We are so excited that the Postcards to Doctors Initiative sent more than 6,000 postcards to physicians across the United States! We’d like to take this opportunity to recognize one of #MEAction’s Postcards to Doctors amazing artists, Emily Lawton.

After she was diagnosed with ME at the age of fifteen, Emily used the process of creating art as “a tool to distract [herself]” from the way that she felt. However, art soon became much more than just a distraction. 

When she turned 16, Emily started the ‘16 Project’, in which she would create a new piece of artwork every day for one year.   Emily says that the goal of the 16 Project was to create something new each day, no matter what; this could be anything from a small doodle on a sticky note to a large canvas painting. “It didn’t matter what it was, as long as I was creating,” Emily says.

The goal of her project was “ to feel like [she] had gotten something out of the day,” to “avoid the feeling that [she] had done nothing.” On the days when Emily needed to rest more, she would do so, and ‘catch up’ on the days that she had more energy.

Currently, Emily has recovered from ME, and since then has continued to make time for her artwork. Emily’s art is unique in that she does not title any of her pieces. “I don’t want [the] title to influence what an individual might receive from it,” she says.  Emily considers her art to be abstract and hopes that when a person looks at it, they have a unique experience that is not influenced by her own view of the piece. 

Recently, Emily launched a website that features her creations. If you would like to see more of Emily Lawton’s original artwork, order prints, or make a donation, please visit www.erl-art.com. You can also follow her on Instagram (@erly_riser) to stay up to date on her artwork. 

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A huge thank-you again to Emily and to all who submitted their artwork to Postcards to Doctors! Thank you for helping to make this initiative such a success.