Car accident leads to art career

Connie Watts' exhibit Reconciling Self will be on display at the Nanaimo Art Gallery's Vancouver Island University location until September.

image credit: Photo Contributed

The year was 1991 and Connie Watts was working hard to establish herself as an interior designer when a horrific car accident on Vancouver Island changed everything.

[It] stripped me of my ability to see visually, Watts told the News Bulletin. I was an interior designer and I lost everything.

The accident left Watts with multiple skull fractures and caused her to lose about an inch in height.

I had no historical memory. I couldnt write. I couldnt see things in my head like I used to, Watts said. I designed a 10,000 square-foot space and I could see the whole thing in my head, but I couldnt do any of that anymore.

After spending time on herself, Watts decided to attend the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in Vancouver in 1994, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Intermedia. It was during her time at Emily Carr that she began to develop a love for creating art.

Being at Emily Carr youre surrounded by all these artists ... it gave me a venue for building my visual senses back again, Watts said. Art was my way back again.

Since graduation Watts has gone to become a highly respected artist, who has carved her way into art galleries all over North America.

It was a fight to get my brain back, Watts said. When I went into fine art it was a determination to have my mind working the way I wanted it to. I knew I was missing something.

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Car accident leads to art career