Passion can sometimes motivate a person to overcome even the most disheartening of obstacles.
When artist Mariam Paré was 20 years old and at the beginning of her painting career, an unlikely accident threatened her life along with her ability to express her creativity.
"Somebody was shooting a gun and it hit the car I was driving," Paré tells WXIA in the video above. "I was struck in my back between my shoulder blades and my neck and I was instantly paralyzed."
However, Paré refused to give up her painting. During her rehabilitation, she needed to sign a form by holding a pen between her teeth, and she realized her signature looked identical to what was once her handwriting, reported USA Today. Paré's discovery inspired her to try painting again with a similar methodology, and she spent the following eight years working to get back to where she was in her craft before the shooting, according to DNA Info.
Almost two decades later, Paré is still painting incredible works of art -- all by holding a paintbrush gently in her mouth and making careful, measured strokes. She makes a living as an artist in Naperville, Illinois, and her collection of three pieces reflecting on her experience with gun violence debuted at the Next Door Cafe in Chicago's Lincoln Park earlier this month.
Watch the video above to see Paré's amazing painting technique.
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