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Faith, Art, and Advocacy With Sadie McFarland

• Bold Blind Beauty • Season 1 • Episode 3

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Episode title and number: Faith, Art, and Advocacy With Sadie McFarland 1-#3

Summary of the show:
In this episode of Connected & Curious with Andy, host Andy Chadwick interviews 24-year-old artist and content creator Sadie McFarland. Sadie, who lives with optic nerve hypoplasia and panhypopituitarism, shares how she navigates her personal and professional life while advocating for greater accessibility and understanding.

Bullet points of key topics & timestamps:
00:00 – Podcast Introduction & Welcome
01:15 – Introducing Sadie McFarland and Her Whimsical Art Journey
05:03 – Navigating Life and the Digital World with Visual Impairments
08:43 – Workplace Accessibility and Building a Community for Advocacy
13:18 – Inclusive Design and How to Properly Assist Blind Individuals
17:44 – Creative Expression through Musical Theater and Worship Flags
22:13 – Faith as a Foundation and the Joy of Custom Art
30:52 - Final Message of Hope and How to Connect with Sadie

Supporting Our Advocacy Work:
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Connect with Sadie McFarland:

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Music Credit: "Ambient Uplifting Harmonic Happy" By Panda-x-music https://audiojungle.net/item/ambient-uplifting-harmonic-happy/46309958

Thanks for listening!❤️

Podcast Transcript

Andy Chadwick: Hello everyone, and welcome to Bold Blind Beauty On Air’s newest segment, Connected and Curious with Andy. The podcast where stories shine, and understanding grows. I’m your host, Andy Chadwick, and together we’re diving into the lives of incredible blind and visually impaired individuals who are changing the world in big and small ways. Here, we ask the questions, share the laughs, explore the challenges, and celebrate the triumphs without judgment, with curiosity, and with heart. This is your safe space to listen, learn, laugh, cry sometimes, and connect, where curiosity is always welcome, and no question is off the table.

Welcome, everyone. Thank you for listening to the Connected and Curious with Andy. Today we have Sadie McFarland. She’s a talented artist, and we are going to be getting to know her a little bit more with all of the wonderful things that are happening in her life. Thank you for being here, Sadie.

Sadie McFarland: Yeah. Thank you for having me. It’s an honor.

Andy Chadwick: I appreciate that it’s an honor that you’re here with us, so thank you and cheers for that. So let’s get to know you, Sadie. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself for those that don’t know you, what’s happening in your life?

Sadie McFarland: Yeah, absolutely. Hey everyone, it’s so, so great to be here. My name is Sadie McFarland. I am a 24-year-old hotel front desk agent, as well as a content creator and artist on TikTok. I have optic nerve hypoplasia, and I have panhypopituitarism. I can jump into both of those both later. The optic nerve hypoplasia is obviously a visual condition, and the panhypopituitarism basically means my body does not make any hormones at all. So both of those have their own major sets of challenges that I have to overcome as I do what I do every day. But I, I'm an artist on TikTok Shop. You guys can find me, Beautifully Blind Art by Sadie, on the TikTok Shop. And then I’m also a content creator and live host under my personal account, which is just Sadie McFarland.

Andy Chadwick: Well, you’re a busy bee, aren’t you?

Sadie McFarland: Very.

Andy Chadwick: Let’s talk more about your art journey. So tell us how you first got into art.

Sadie McFarland: I’ve, I’ve always loved it. I took art classes in high school and had just an absolutely amazing art teacher who made it accessible, made it approachable, and made it really fun. She was also a woman of God, and we really connected through that and just kind of hit it off. She was probably one of my favorite teachers I’ve ever had, all through my many years of education, from kindergarten up through graduating college. But I, I’ve just always really enjoyed—like I love taking, like, pictures that just kind of draw people in. And I love being able to, you know, paint. I don’t do a lot of realistic work. My art is more whimsical or silhouette-based. So I do a lot of faith-based, like, you know, using the three crosses and using things like that. But just, I do a lot of sunsets, a lot of just things that are calming—calming and colorful is kind of my, my art style.

