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WHO AM I?
My name is Michael Kirk and I'm a pencil artist living in Pickens County Alabama. Many people know of my work, but most of them don't know that I draw in black and white because I have trouble seeing color. I have a condition known as anomalous trichormacy, which is a fancy way of saying I am not totally colorblind, seeing the world in black and white, but, rather, I'm color deficient. My specific condition is known as Deuteranomaly or "weak green" vision.
People like me refer to our type of colorblindness as "color confusion" because that most accurately describes what it is. Even though I can't see green like I should, it affects my other colors as you can see in the simulated image below:
Seeing the world this way creates some frustration from time to time. Purples can look blue. Greens can look brown. Even a red stop sign can blend in with the green trees behind it and trying to tell which traffic light is illuminated can be an outright guess in certain lighting conditions.
One of my first artistic experiments was with colorizing old black and white photos. I knew I could be a little confused by colors, but at the time I had no idea I had a type of color deficiency and bravely colored a few photos, trying to be as accurate as I could. When I showed them off, people told me I had chosen a pink that was much too bright for someone's lips or that I had chosen a bright green instead of yellow. I haven't recolored any photos since then because I was embarrassed to make so many mistakes.
I later learned I was truly colorblind while browsing t-shirts on the Internet one day. I found a picture of a shirt with a bunch of differently colored green circles on it, but I didn't get why it was supposed to be funny. Upon reading the comments, I learned that it was styled after an Ishihara test and that normal people could read the caption: "F*** the Color Blind." I was unable to read it. :(
After that harsh revelation, I decided to test myself and found some real Ishihara test patterns to confirm my fears. Yes. I was color blind. In a way I was disappointed, but at the same time relieved to finally have an explanation why I got so confused by color. I wasn't dumb. It wasn't because I didn't pay enough attention. It wasn't my nearsightedness or glasses. I just couldn't see color like everyone else. It was vindication. It was closure. And I accepted it (I had no choice).
Back when I first learned I was color blind/color deficient, there was not much anyone could do about it, but then I saw a video on FaceBook of a color blind man seeing the color of his children's eyes for the first time and I was fascinated. His family had given him a pair of, what appeared to be sunglasses, as a gift and he could see new colors with them. What he saw moved him to tears. I wanted to see color like that! Itching to know more, I researched the video and that was when I first learned about Enchroma glasses.
WHAT IS ENCHROMA?
Enchroma glasses are an optical assistive device; they are not a cure for color blindness. Results vary depending on the type and extent of color vision deficiency per individual. The glasses are estimated to be effective for 4 out of 5 cases (80%) of red-green color vision deficiency – prospective users are encouraged to take our online color vision test to assess the likelihood of efficacy. Enchroma does not endorse use of the glasses to pass occupational screening tests such as the Ishihara test. For more information please read the FAQs , learn about the Enchroma technology and story , or contact customer support .
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WHY I NEED YOUR HELP.
Because Enchroma glasses are new to the market and because of my nearsightedness (I have to order a custom prescription), I cannot afford the cost to get my own pair easily. A basic pair costs $350 or more (depending on frame type/model) and a prescription fee is $150.
If enough people help me get the frames I want, I can cover the prescription fee. I appreciate you taking the time to read all the way down here to the bottom. I hope to reach my goal before Autumn or Christmas so I can see all the different colors of the trees and the decorations of the holiday season.
Thank you for your time. :)
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