A woman who sees colours, textures and shapes when she hears sounds PAINTS her experiences – and says Harry Styles’ voice looks like emerald green speckles of magic.
Sarah Kraning, 30, has experienced visuals with sounds for as long as she can remember but was only diagnosed with synesthesia aged 22.
Sound-to-colour synesthesia is a rare condition where sound evokes an experience of colour, shape or movement.
Sarah struggled growing up with the distractions of her condition and was tested for ADHD and autism before a lesson on synesthesia led her to her diagnosis in 2015.
Her visuals come to her automatically like a “sense” but can be overstimulating and Sarah sometimes has to wear ear buds or remove herself from a situation.
For Sarah, ocean waves look like silver threads crisscrossing and Kate Bush’s voice looks like a thick ribbon of bubble gum.
She says Harry Styles’ speaking voice sounds like emerald green speckles of magic.
Sarah uses the visuals she gets from music and sounds to create unique artwork.
Sarah, an artist, who is currently living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US, said: “I’ve had it for as long as I can remember.
“I was six when I noticed something was different about me.
“I remember telling my mum Disney music was sparkly.
"She giggled and said 'that’s imaginative'. I kept saying – ‘it really is sparkly’.
“It’s just a sense. It’s so normal to me.
“It can be pretty distracting and over stimulating.
“I feel lucky. It’s really fun.”
Sarah grew up with an intense auditory sensitivity and would struggle in a classroom setting.
She said: “In school I loved to learn but classrooms were really noisy.
“Teachers would play music while testing.
"I would be so lost I couldn’t do the test.
“Music is the most vivid to me.”
Sarah believes synesthesia runs in the family as her dad, Max, 67, and English teacher has misophonia – the discomfort with sound.
Sarah says high-pitched notes are normally brighter for her – such as a siren and colours will vary if someone else says a word or if she says one.
She said: “It depends on pitch to me.
“It can look different when people say a name and when I say it.”
Some sounds stay consistent for Sarah such as ‘sh’ which looks like spray paint to her.
She said most sounds are “pleasant” but some can be discomforting such as the hoarse voice of someone with laryngitis – which looks scratchy, lumpy and has some sharp elements for her.
Sarah said: “The first time I had laryngitis the visuals of my own voice scared me.
“I cried all day.”
Sarah experiences visuals for people’s names when they are spoken out loud – not when she reads them.
She said: “The name Everly is really pretty.
"It has silky blue shapes and the ‘ly’ has twinkles of light.
“Harry’s (Styles) voice looks like emerald green speckles of magic .”
Sarah uses her unique sense to inspire her painting and creates art from the visuals she experiences in music.
She said: “People send me a voice note of a loved one passed away and I will paint from that.
“I paint what I see.”
Sarah Kraning, 30, has experienced visuals with sounds for as long as she can remember but was only diagnosed with synesthesia aged 22.
Sound-to-colour synesthesia is a rare condition where sound evokes an experience of colour, shape or movement.
Sarah struggled growing up with the distractions of her condition and was tested for ADHD and autism before a lesson on synesthesia led her to her diagnosis in 2015.
Her visuals come to her automatically like a “sense” but can be overstimulating and Sarah sometimes has to wear ear buds or remove herself from a situation.
For Sarah, ocean waves look like silver threads crisscrossing and Kate Bush’s voice looks like a thick ribbon of bubble gum.
She says Harry Styles’ speaking voice sounds like emerald green speckles of magic.
Sarah uses the visuals she gets from music and sounds to create unique artwork.
Sarah, an artist, who is currently living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US, said: “I’ve had it for as long as I can remember.
“I was six when I noticed something was different about me.
“I remember telling my mum Disney music was sparkly.
"She giggled and said 'that’s imaginative'. I kept saying – ‘it really is sparkly’.
“It’s just a sense. It’s so normal to me.
“It can be pretty distracting and over stimulating.
“I feel lucky. It’s really fun.”
Sarah grew up with an intense auditory sensitivity and would struggle in a classroom setting.
She said: “In school I loved to learn but classrooms were really noisy.
“Teachers would play music while testing.
"I would be so lost I couldn’t do the test.
“Music is the most vivid to me.”
Sarah believes synesthesia runs in the family as her dad, Max, 67, and English teacher has misophonia – the discomfort with sound.
Sarah says high-pitched notes are normally brighter for her – such as a siren and colours will vary if someone else says a word or if she says one.
She said: “It depends on pitch to me.
“It can look different when people say a name and when I say it.”
Some sounds stay consistent for Sarah such as ‘sh’ which looks like spray paint to her.
She said most sounds are “pleasant” but some can be discomforting such as the hoarse voice of someone with laryngitis – which looks scratchy, lumpy and has some sharp elements for her.
Sarah said: “The first time I had laryngitis the visuals of my own voice scared me.
“I cried all day.”
Sarah experiences visuals for people’s names when they are spoken out loud – not when she reads them.
She said: “The name Everly is really pretty.
"It has silky blue shapes and the ‘ly’ has twinkles of light.
“Harry’s (Styles) voice looks like emerald green speckles of magic .”
Sarah uses her unique sense to inspire her painting and creates art from the visuals she experiences in music.
She said: “People send me a voice note of a loved one passed away and I will paint from that.
“I paint what I see.”
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Fun