Andy Chadwick: Oh, I love that. Calming and colorful. And so with your art, what tools or techniques help bring your imagination to life?

Sadie McFarland: It’s, it’s really all, all, you know, God-inspired, spirit-inspired, you know. I never know what I’m gonna paint when I sit down at the canvas, and I just kinda start going, and I, I kind of just see, you know, see what comes out. Because, you know, it’s hard to—like when you have something in mind, you’re human. You’re not always going to live up to that grand vision. You know what I mean? And so, my art, though, is acrylic and watercolor. They come on canvas boards or watercolor paper. So when you order from Beautifully Blind Art By Sadie, everything is ready to hang on the wall. If you choose to frame a watercolor piece, that’s your call. But the canvas board is literally ready to hang. You know, so everything is very, I—everything is very accessible. And the silhouette art, you know, it’s very nice because it stands out. The black will stand out against that colorful backdrop, so that even, even, you know, viewers with lower vision can enjoy it.

Andy Chadwick: That is awesome, Sadie. I, I love watercolors. So, what are some of the biggest challenges you face day to day as a blind artist, and how do you overcome them, if you have any?

Sadie McFarland: My challenges more come on, on the hotel side of my work. But when it comes to the art, unfortunately, TikTok and TikTok Shop are severely inaccessible. The print is beyond small. And, you know, every survey—and I encourage my fellow blind creators and listeners, if TikTok ever sends you a survey, I don’t care what part of TikTok it’s about, please, please ask for bigger print across the board because the print is just so small in TikTok's shop. Like, I have pieces that I don’t have listed on TikTok shop because my eyes don’t have the stamina to go through every single piece manually, and do it because the print is so small, and there’s no dark mode. And the print is hardly even—I can hardly even call it black. It almost looks more gray. And try reading gray on white. It’s just, it’s really hard... with a vision impairment. So for me, it’s more of a barrier in terms of getting things listed. But if I post a piece and you do want it and it’s not on TikTok’s shop, please message me and say, "Hey, I’m interested in this. Can you post it on the TikTok shop?" Or, you know, I do Facebook and Instagram as well. And, I’m… you know, I started underground, right? I didn’t have a TikTok shop. So I can continue to work off those platforms as well. And I would just take the listings off TikTok shop, should someone buy, you know, on either of those.

Andy Chadwick: That’s awesome. So let’s go back a little bit, and can you explain… You mentioned what you have when it comes to your impairment, but can you explain exactly what it is and what affects you, and what you actually see, and what you cannot see?

Sadie McFarland: Absolutely. So optic nerve hypoplasia is… And, I’m gonna explain both because they occurred in tandem and they’re related to each other. Often, when something happens to either the optic nerves or the pituitary gland, the other is impacted. That’s the case for me. So my optic nerves did not fully develop, as in, in utero. And with that, also, my pituitary gland doesn’t function at all. So with the optic nerves, I have no vision at all in my right eye and only 20 over 200 in my left. So I don’t have depth perception, and I don’t have peripheral. So it’s not tunnel vision, and it’s not blurry. It’s all clear. I just can’t see things from far away. Like, if there were a sign, a street sign. Like, if I’m in a car and someone’s driving, right, it’s very hard for me to read street signs until we’re a few feet away. Things like that. It’s kind of hard to explain, but no depth perception, no peripheral. The acuity is 20 over 200, for those who understand eye doctor language.

Andy Chadwick: So, so for those that don’t understand eye doctor language, can you put it into layman's terms at all?

Sadie McFarland: Well, that’s basically what I, what I did… no depth perception, no peripheral, right? Everything is clear, but I just… I can’t see small details from far away.

Andy Chadwick: Okay. So how do you, on your day-to-day, for example, your new job at the hotel, how are you get... receiving support at the hotel, if any, or any guidance there?

