Painter Paralyzed as a Teen Works with Sister to Create, Sell Pottery (Exclusive) [Video]

Emily Kilby has loved art since a young age, growing up with an interest in creating fine artwork. After a virus attacked her spinal cord and left her immobile from the waist down at age 13, Emily continued to create with a paintbrush held in her mouth. But without the functional use of her hands, it became a challenge to work in more classic, fine styles.

“I can’t draw a straight line with my mouth, so it was very frustrating,” the English painter, now 26, tells PEOPLE. “The control is a lot harder, but it does just take practice.”

Her mother and sister Olivia, a 24-year-old ceramicist, encouraged Emily to paint at their home in Hertfordshire, a county north of London. The family felt the process of making art would be good for Emily’s mind, but she became bored and discouraged when working on blank pages.

“I did it on …