About AnA Archives

The Purpose of this Website

Submitting Your Works

About The Web Site Author

The artists featured here live with Handicaps, Disabilities, Chronic, Terminal illnesses and Pain. Also included are Works by our Care Givers, family and friends. The purpose of this site is to present the variety and diverse creativity among us. This is a collection of our art, skills, work and various activities and abilities.

These works represent all Arts and Media, including Poetry, Stories, Paintings, Drawings, photography, Film, Music, Handcrafts, Needlework as well as Sporting/Outdoor activities and Links to a variety of web sites. At the time it was created AnA Archives was the only Disability Culture website specifically devoted to Archiving all types of creative works by folks who live with Disabilities/Handicaps/Chronic Illness and Pain.

Pain is the common ground that brings us together. Yet, we are much more than our handicap, disability or illness. Each of us is creative and has a talent that gives great pride and joy. It is here we share these Labors of Love, our hopes and dreams and celebrate the beauty in each of us. Beauty we each create in pain and in spite of our pain.

Though you may not exactly fit the above descriptions, you may feel you belong here too. But if you feel you do, you are more than welcome to join us and celebrate Disability Culture!

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If you have a story, poetry or other written work you can email it to me. If you have scanned images of your works you may email these also. If they are posted to the web I can pick up the images from your URL. Images (pictures) of your works have to be scanned into digital format to be transferred and used on the Internet. The optimum format is JPEG, but GIF's & PNG's and TIFF's are acceptable. I have the tools to make the most of your images. Please email me if you have a web site and want a link in the AnA.

There are several categories of Works and Links. Each Author/Artist has their own web page for each category they submit to with an email link ( if desired) and a link to their website (if applicable). Each work is credited to the Artist as copyrighted material. Please read our Terms Of Use. Links to web sites are grouped in categories with a brief description and include the websites of the contributing Artists and Authors.

I create the graphics, author the html and maintain the site. There are no fees to participate here. It does require a great deal of work and some expense on my part but I enjoy doing this very much. The works presented here will remain as long as this site exists. You can help me by linking to this website and help maintain and upgrade my equipment with a small donation of at least $1.00 through PayPal with the link below. You do not need a PayPal Account to make a donation.

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My name is Leslie Kelly (aka Lovey K) and - (addendeum 5/25/2007 - am now 47 yeas old. live in San Antonio, Texas with my husband of 26 years and son Joseph. Joseph is home recovering from injuries while in the Navy and will be returning to Service in the next year. My youngest son Matthew, who was born with Downs Syndrome, a congenital heart defect and a hearing impairment passed away quietly in his sleep in May of 2005 from complications of the congenital heart defect. He was 18 years old and a Junior in High School. It was a terrible shock because he had played softball 4 days earlier, he had not had any problems since he had open heart surgery when he was a baby. I cannot begin to tell you what it is like to loose a child, but I am sure there are many of you that do know. I now have to have the old TMJ prosthetics replaced. Titanium joint replacements don't wear out. But the soft tissue and bone around them takes quite a beating. Since 1999 I have developed osteoporosis and in 2001 my hip broke requiring a total hip replacement) I am disabled. My disabilities include chronic pain from Fibromyalgia, bone, and connective tissue diseases and TMJ I had bilateral TMJ total joint replacements after two previous major joint surgeries. Health problems plagued me since childhood, but for various reasons, from being told I had "Growing Pains" and "Its all in your head" when I was a teen to queries such as "Are you pregnant?" and "Did you have a fight with your husband?" in my 20's. These diseases were not treated. In fact, no attempt was made to diagnose them. I just learned to live with the pains and compensated. It all came crashing down on me in 1992 when I was 33 years old.

I worked for another 2 years before losing my job. I was finally awarded SSDI in 1996. Prior to becoming disabled in 1994, I worked for a major shoe manufacturer for 10 years in their engineering and design division. I worked in all phases of development of new product from design to manufacture. Before that a I worked for jewelry manufacturer/wholesaler/retailer as the Pearl Buyer. My duties included buying, sorting and matching pearls for manufacture, I assisted the Diamond buyer sorting and matching Diamonds for manufacture. I was also the In-House Customs Officer clearing all overseas shipments of precious and semiprecious jewels though US Customs. I only worked about 20 years of my life. They were tough years, lots of hours, and of all of the jobs I worked I had to start at the bottom and work my way up, but I loved it and it was great. I believe I worked so hard to keep my mind off the pain. But it eventually caught up with me.

New people I meet ask me where I work. When I tell them I don't they reply "It must be nice." It isn't. I still miss being able to work and regret I can no longer provide for my family. I often feel lost because I still have the talent and ideas that got me ahead before. When we hooked up to the internet in 1996 perhaps I didn't miss the long hours my job demanded and loved being with my children. But no one told me when they said "Go home now, be a Mom." it would only be a short 10 years. I am fortunate to be be well cared for by excellent doctors and have I have learned to live with the help of pain meds and I compensate.

In August 1997 my husband brought home a graphics application and an HTML editor. I taught myself how to use them. I handcode this websites rather than use website building applications to K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple. This ensures the website will render well in any browser and is easy to use.

I started this web site in October 1997. I, like many others, wanted to do something to help others. There are many fine web sites offering resources and self help, I did not want to duplicate the efforts of these people. I decided to explore the creative side and Celebrate disability Culture! So this is my work, a labor of love. It is my intention this web site will become a place that will be enjoyable to visit and participate in. A place of sharing and to express ourselves creatively. Since this web site depends on the creative works of others for it's content, this web site is not mine per se, but "ours".

Personally, I feel the internet has provided a tremendous breakthrough for those of us who are home bound by disabilities, handicaps and chronic illnesses. It has enabled us to interact in real time with other people - the entire world in fact - where as before we were limited to those at home and in the doctors office. It has also opened a world of information that never existed before. I believe the disabled and Handicapped community will be, if not already, a powerful voice in shaping the future of the internet.

With this in mind this web site adheres to current specifications for HTML as defined by the WWW Consortium (W3C) and guidelines for accessible HTML documents as defined by the W3C's WWW Accessibility Initiative (WAI). The WWW has definitely improved my quality of life and it is my goal to eliminate all barriers making that would make it difficult for anyone to participate and enjoy the Works presented here.

If you have any questions, comments, compliments, complaints or suggestions please email me.

Kindest of regards,
Lovey K
November 28, 1998