Kelley Clink
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kelleyclink.bsky.social
Kelley Clink
@kelleyclink.bsky.social
100 followers 120 following 130 posts
they/she
art, writing, chronic illness/disability. not necessarily in that order.
www.kelleyclink.com
www.extrasoftanimal.com
https://www.patreon.com/cw/ExtraSoftAnimal
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kelleyclink.bsky.social
Some seasonal #Polaroids and a #poem at extrasoftanimal.com

open.substack.com/pub/kelleycl...
A grid of 9 Polaroids of various fall scenes, including bright yellow trees, crabapple berries, silhouettes of branches, and prairie plants gone to seed.
November 11, 2025 at 1:00 PM
kelleyclink.bsky.social
I made a spooky #zine about my chronically ill body! Thanks to @crucialcomix.bsky.social and the chronic illness comics club. Open to trades!
#hallozine #chronicillness #disability #ehlersdanlos #heds

kelleyclink.com/shop-1
A stack of zines fanned out. The cover reads “Fearfully Made: a chillingly incomplete tour of my chronically ill body, by Kelley Clink.” There are silhouette drawings of bats and rats.
October 31, 2025 at 11:55 AM
kelleyclink.bsky.social
I did a thing I was proud of, so I made a little #comic to celebrate. Then I wrote a whole essay about celebration. TLDR: if you don’t do it, the fascists win.

open.substack.com/pub/kelleycl...
A line drawing of a small frog saying “Hey.” Same small frog, now joined by slightly larger frog, saying “You did it.” A giant toad has been drawn behind the two small frogs, and they’re saying “Congrats.”
October 16, 2025 at 11:51 AM
kelleyclink.bsky.social
Me, in early October: “Huh, I’m actually feeling pretty good this year!”

#OctoberSlide: ”Hold my beer…”

#chronicillness #chronicfatigue #chronicpain #disability #heds #eds #ehlersdanlos #neis #neisvoid
A screen shot of my daily readiness numbers falling from 100 to sixteen in a matter of 4 days.
October 12, 2025 at 4:26 PM
kelleyclink.bsky.social
I turned my latest blog post into a newsletter #zine! #snailmail #writing #disability #chronicillness

open.substack.com/pub/kelleycl...
A photograph of a gray manual typewriter with a pink sheet of paper on which I’ve typed an essay and done some illustrations.
October 9, 2025 at 12:30 PM
kelleyclink.bsky.social
September’s “Something Good” is all about #community.

#resistance #art #writing #joy #chronicillness #disability #eds #ehlersdanlos #neis #neisvoid
#chicago

open.substack.com/pub/kelleycl...
An illustration with the outline of the city of Chicago, the south and west sides covered in native wildflowers, and the words Re-Fund the Community
October 3, 2025 at 12:00 PM
kelleyclink.bsky.social
New essay about #chronicillness and #suicidality for #suicidepreventionmonth. There are #possums involved.

open.substack.com/pub/kelleycl...

#suicideprevention #suicidesurvivor #disability #mentalhealth #disabledartist #chronicillnesscomics
September 24, 2025 at 12:29 PM
kelleyclink.bsky.social
Hello #brainfog my old friend...

#spoonie #chronicillness #neis #neisvoid #heds #eds #ehlersdanlos #pots
A piece of paper that has been typed on with a typewriter. There are several attempts to type the phrase “it has been hard to think lately,” and each attempt is full of mistakes. Two attempts have been abandoned.
September 5, 2025 at 9:12 PM
kelleyclink.bsky.social
I would like to take a shower, but I don’t think I actually can.

#spoonie #neis #neisvoid #heds #chronicillness #disability #disabled #ehlersdanlos #pots
An omron home blood pressure machine with a reading of 77/64, HR 111
September 1, 2025 at 3:35 PM
kelleyclink.bsky.social
Every month I write a letter to @margaretatwood.bsky.social. This month it’s about #sunflowers, existential dread, and refusing to give up.

#hope #writing #polaroid #instantfilm #instantphotography #collage

open.substack.com/pub/kelleycl...
A collage on a failed Polaroid. A large yellow sunflower takes up most of the frame. In the top left corner is the black silhouette of a sunflower, partially covering the yellow one. You can see sky and trees in the areas not covered by the flowers
August 4, 2025 at 1:02 PM
kelleyclink.bsky.social
#chronicillnesscomic #disabilitycomic #disabilitypride #disability #chronicpain #eds #heds #ehlersdanlos #disabledartist #comic #comics #neis #neisvoid
A four panel comic that features pencil drawings of my body from different angles, and reads “reminder: your body is not a problem to be solved. It’s a home to return to, again and again.”
July 29, 2025 at 11:48 AM
kelleyclink.bsky.social
A #chronicillness #comic for #disabilitypridemonth
A drawing of my shoulder, throat, jaw, ear and hair, with the words “reminder: your body is not a problem” A drawing of my bent legs, hips, and stomach, with my hand resting on my stomach, with the words “to be solved.” A drawing of my torso and head from behind, with the words “it’s a home to return to” A drawing of my torso and lower face from the front, my hand resting gently on my chest. The text reads: “again and again”
July 29, 2025 at 11:44 AM
kelleyclink.bsky.social
An essay about #gardening (and #grief). Also: all these pictures of #flowers!

