IUS student looking forward to commercial art career

Painting, photography,
digital art are honing a natural ability for expression

Katherine L. Sears
Although physically challenged, Thaniel Lee, a fine arts major at IU Southeast, finds a way to perform intricate digital art work.

"I always find a way to do something. I’m kind of stubborn that way," Lee said.

Lee was born with arthrogroposis, a congenital malformation of the limbs, which left him without biceps, no knee caps and without the muscles needed to straighten his legs. He has limited use of one arm, is unable to straighten out his hands and can only move certain fingers to grip objects.

However, Lee has used such physical limitations as a means for unleashing his artistic talents. He often uses his own body as the subject matter for his digital art designs.

In addition to his new-found knack for photo designing, Lee paints in acrylics by grasping the brush with his teeth. He paints at home in his bedroom using an old workbench for work space. One of his paintings of flowers was featured on a greeting card produced by VSAI (Very Special Arts Indiana), which is a state affiliate of Very Special Arts, a national organization that coordinates arts programs for people with disabilities. Lee lives in New Albany with his parents, Michael and Valerie Lee, and his younger sister, Laura.

Lee’s images feature body parts, such as his hands which are metamorphosed into images of nature, such as tree branches. He photographed his face with a digital camera and used Adobe Photoshop to mesh colors into abstract imagery. The method blends both realism and abstract imagery for a surreal vision.

Marilyn Whitesell, a fine arts professor, is helping Lee expand upon his photography skills through an apparatus she built to hold his new camera in place. The camera’s shutter is then activated from a remote connected to a cable

For his hand images, Lee actually scans his own hands to create the foundation image in Photoshop and then manipulates and connects other images that appear to be naturally attached to his hands.

In contrast to his natural tendency toward artistic thinking, Lee originally intended to major in sociology. However, he "thought it was a tad too clinical." He then chose his first love, which allows him to embark upon social themes if he desires.

Succeeding in a printing class motivated Lee to pursue other art courses. Unable to drive, Lee rides a public bus to the New Albany campus for his classes.


The digital art (above) is the work of Thaniel Lee, a student at IU Southeast, who uses his own hands to create a foundation image that metamorphoses into images of nature. Thaniel is a disabled student who has limited use of one hand. He also paints, using his mouth to hold the brush, and is pursuing an interest in photography. What’s ahead? Lee hopes to pursue a career in commercial art.

He finds that every art class he has taken at IUS instills more knowledge to help him master the basics of creativity. "I learn a little bit of everything from every teacher that I have," he said.

Currently, Lee said he enjoys learning more about digital art in his printing class, taught by Debra Clem. Marilyn Whitesell, associate professor of fine arts, is also working with Lee to help him organize his best pieces for his professional portfolio. She said she will help raise funds and generate grants on Lee’s behalf to help him print his work on large archival canvases to preserve them in a more permanent format.

In addition, Whitesell is helping Lee expand upon his photography skills through an apparatus she built to hold his new camera in place. Whitesell purchased a special harness—inspired from seeing them wrapped around drummers marching in the Rose Bowl parade—from a music store to secure a mini-tripod onto Lee’s shoulders. Lee then activates the camera’s shutter from a remote connected to a cable.

"We have a very good person here, and we have an opportunity to get more people like Thaniel taking classes here," Whitesell said. "The difference with Thaniel is, he is a very good artist."

Lee said his goal is to pursue commercial art with a concentration on magazine advertisements.

http://homepages.ius.edu/LZ/TLEE/web_docs/