Sadie McFarland: Yeah. So, unfortunately, the hospitality industry is one where accessibility is kind of behind. I have to use a lot of Control Plus, which is a keyboard shortcut that enlarges the screen. Unfortunately, though, both the property management system and Microsoft Outlook, when I do Control Plus, the menu bar on the top and the side take up almost the entire screen. So I have nowhere to—or no screen space to still use the system. And so that’s a major challenge. And so, I do kind of end up having to strain a little bit. I Control Plus it as big as I can go, and then I have to just, you know, fight through it. However, I did change my mouse. Like, when I first logged in to my computer account, I set it to where I had this real big cursor that’s bright purple so that even when I’m standing all the way up and not bending to the computer, I can see my mouse.

Andy Chadwick: Oh, that’s awesome.

Sadie McFarland: Yes, it’s very helpful. And actually, it’s really funny because the first time I showed my assistant general manager, she’s like, "Oh, everyone’s gonna start doing that now," you know? I’m like, "Hey, bring it on. I’m happy to help people." But the mouse, the computer mouse, is so small and so tiny. So the fact that, you know, we live in an era where I can change that to allow myself to use the computer in a more efficient way is very helpful.

Andy Chadwick: And that’s wonderful. And purple’s one of my favorite colors. I love it. I might have to, I might have to do that on my computer now when I go to work. So cool. It’s so helpful. All right. And it’s very cool. That’s very cool. So I wanna ask you about your journey with TikTok, cause it’s very interesting. So you’ve built your community there, right? And you have… I know I had mentioned to you that I’d seen a post that you had wanted to create a space where all of the blind and visually impaired creators get together. I know timing is, is, you know, a question right there, but if you could, if you had the time, what would be one of the best things that you can bring on TikTok that’s not out there already, bringing the community together, what would you like to do?

Sadie McFarland: Really, what I want to do is to create a space where people can come and feel safe asking their questions. Because I think part of why things are so inaccessible is that people don’t know, and people don’t know where to go to ask. And that’s the biggest thing. Like, I want everyone to know that my page is a place where you can ask those questions. I recently posted a video in honor of White Cane Awareness Day, of me crossing the street. It’s a very dangerous crossing, you know, and I’ve had… I had a couple of questions. I had some people message me privately, and I had a couple of questions in my comments about, like, how, you know, how I judge when it’s safe to cross and things like that. Like, these are all really important questions that people need to know, whether you’re sighted or blind or helping, you know, even a caretaker. Whatever your role is, right? It doesn’t matter what role you are, whether you don’t know anyone who’s blind, or whether you do, or whether you’re blind yourself. Education will unlock accessibility because it will empower people to make those changes. So the more we can create that safe space to ask questions for them, and to inform them, and to make them realize, you know, we’re, we’re human, and we’re powerful. We’re a part of the community. The more we can invite them into our community so they see what we’re capable of, I think, the more accessibility barriers are gonna get knocked down.

Andy Chadwick: And I agree totally, and that’s one of the reasons why I wanted to create this space for everybody, because I think and I believe we don’t know what we don’t know. So quite simple as that, right? So if we have a place where we can ask those questions, and it doesn’t have to be formulated in a, a way where it’s… You know. You know, and I’ve had this conversation with some of my mates where I’m like, you know, I, I don’t want to say the right—the incorrect thing, right? Or, you know, hurt feelings or anything like that. So if we have a space where that’s out of the wall, just ask your questions and, you know, we can get it answered. So I, I totally agree with that 100%, and that’s why I’m here, and that’s why I create this space. So with all of that being said, too, what’s one thing that you wish sighted people understood better about blindness... the creative space?