#nativegardening #wildflowers #suicideloss #suicidesurvivor #suicidegrief #griefrecovery

open.substack.com/pub/kelleycl...
My side garden, squeezed between a brick wall and a hedge. Very tall purple bell flowers tangled with something yellow from the rudbeckia family, not sure exactly what. A very small baby cotton tail rabbit, ears perked, next to some droopy upright prairie coneflowers (yellow) Selfie of my legs, seated in a chair next to the garden. I’m wearing black compression leg sleeves and coral crocs Photo of my garden. Purple coneflowers and lavender bergamot in foreground, more coneflowers and yellow brown eyed Susan’s in background.
July 22, 2025 at 12:14 PM
kelleyclink.bsky.social
Some #chronicillness #comics for #disabilitypridemonth! More at open.substack.com/pub/kelleycl...

Thanks to @crucialcomix.bsky.social and @zareenc.bsky.social !

#disability #neis #neisvoid #ehlersdanlos #eds #heds #chronicpain #humor #brainfog
A three panel vertical comic. Panel 1: Pain Banana in pink letters on an orange background. Panel 2: a drawing of an anthropomorphic banana holding a cup of coffee and a briefcase, the banana is wearing glasses and dress shoes. Text reads: one time a guided meditation app told me to picture my pain as an object. I think the point was to let it know it could take a break or something. I don’t remember exactly, it was a while ago. Anyway, I pictured a banana showing up for work. Panel 3: a drawing of a banana wearing a lei, holding a coconut drink and tote bag, and wearing sunglasses and sandals. Text: now when my pain gets really bad I picture work banana and send them on vacation, and I’m cured! Just kidding. I do think it helps, though. It’s hard to take a banana too seriously. A pencil drawing of a snail with a brain on its back instead of a shell. The brain is thinking, “wait for me!!!”
July 17, 2025 at 12:23 PM
kelleyclink.bsky.social
A #chronicillness #comic that applies to everyone, as #disabilityjustice so often does. #neis #neisvoid #eds #heds #disability #ehlersdanlos #comics #chronicillnesscomics @crucialcomix.bsky.social

open.substack.com/pub/kelleycl...
A pencil drawing of a rabbit sitting with their eyes closed, words above them read “it’s ok to do less” Pencil drawing of a rabbit sleeping on their side, with the words “all bodies” Pencil drawing of two sleeping rabbits cuddled together, with the words “need rest.” All three drawings put together in one panel.
July 8, 2025 at 12:09 PM
kelleyclink.bsky.social
Happy birthday to me and Gary Busey! I celebrated with a list of 46 good things. Number 39 was #polaroidphotography of course.

#writing #blogging #photography #instantphotography #film #instantfilm #polaroid #sx70

open.substack.com/pub/kelleycl...
June 30, 2025 at 1:16 PM
kelleyclink.bsky.social
No time for kings over here, but plenty of love for #monarchs! Wrote about #activism while #disabled, and of course would be remiss if I didn’t include #polaroids of my garden.

open.substack.com/pub/kelleycl...

#disability #chronicillness #neis #neisvoid #spoonie #protest #instantfilm
A close up Polaroid of my garden. A group of orange wall flowers in the front left corner, lots of white beardtongue, and the rest filled in with prairie grasses and flowers yet to bloom. A close up Polaroid of my garden. Two purple coneflowers bloom in the foreground. A sprinkling of orange wallflowers and lots of green prairie grasses
June 18, 2025 at 11:59 AM
kelleyclink.bsky.social
What do Ruth Asawa and existential crises have in common? #Flowers of course!

open.substack.com/pub/kelleycl...

#art #drawing #illustration #ruthasawa #writing #creativity #flowers #wildflowers #polaroid #instantfilm #film #photography
Two Polaroids. Left is a wide shot of my garden, lots of layers of messy green and trees in the background. Right is a close up of a peony in bloom.
June 12, 2025 at 1:21 PM
kelleyclink.bsky.social
Will you, though?

#wildlife #wildlifeillustration #humor #bohemianrhapsody #comics #illustration #birds #nature #natureillustration
June 6, 2025 at 2:40 PM
kelleyclink.bsky.social
The illness lingers, but the bot provides

#wildlife #illustration #humor #animals #animalhumor
Early 20th century illustration of two leaf butterflies on a branch. One with wings folded (camouflaged), one with wings open. The wings closed butterfly has a speech bubble that reads “what about now? Can you see me now?” The other butterfly has a speech bubble that says “yeah dude, I can still see you.” A 19th century illustration of what appears to be a greyhound and a polar bear. The greyhound asks “whatcha thinkin’ about?” The polar bear responds “the inevitable heat death of the universe.” A 19th century illustration of a probiscis monkey perched on a branch. I added a fake nose/mustache/glasses disguise to its face.
June 5, 2025 at 3:01 PM
kelleyclink.bsky.social
A 19th century illustration of what appears to be a greyhound and a polar bear. The greyhound asks “whatcha thinkin’ about?” The polar bear responds “the inevitable heat death of the universe.”
June 5, 2025 at 2:51 PM
kelleyclink.bsky.social
A lot of 19th century illustration of three greenish mollusks. I added googly eyes to the bottom one.
June 5, 2025 at 2:49 PM
kelleyclink.bsky.social
Early 20th century illustration of two leaf butterflies on a branch. One with wings folded (camouflaged), one with wings open. The wings closed butterfly has a speech bubble that reads “what about now? Can you see me now?” The other butterfly has a speech bubble that says “yeah dude, I can still see you.”
June 5, 2025 at 2:45 PM
kelleyclink.bsky.social
A 19th century illustration of a probiscis monkey perched on a branch. I added a fake nose/mustache/glasses disguise to its face.
June 5, 2025 at 2:42 PM
kelleyclink.bsky.social
@kottke.org what am I going to do with my life now??
Screen shot of the 368 chickens game that says “congratulations you rescued the 368 chickens in 56 attempts. The chickens are grateful. Now you have rescued all the chickens you can no longer play the game. Sorry.”
June 3, 2025 at 8:37 PM