Published: September 14, 2009 08:55 am      

Gainesville artist spreads hope through cards

Her mother loved her and wanted to protect her from the world.

Her sister loved her and wanted the world to love her, too.

Today, 42 year old Carolyn Leslie is creating her own identity and sharing her love for God and others through her art work.

Life hasn’t been easy for Carolyn.

Born with Down Syndrome and struck with a kidney disorder which eventually led to a (successful) kidney transplant, the petite woman with soft brown hair is polite and unfailingly sweet. She also loves sparkly jewelry, drawing and watching the Texas Rangers.

“You can ask her anything you want to know about the Rangers,” her friend Carol Kiesel said. “She’s a big Ranger fan.”

She also said she loves watching ESPN Sports Center to keep up with the world of major league baseball.

Cherished and protected by her mother in her hometown of Duncan, Okla., Carolyn moved to Gainesville to live with her sister and brother-in-law when her mother died 12 years ago.

That’s when the changes began.

“Carolyn’s mother had protected her, but Kem knew she had to do what was best for Carolyn. She just pushed her out into the world,” Kiesel said during a recent interview at Whaley United Methodist Church.

Leslie volunteered to work in a Callisburg ISD cafeteria where she enjoyed meeting the school children.

She also helps coordinate bereavement dinners for church members.

“She is just my best helper,” Kiesel said.

Leslie is a natural at comforting those who are grieving.

“I tell them that I love them and that Jesus loves them and that (their family member) is with Jesus now,” Leslie said.

Lately, the soft-spoken woman is moving in a new direction.

She discovered her talent for colored pencil drawing about a year ago.

Since then, she donated some of her work to Whaley United Methodist Church projects including the church’s annual youth auction.

She said she uses her love for the Lord as inspiration for her drawings.

“I love Jesus. The Lord makes me do this work,” Leslie said.

Her first donated picture — a drawing of Jesus contemplating his crucifixion — fetched a good price at the youth auction.

It also got Leslie and her church friends to thinking they might use the artwork to help another Whaley member — University of North Texas student April Wyatt.

Wyatt — who was profiled in a previous Register story — become ill several years ago with a central nervous system disease that baffled her doctors and left her partially paralyzed.

Undaunted, Wyatt was determined to live a normal life including earning a college degree.

She and her mother moved into a dorm room on the North Central Texas College campus where Wyatt completed basic course work and consistently made the President’s honor roll.

At her NCTC graduation this spring, the audience gave Wyatt a standing ovation.

Now Wyatt and her mother — who attends classes to assist her daughter — are living near the University of North Texas where Wyatt plans to earn a degree in emergency management.

“She hopes to works for an organization like FEMA,” Kiesel said.

Wyatt’s church family at Whaley has been a part of her journey almost from the beginning.

The church even helped Wyatt go to Johns Hopkins Hospital.

“She was treated by Christopher Reeve’s doctor,” Kiesel said.

She is reportedly regaining some function in her limbs and hopes to walk again thanks to physical therapy.

Still, church members realize Wyatt and her mother could use some assistance with college and living expenses.

Leslie said she hopes the sale of the cards will help April reach her educational goals and if more cards are required, that’s not a problem.

“I can draw more pictures any time,” she said.

Kiesel said Leslie’s life as a Christian is a testament to the power of true faith.

“Carolyn has a closeness to Jesus that is evident in everything she does. She is so close to him, she said she can sometimes feel his presence like a wisp beside her. That’s how she knows he’s right there with her,” she said.