Sadie McFarland: When you are designing a new setting, whether that’s a cityscape or a website or whatever, put a blindfold on and navigate it. If you can’t do it, we can’t do it. Make sure you can do it with a blindfold on, because I’m finding, you know, sites aren’t screen reader enabled, and I don’t use a screen reader much, right? I do have partial vision, but, you know, a lot of my training when I worked in finance with life insurance, a lot of my training wasn’t screen reader enabled. And, you know, as I said earlier, the property management system, as well as Microsoft Outlook, is not Control Plus friendly. The menu bar is on the top and the side, just eat the whole screen, and then I can’t use… I can’t use it correctly. And then when it comes to city design, making sure we’re putting lights at bus stops and tactile cues. I don’t care how old the city is, how old the sidewalk is, you can input those truncated domes. For those who don’t know what that is, that’s the either red or yellow bumpy texture at the, at the start and end of a ramp. Those were actually designed for blind people, to tell us, to tell us when we are about to cross, when we’re about to step into traffic. But not having those and not having proper crossing signals, traffic controls, and lights at bus stops is really incredibly dangerous. The bus stop that I take to work, which I have to take because it's the only bus stop near my job, has no proper crossing. There’s, like, there’s… there’s a crosswalk, but there’s no truncated domes, and it’s actually a step. There’s not even a ramp. And there’s no traffic control, so I have to make a judgment. I literally almost got hit last week on my way to work from crossing the street because I made a judgment, and a car was going probably about 60 miles an hour, and they had to slam on their brakes. And they were probably about five feet from me. This is what happens when we don’t design things with everyone in mind. How am I supposed to know it’s safe to cross? And how are they supposed to know that it’s my turn to cross if there’s no regulation, right? And there... There is the White Cane Law, which I encourage anyone listening to look up because it’s different in each state, but… remember, if someone with a white cane is crossing or preparing to cross, you must halt your vehicle. That’s the law.

Andy Chadwick: Yep. That’s the law. Yes. So, so let me just ask you, especially you’re out and about and, and you’re, you’re active, you’re working, you’re doing a hundred things at a time. When… for example, you’re crossing the road, how do you prefer individuals to approach you to assist you if needed?

Sadie McFarland: So it really depends on the situation. If I am turning my head kind of rapidly, you know, really, really using… So, for those of you who aren’t familiar with what blindness kind of causes, your ears become your eyes. So if I’m turning my head very quickly, left to right, left to right, back and forth, most likely I am zoned in, locked in, trying to make a judgment to cross the street. If you see that, it’s probably not the best time to approach me because I’m, my life is on the line. And this is, this is with anyone, right? Different people have different kinds of body language that they use when crossing. For me, I’m kind of turning left to right, you know, really scanning the area with, you know, audio. But also, you know, in general, like, if I look like I need help, then you can approach. But generally, blind people, like, we’ll look a little confused if we need help. Just, just read the body language, right? We can’t read your body language, but make sure you know, walk up and say, "Hi, my name is," you know, "Can I help you?" or "Do you need help crossing the street?" You know, there’s just different ways, and there’s… I have some great Blind Talk community members who have done videos on how to, you know, best introduce yourself to a blind person, you know, out and about. And Christine Martin Law is, she’s, she’s a blind attorney but she does, but she did a great job a couple of weeks ago, with some videos on how to approach, best approach a blind person. So if you need physical examples, I would encourage going to check out her page.

Andy Chadwick: That’s great. So, you have your community, social media, and you’re quite open to having people comment and reach out to you. So do you, do you ever get comments from people who doubt your abilities or say, "How can you do that if you’re blind?" How do you handle those comments?

Sadie McFarland: Here’s the thing, is we get those all the time, and we will always get those all the time because again, people don’t know what they don’t know. Exactly. And here’s my thing is I just like to say, "Watch me," right? Like people doubt us so often. It’s like, what if I told... you couldn’t do something?

Andy Chadwick: So yeah, so you tell everybody, "Watch me."

Sadie McFarland: "Let me show you." Yeah. Like, you know, people love to doubt disabled people. But people don’t like it when they’re doubted. Right? Correct. And, and I encourage, like, I encourage listeners, like, think about that.

