Creativity and Generosity: From Therapy to Canvas

Teresa Grzeslo, a retired occupational therapist and artist from Chicago, IL, created the artwork for the Spring 2026 issue of the Open Journal of Occupational Therapy (OJOT). The acrylic painting, Wetland Heron (2023), features a great blue heron with its characteristic piercing gaze and elegant form, standing still in a marshland environment among tall grasses and shallow water. Painted using only her right side while seated in her wheelchair at home in her art studio, the painting’s rich textures and detail reflect careful observation and a reverence for birds and wildlife. Grzeslo’s artistic practice began after developing multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic neurological condition that eventually ended her decades-long occupational therapy career. However, rather than signaling the loss of meaningful occupation, the transition led her to begin a new role as an adaptive artist with a uniquely generous disposition. A self-taught painter, her artworks reveal an innate talent expressed through personal narrative and nature-based imagery that she describes as providing “inspirational and motivational healing.” Across roles as an occupational therapist, mother, volunteer, and adaptive artist living with multiple sclerosis, Teresa has continually transformed creativity into a means of connection, participation, and care for others.