ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – From the moment her pencil hits the paper, Kelcee Yazzie never loses a smile, as she draws the subjects of her art.
“Cause everyone needs to smile, and you want to make someone smile,” said Kelcee Yazzie.
Just looking at every fine line, and each carefully shaded face in her artwork, you’d never know… Kelsee is quadriplegic.
“I didn’t even have a single tear or anything, cause I didn’t know what was going on,” said Yazzie.
After a bad car accident in 2010, the 29-year-old lost almost all control of her body.
“I started to draw on my tummy with my palms together like this,” she said.
It’s a sight you have to see, to believe. With a pencil nestled between her wrists, Yazzie uses her skill to create unbelievable works of art.
A nurse at the AMG Specialty Hospital in Albuquerque introduced her to Frida Khalo, not long after her accident.
“If she could do it, I could do it,” said Yazzie.
Most of her work is done in shades of grey, except one piece that she drew in color — of actor Christopher Reeve, physicist Stephen Hawking, and herself, all standing.
“We all ended up in wheelchairs, but really, I will forever see us as still standing,” she said.
And that’s how she chooses to live her life- with an upbeat attitude, bolstered by a smile, and her pencil.
“I bring joy to people with my drawings and that’s what keeps me going,” said Yazzie.
Her work is displayed in offices at the AMG Specialty Hospital for people to enjoy.
By: Rebecca Atkins Copyright 2018 KRQE via CNN. All rights reserved.