Andy Chadwick: So, we were speaking, and you happened to mention that you did musical theater. And I have to ask you, how involved are you with musical theater now? Are you in are you acting, singing, doing any of that stuff? What are we doing on that end?

Sadie McFarland: I, I would love to one day when the door opens again. I would love to do that. I am not involved now. I did it... seventh grade all the way through sophomore year in college. Auditioned a couple of times after that, while I was still in college, and just, it never, never happened again. I did choir throughout college. I’ve really been in choirs most of my life. Right now, I’m not because obviously I’m juggling a million other things. But I still, you know, I, I actually do TikTok Live where I do worship flags. And for those who aren’t familiar with what that is, it’s basically… they’re lighter, they’re a lighter version of color guard flags that are used for worship/praise dance in the Christian church.

Andy Chadwick: Oh, wow. You do that too? What? Tell me more, Sadie. Tell me more. Wow.

Sadie McFarland: Yeah. I mean, that’s pretty much the basis of it. I mean, I have, you know, I have several different sets. They come two to a set. The poles are collapsible, which is really nice. It makes them very easy to travel with. So you can get them pretty much in any color. But they’re, they’re a lot of fun, right? It’s a really, it’s a really powerful way to worship because, you know, the American church, the modern church, has forgotten one of the core forms of worship in the Bible. David danced before God, constantly. In joy, in sadness, in lament, he danced. We have lost that as an American church community. And for me, as someone with a vision impairment, the words on the screen might be hard to see, but I can, you know, if I know a song, obviously, I will sing. But also, that movement is such a powerful connection, both physically and spiritually. And it, it’s a powerful… It’s honestly therapeutic. Like, it’s, it’s so powerful. And they’re, they’re affordable. Anyone can get worship flags, guys. They’re available on Amazon, TikTok Shop. I actually have some in my TikTok Shop showcase on my personal profile.

Andy Chadwick: Okay. When I hear you speak and, like I said, when I’ve looked at some of your posts, I can see that you’re very joyful. Your heart, I can see, I feel it. You know your faith is very important to, to you. And I acknowledge that, and it’s very important to connect to that too. So, how does faith play in your everyday life?

Sadie McFarland: Yeah. So, you know, as a blind Christian, right, we’re literally commanded in the Bible to walk by faith and not by sight. And that’s kind of your only option as a blind person, right? Like, I mean, that’s just, where else do you turn to? You know? Like, people don’t realize this, but the Hebrew name for God is Yahweh. And it’s actually, he created us, that when we breathe in, and we breathe out, we are breathing his name. We are breathing Yahweh every breath we take. It is interwoven in our very being that we are breathing in and out his name. Literally, he is, he is our air, right? He’s the one who gives us air, but he is the reason we are alive. He is, the air, very air we breathe is because of him. Right? So without that, what are we? He created us. We… What are we without our creator?

Andy Chadwick: Yep, that’s true. I, I totally agree. And see, with your joy, your faith, let me ask you about your art because we want to establish what you have out there to offer. So, what brings you the most joy when you’re making art? Is it the process, the finished piece, or the connection you build with your audience?

Sadie McFarland: It’s, it’s really, it’s really a combination, right? An artist creates art because it connects them to their viewers, and it connects hearts and minds. Art is… and this, this hurts, that there’s so little room for tactile, you know, innovation when it comes to like watercolor and acrylic. Yes, there are ways to do it, but it’s, it’s very, very difficult. But it’s, it’s a conversation. It really is. Art is such a conversation. Not only is it a conversation starter, but it, it’s a conversation without even, you know, people ever exchanging words. And one thing I really love that I’ve gotten to do, and I hope to continue to do, is, you know, I get… it only happens a few times a year. I’m hoping that this, you know, will open more doors. But I do custom pieces. Yes, they’re going to cost more because they’re custom. But I… One that I got earlier this year that was really, really fun is… I wish I remembered the Bible verse. But it was about… she wanted it titled Yes and Amen. And what I came up with was this really beautiful, vibrant, desert-toned sunset with a silhouette of a woman kneeling before three crosses. And it... You know, like, it’s a conversation either between the artist and the viewer or sometimes between the viewer and God, you know? You never know what door you’re going to open, what part of the heart you’re gonna touch with art.

