Judi Kaufman of Los Angeles lost all her inhibitions when she had brain surgery and is now an artist and sculptor. She is shown here with her husband.
(The Jewish Journal)
Though controversial, "great creative figures" in history have also suffered from seizures, according to Bogorad, including writers Carroll and Fydor Dostoyevsky, as well as painter Vincent van Gogh.
"Her seizures are more experiences inside," he said.
Whatever the science, Silva said what's going on in her brain makes her a better painter.
"I felt I was not arguing with myself as much," she said. "Painting every emotion taught me to be more detailed with the work. I think before I was holding back."
During the filming of the documentary last summer, Silva and three other untrained artists explored their demons on camera while living and painting together at the Full Moon Art Center in East Moriches, N.Y. -- a sanctuary for artistic innovation.
"For many of these artists, there was a difficult world that they were coping with," said Ronnie Wiener, center director and executive producer of the film. "At some point they had this breakthrough that they could and had to express themselves through the form of art."
"Each had a discovery that their art was their commitment to themselves and their struggles," Wiener told ABCNews.com.
The film's director and Silva's longtime friend, Ross Brodar, agree that her art has become "deeper, darker and more psychological."
"She reminds me of Frida Kahlo," Brodar told ABCNews.com. "Her mortality is gripping her."
Silva's signature painting, "The Warrior of Mananz" (its name drawn from the symbol of self in the ancient Viking runes), sold for $4,000 at the culmination of the documentary.
The 30- by 40-inch painting is rife with animals and symbolism: a woman's brain split open, with a monkey and squirrel atop her head; a swarming bee's nest; and tree branches as intertwined as the venous lesion in Silva's head.
Today, Silva's painting is prolific as she readies for art shows with Brodar in Amsterdam and Berlin, balancing her fear alongside her artistic dreams. She has even begun a writing project, a fantasy book for young adults.
"Most of the time I want to curl up like a ball and wait until the pain goes away," she said. "When [the lesion] presses, it feels like a bunch of earthworms in the brain."
But, she admits, the experience with brain disease has "definitely spiced things up.
"I'm forced to let it be and I'm comfortable with what's going on," said Silva. "I am happy because I have become stronger."
"At first, I felt so alone," she said. "Now, I feel I can have a mad tea party."
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