Kelley Clink

November, So Long plus, a little Something Good

Some thoughts on goodbye season, a butt-ton of #polaroids, a #zine round up, and more!

#polaroidphotography #instantfilm #blogging

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INVERNESS-MAIN CONSTRUCTION PARTNERS PROPOSAL TO SECURE ALTGELD GARDENS (excerpt) It could happen.

It could happen.

Mama Bear a metaphor/allegory/emotional memoir/absolutely true tale of being a chronically ill, disabled parent

For my #midlifecrisis, I’m turning into a #bear.

#fiction #fictionwriting #flashfiction #motherhood #parenthood #chronicillness #disabledparent

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A grid of 9 Polaroids of various fall scenes, including bright yellow trees, crabapple berries, silhouettes of branches, and prairie plants gone to seed.

Some seasonal #Polaroids and a #poem at extrasoftanimal.com

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A stack of zines fanned out. The cover reads “Fearfully Made: a chillingly incomplete tour of my chronically ill body, by Kelley Clink.” There are silhouette drawings of bats and rats.

I made a spooky #zine about my chronically ill body! Thanks to @crucialcomix.bsky.social and the chronic illness comics club. Open to trades!
#hallozine #chronicillness #disability #ehlersdanlos #heds

kelleyclink.com/shop-1

A line drawing of a small frog saying “Hey.”

Same small frog, now joined by slightly larger frog, saying “You did it.”

A giant toad has been drawn behind the two small frogs, and they’re saying “Congrats.”

I did a thing I was proud of, so I made a little #comic to celebrate. Then I wrote a whole essay about celebration. TLDR: if you don’t do it, the fascists win.

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It’s Fitbit—I have a charge 5 that tracks a bunch of data. It’s very helpful for pacing. (When I listen to it 😂😭)

Whistling when ICE is about to kidnap someone for no reason is incredibly effective. They know what they are doing is wrong and will scatter in the wind when too many witnesses gather.

A screen shot of my daily readiness numbers falling from 100 to sixteen in a matter of 4 days.

Me, in early October: “Huh, I’m actually feeling pretty good this year!”

#OctoberSlide: ”Hold my beer…”

#chronicillness #chronicfatigue #chronicpain #disability #heds #eds #ehlersdanlos #neis #neisvoid

😂 it is a great song tho!

A photograph of a gray manual typewriter with a pink sheet of paper on which I’ve typed an essay and done some illustrations.

I turned my latest blog post into a newsletter #zine! #snailmail #writing #disability #chronicillness

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(Extra) Soft Animal | Patreon Life with Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos

For those who don't do Substack, I am slowly dipping a toe into #Patreon. Please follow! Writing about #art #disability #chronicillness and everything in between. Posts are free. #eds #ehlersdanlos #chronicpain #cci #heds #neisvoid www.patreon.com/cw/ExtraSoft...

An illustration with the outline of the city of Chicago, the south and west sides covered in native wildflowers, and the words Re-Fund the Community

September’s “Something Good” is all about #community.

#resistance #art #writing #joy #chronicillness #disability #eds #ehlersdanlos #neis #neisvoid
#chicago

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New essay about #chronicillness and #suicidality for #suicidepreventionmonth. There are #possums involved.

open.substack.com/pub/kelleycl...

#suicideprevention #suicidesurvivor #disability #mentalhealth #disabledartist #chronicillnesscomics

Looking at you @govpritzker.illinois.gov

A piece of paper that has been typed on with a typewriter. There are several attempts to type the phrase “it has been hard to think lately,” and each attempt is full of mistakes. Two attempts have been abandoned.

Hello #brainfog my old friend...

#spoonie #chronicillness #neis #neisvoid #heds #eds #ehlersdanlos #pots

Thanks for the rec! I’ve been meaning to do it forever and keep forgetting 😭 #brainfog

An omron home blood pressure machine with a reading of 77/64, HR 111

I would like to take a shower, but I don’t think I actually can.

#spoonie #neis #neisvoid #heds #chronicillness #disability #disabled #ehlersdanlos #pots

SANCTORA, INC. ANNOUNCES FIRST EVER CHILD BORN WITH LAB-GROWN HUMAN DNA It could happen.

