Student's battling artistic mission

Nineteen-year-old Sophie Elise Wilson, a student at Sheffield Hallam University, has been diagnosed with the rare condition retinitis pigmentosa.

But she is still working hard, developing a new 3D art technique which she hopes can help the partially-sighted appreciate art in a different way.

Sophie's passion for art and photography began while she was still a pupil at King Edward VII School in Broomhill.

She works in paint but also in textiles, and her pieces are remarkable for their vibrant use of colour and different textures.

Her work is now of such a quality that she had five pieces accepted for the recent Great Sheffield Art Schow - at her first attempt.

Now Sophie is determined to use her talent to fund a trip around the world before her sight fails altogether.

Sophie has already lost all peripheral vision and is largely blind in dim light at night - and she also has the added problem of being hearing-impaired since birth.

"If someone tells you your future is not going to follow the path you thought it would, believe me, you only have two options," she said. "You can sit back, feel sorry for yourself and give up, or decide you're going to make the best of your future.

"I decided to take the second option and I'm using my talent to try to raise extra money to fund a trip around the world before I lose my vision altogether. I just hope everyone loves my work."

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