Paralyzed artist paints with mind alone

Language weak, but point is strong.

http://goo.gl/1P3dL

Heide Pfüetzner calls her 2007 diagnosis with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, a "personal catastrophe." Six years later, she's celebrating a personal triumph as an exhibit of her paintings, all created by her mind controlling a computer, makes its debut.

The exhibit, titled "Brain on Fire," opened Friday on Easdale, a small island off the west coast of Scotland. Visitors to the Easdale Island Hall there will see vibrantly colored digital paintings created by the paralyzed artist using a computer program that lets her control digital brushes, shapes, and colors by concentrating on specific points on the screen.

"For the first time, this project gives me the opportunity to show the world that the ALS has not been the end of my life," Pfüetzner says on the Startnext crowdfunding page where she exceeded her $6,500 goal for mounting an exhibit in Easdale. Pfüetzner's daughter lives on the island; the longtime painter visited often before her illness and considers it one of her favorite destinations.