Tami Newton

Meet Tami Newton, owner of Art Works by Tami in Wixom, Michigan.

A 1979 graduate of Milford high school where her favorite class was art, Tami (Caswell) took that singular art education experience and turned her life-long passion into a business.

“I have struggled with epilepsy my whole life,” Tami explains. “It got much worse as I became an adult and I chose to take art back up to try to force my brain to concentrate on something else by trying to draw during the beginning stages of my seizure; the aura stage of what I was feeling.”

Tami found that focusing her brain on her art helped her, so she decided to begin her journey of self-growth through art and spread awareness about epilepsy. “I started to share my seizure aura drawings to give a voice to others like me; to try to help them share with their loved ones what a seizure feels like, because at times there are just no words to explain,” says Tami.

“One in 26 people will be diagnosed with epilepsy at some point in their lifetime and an estimated 3.4 million people in the US are living with epilepsy,” according to UF Neurology.  The international color for epilepsy is lavender, a color symbolizing solitude, “which is why my art booth is purple,” she explains, “and I hand out epilepsy awareness items during [art] shows.”

Tami paints on just about everything; canvas, jackets, wood, shoes, pumpkins, whatever she can. She also has a sticker side business and her stickers can be found in a few shops and her online store.  She’s also done work for professional sports teams and musicians.

Through it all, Tami’s drive to keep a positive attitude and focus on her work has helped her throughout her life.  As Tami says, “Epilepsy is my struggle, art became my escape.”

IG: @artworksbytami
Website: www.etsy.com/shop/ArtworksbyTami