After years of working in a small south-facing passive solar garden
shed, I moved into my dream studio last fall. However, I began to
have some problems seeing fine details in my work and initially wrote
it off to the softer lighting my new north-facing studio offers. When
brighter task lighting and increased magnification didn’t help, I
went to my eye doctor, and have just been diagnosed with cataracts at
the relatively young age of 52. There was no evidence of these in my
previous exam three years ago, and my doctor had no explanation why I
should be developing them so soon.
At the moment, I’m still in shock, and don’t really know what the
implications for this are in regard to my work and business.
Eventually, when the cataracts have matured enough, I will undergo
surgery to remove them, but in the mean time, I have to figure out
how to continue my work. My opthamologist recommended increasing
the overall light level at my bench as a way to buy time.
My questions to you good Orchid folks are these:
-
Have any of you found yourselves in my situation? If so, how did
you deal with it, and how did you continue to work as long as your
vision allowed? -
Can you recommend a lamp producing very bright light suitable for
bench work that doesn’t generate a lot of heat? -
Are (early) cataracts common among our trade? If so, what factors
seem to be causative?
Thanks for your help. Feel free to write off list if you prefer.
Walk in Beauty,
Susannah Ravenswing
Jewels of the Spirit
Germanton, NC