities in the worship service and the work of the church.

“Disability theology is about seeing everyone in the image of God, no matter their disabilities,” she said.

“Jesus is the disabled God when he was beaten and crucified,” she said. “Jesus shows Thomas his wounds when he is resurrected.”

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In a blog post, E wrote about her calling. Her Master’s thesis from Luther Seminary was based on John 9, “the healing of the blind man” story, and focused on the healing process.

“Throughout my whole life, I have been prayed over for healing because I have cerebral palsy … I use an electric wheelchair to get around. To the naked eye, I appear to be unhealed: I cannot walk,” she wrote.

“What people have really been asking God to do is cure me of the cerebral palsy. However, if you had known me for any length of time, you would know I have gotten stronger, and more independent and wise, closer to the Triune God in my ‘old age.’

“This is how healing is defined,” she wrote. “I may never be cured to truly walk without assistance, but I have still experienced healing in three key dimensions: physical, psychosocial and spiritual.”

She believes that even though her body has limits, her spirit does not, and that her ministry is “still unfolding.”

To view or purchase E’s artwork, go online at www.esmessygallery.com. She also has a small selection on Etsy.com as “EsMessyGallery.”

She hopes to return to the Market at the Depot on first and third Saturdays when the the temperatures get cooler.

Email: [email protected].

Nancy Kennedy can be reached at 352-564-2927 or by email at [email protected].

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