As I was preparing for an upcoming show I had to fill out some forms.  Funny how it seems perfectly natural now to write Gary and Gabrielle Bachers .....we come as a package deal. Gary lost the ability to converse or to put his thoughts into written word when he had his stroke.....really hard to understand or make sense of.   Expressive aphasia is frustrating and limiting on so many levels and he has lived like this for 34 years.
His incredible patience in dealing with his losses always amazes me. 
​His art has become his language.

​I posted this on social media a few months go and just wanted it to save it in this new blog as well.   
A portrait of the artist and his "voice."
Many of you that follow Gary's work on social media may not know that I am Gabrielle.......his voice for the past 34 years.......and you'll always find me beside Gary ...... I speak for him and I write for him.
When there is a post by Gary....... it's me.
When you get an email from Gary.....it's me

In 1987 ...... in a matter of seconds his life changed.
He could not speak and he could not write...he was isolated.
He could not communicate.
He had a hemorrhagic stroke.

Very slowly he learned a new language that gave him a voice.....the language of art.

Today, he continues his art and I continue to be his voice.

This morning as I'm framing Gary's work for a show next week, my mind keeps wandering back over the past 34 years .  This journey of our life in retrospect is nothing we planned for or imagined. It's been a struggle, challenging and exasperating at times......lonely and isolated at times.   Gary, from the beginning, was determined and very much committed to perfecting his style.   His struggle in the initial years after his debilitating stroke were especially challenging, but more about that later.   
Welcome to this little blog ... the backside of our life.

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