During hyperbaric chamber sessions, the hours are long. But time certainly flies for those creating, which is why one artist decided to sketch her fellow patients and is now turning sessions into free art classes!
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (17 January 2025) — An artist who doubles as a hyperbaric chamber patient (or as she puts it, ‘inmate’) has started doing something wonderfully creative to pass the time of her sessions—sketching her fellow patients and teaching them how to draw.
Carol Hayward Fell began drawing her fellow patients and friends earlier this month.
“We sit inside together for 2 hours every day in only cotton clothes, no devices or watches, jewellery or shoes with metal. We all wear a tight fitting neck collar with a ring, to which are attached a clear plastic hood, so we can breathe in the 100% oxygen that is piped into our hoods,” Carol explains.
“Some of us read; today I tried drawing and the time flew by.”
An oil painting and drawing teacher already, Carol knows firsthand that time never passes as quickly for creatives as when they are working.
She soon began sharing more of her sketches from the chamber with others on social media as they were created. People were fascinated by the experience, captured by the emotions and curious to gain this kind of perspective as to what life ‘on the inside’ is like, especially considering that no cell phones can capture the sessions.
After the first few sketches, Carol decided that she would start teaching others the art of sketching in a bid to help them pass the time with a little more joy, too.
“Somewhat hampered by all wearing our plastic hoods which reduce vision, AND hearing the sound of our own breathing inside the hood, I managed to communicate,” Carol shared of her first session as teacher.
“[The students] did well under these daft conditions and later we moved onto drawing a horse!”
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“The sound of our laughter inside the chamber today was a sharp contrast to other days. Our individual circumstances might be pretty ghastly; amputees and others like myself with slow-healing wounds, stroke victims, but there’s absolutely no reason to be a miserable bunch of zombies!”
The artist has also since drawn kind staff members who are also picking up some new creative skills.
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