It takes a dark humor to be able to laugh your way through pain and sickness.

But it also takes talent, hope and dreams to be able to create art the way Justine Winter does.

The 24-year-old Nipomo resident was diagnosed two years ago with Crohn's disease, a chronic disorder that causes inflammation of the digestive tract, but she has had digestive tract problems for most of her life.

Every five weeks, Winter heads to the doctor's office for a chemotherapy infusion in an attempt to treat the ulcers throughout her colon.

The treatments make her ill, and Crohn's disease often makes her joints swell and ache until she has pain similar to arthritis.

Although people with Crohn's often go through periods of flare-ups and times of remission, Winter said she hasn't yet gone through the relief of no symptoms.

“It kinda sucks,” said Winter with a wry smile. “I'm sick all the time, and everyone is frustrated.”

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But while describing her disease, she manages to sprinkle in a generous amount of humor that keeps the reality of it at bay.

Crohn's disease can occur in people of all ages, but it is more often diagnosed in people between the ages of 15 to 35, according to the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America.

Winter lives with her parents in Nipomo while attending Hancock College part-time through online classes. She has no plans to graduate and realizes it would take a special employer to approve her sick time.

Any type of stress exacerbates her condition, so Winter cannot drive a vehicle and is mostly homebound.

It would be assumed, then, that Winter's art would reflect some of the pain, frustration and anger that anyone would feel in her situation.

But the fun, whimsical designs on her carefully crafted ceramic art prove that the opposite is true.

A collection of her ceramics displayed at the Branch Nipomo Library at 918 W. Tefft St. showed detailed yet fanciful illustrations.

Winter said she gravitates toward bright colors and finds inspiration in fashion, fabrics and French art.

There was a candle wax holder in the display that had splashes of red and

yellow with cursive words in black written around it, and there were bowls with painted tangerines, cherries or strawberries.

Her new, unfinished clay pieces are shaped into miniature fruit pies and the “crust” doubles as a lid.

“I enjoy the glazing and the details,” Winter said. “It's actually relaxing and it keeps my mind off of other stuff.”

She has been creating ceramic art and painting since her junior year at Arroyo Grande High School, but she's since had to stop using the wheel to mold the clay because of her symptoms.

And as much as she likes having the clay in her hands, the pain in her joints often slows her progress.

“I just have to hope that if I focus on art, something will come up for me,” Winter said.

There is no secret that keeps her creating beautiful things or fighting against depression, she said. She just does, because for today, she can.

January 6, 2009