Andy Chadwick: I love that. I, I love that you’re bringing joy in your art and it’s, and it’s evident. And it’s evident just speaking with you, too. So, how can we support you? What’s the best way for people, both sighted and blind, to support you and other blind artists?

Sadie McFarland: Just come, come hang out. I’m a live host. I’m on TikTok live quite a bit. I’ll actually be live after, after we’re finished with this recording. I’ll be hopping on live and doing some meal prep and things like that. But, you know, just, like, come get to know us. Come educate yourselves and, you know, if, if you see a piece that touches you or… you know, like, I, I, through my personal account, I’m a TikTok Shop affiliate, so if you guys ever see me cooking and you see a gadget that you wanna know about... aside from blindness, right, like, I am all about, like, how can we make life better in general, both for those with visual challenges or with other challenges or without, right? Like a lot of the things I put in my TikTok Shop showcase are products that I have found to make cooking either safer, easier, or more efficient. And, you know… So just coming, learning about what we, who we are. Obviously, check out the art. I, I hope you come for the conversation, stay for the art. I mean, you know, this, this thing called life, if we don’t support each other… like, you can’t, you can’t do it alone. You just can’t. Especially not in a community where all you see is darkness. Now, mind you, I’m blessed to have my little bit of usable vision, but a lot of people aren’t. And, you know, we just have to be there. Like, don’t, don’t judge. Don’t make rude comments. Just be there. Come enjoy. We’re human. We’re just like you. We’re human, you know? We all, we all bleed red, I like to say, right? Like, beneath, beneath all these differences and all this stuff, it’s the same skeleton, so… Exactly. Just come and learn, come and hang out, engage with us, you know?

Andy Chadwick: So, the final message of hope. If there’s one message you want people to take away from your story and your art, what would it be?

Sadie McFarland: Don’t be afraid to ask questions, you know? We all, we all have moments where we don’t know what to do, or we don’t know where to go, right? Don’t be afraid to step out, ask a question, whether it’s around my faith in God, my art, my journey as a TikTok creator, my blindness, or my pituitary disorder. Like, anything, right? Just don’t be afraid to ask the question. I am so much of an open book. Like, I’m not afraid to share the good, the bad, the ugly, right? A lot of… you know, people, people can be guarded, but here’s the thing, guys. It’s like, you don’t know until you ask. And if a wall pops up, a wall pops up, right? And then just, you know, rephrase and, you know, onto the next. But for those of us who are open books, like, we want to share, we wanna educate people, and we want—we wanna make this world better by sharing and by educating.

Andy Chadwick: Sharing is caring. Yes. Thank you so much, Sadie, for taking the time out and talking to me. I really appreciate you. I know we have TikTok, again, tell everybody how they can connect to you.

Sadie McFarland: So, for the TikTok Shop, that is beautifullyblindartbysadie. There’s also an Instagram page and a Facebook page under that name. To find my personal account where you’ll find more of my stories on blindness, faith, cooking, my everyday, like, TikTok lives, all that stuff, that’s just gonna be under sadiemcfarlane followed by the number 1. And then it’s just Sadie McFarland on Facebook and Instagram as well, and I’d love to connect with all of you.

Andy Chadwick: Oh, bless. Thank you, Sadie. This was awesome. Thank you, mate. I enjoyed it.

Andy Chadwick: Thank you for tuning into Bold Blind Beauty On Air’s Connected and Curious with Andy. I hope today’s conversation left you inspired, educated, and a little more connected than before. Remember, curiosity brings us closer, and every story shines a light. Until next time, stay connected, stay curious, and keep shining.



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Nasreen Bhutta

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