“With more than thirty-thousand embryos of varying gestational age stored in Sanctora’s vaults across Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi, it is crucial that more parents take advantage of early-stage pricing for implantation of their DNA in Vessels.”

A collage on a failed Polaroid. A large yellow sunflower takes up most of the frame. In the top left corner is the black silhouette of a sunflower, partially covering the yellow one. You can see sky and trees in the areas not covered by the flowers

Every month I write a letter to @margaretatwood.bsky.social. This month it’s about #sunflowers, existential dread, and refusing to give up.

#hope #writing #polaroid #instantfilm #instantphotography #collage

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A four panel comic that features pencil drawings of my body from different angles, and reads “reminder: your body is not a problem to be solved. It’s a home to return to, again and again.”

#chronicillnesscomic #disabilitycomic #disabilitypride #disability #chronicpain #eds #heds #ehlersdanlos #disabledartist #comic #comics #neis #neisvoid

A drawing of my shoulder, throat, jaw, ear and hair, with the words “reminder: your body is not a problem”

A drawing of my bent legs, hips, and stomach, with my hand resting on my stomach, with the words “to be solved.”

A drawing of my torso and head from behind, with the words “it’s a home to return to”

A drawing of my torso and lower face from the front, my hand resting gently on my chest. The text reads: “again and again”

A #chronicillness #comic for #disabilitypridemonth

Salonpas lidocaine cream on the occipital area helps me, as does cefaly and occipital nerve blocks. Good luck!

My side garden, squeezed between a brick wall and a hedge. Very tall purple bell flowers tangled with something yellow from the rudbeckia family, not sure exactly what.

A very small baby cotton tail rabbit, ears perked, next to some droopy upright prairie coneflowers (yellow)

Selfie of my legs, seated in a chair next to the garden. I’m wearing black compression leg sleeves and coral crocs

Photo of my garden. Purple coneflowers and lavender bergamot in foreground, more coneflowers and yellow brown eyed Susan’s in background.

An essay about #gardening (and #grief). Also: all these pictures of #flowers!

#nativegardening #wildflowers #suicideloss #suicidesurvivor #suicidegrief #griefrecovery

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😂😂😂

Looking for other #disabledartists and creators to follow! Drop a comment if that’s you.

#disabled #disabilitypride #disabilityawareness #disabilitypridemonth #chronicillness #chronicallyillcreators

That’s so lovely! It’s such a relief when people get it

A three panel vertical comic. Panel 1: Pain Banana in pink letters on an orange background. Panel 2: a drawing of an anthropomorphic banana holding a cup of coffee and a briefcase, the banana is wearing glasses and dress shoes. Text reads: one time a guided meditation app told me to picture my pain as an object. I think the point was to let it know it could take a break or something. I don’t remember exactly, it was a while ago. Anyway, I pictured a banana showing up for work. Panel 3: a drawing of a banana wearing a lei, holding a coconut drink and tote bag, and wearing sunglasses and sandals. Text: now when my pain gets really bad I picture work banana and send them on vacation, and I’m cured! Just kidding. I do think it helps, though. It’s hard to take a banana too seriously.

A pencil drawing of a snail with a brain on its back instead of a shell. The brain is thinking, “wait for me!!!”

Some #chronicillness #comics for #disabilitypridemonth! More at open.substack.com/pub/kelleycl...

Thanks to @crucialcomix.bsky.social and @zareenc.bsky.social !

#disability #neis #neisvoid #ehlersdanlos #eds #heds #chronicpain #humor #brainfog

A pencil drawing of a rabbit sitting with their eyes closed, words above them read “it’s ok to do less”

Pencil drawing of a rabbit sleeping on their side, with the words “all bodies”

Pencil drawing of two sleeping rabbits cuddled together, with the words “need rest.”

All three drawings put together in one panel.

A #chronicillness #comic that applies to everyone, as #disabilityjustice so often does. #neis #neisvoid #eds #heds #disability #ehlersdanlos #comics #chronicillnesscomics @crucialcomix.bsky.social

open.substack.com/pub/kelleycl...

Happy birthday to me and Gary Busey! I celebrated with a list of 46 good things. Number 39 was #polaroidphotography of course.

#writing #blogging #photography #instantphotography #film #instantfilm #polaroid #sx70

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