Liana Brennan
Biography:
I am currently an emerging Gold Coast (Australia) based artist, from Eastern European background. Covid crisis coincided with the preparation of my first solo exhibition, as well as several competitions which didn’t take place due to this. That was pretty devastating. The uncertainty of dramatic changes happening all around put me into creativity crisis for a while. The acute feeling of emotional and physical isolation was enhanced by the fact, that Australia was cut off, and still remain from the rest of the world. Later on I managed to pull myself together and keep going with my art.
Statement:
As mentioned above, the lockdown period and all the restrictions related to it resolved with creative stagnation for me, as well as for many artists i know. Even the national parks and beaches were closed for visitors, so the main sources of inspiration became all of a sudden unavailable. The isolated position of Australia and travel ban resolved with an acute almost claustrophobic feeling – there is no way out of here, which was especially devastating, giving that I have my sick mother and the rest of family overseas. Nevertheless the mental crisis eventually turned into a trigger for getting more ideas and looking for seclusion within art, resolving with more unusual outcomes and modalities on my canvases.
About this Work:
“The Children of Leviathan” is about the fragility of human beings in front of destiny, circumstances and the social mechanisms, which doesn’t take into consideration the microcosm of the individual. The painting was “inspired”, if it’s possible to call so, by dramatic events of Melbourne lockdown. Man and woman are chained, sitting on the beach, desperate and exhausted, there is nowhere to run anymore, nowhere to hide, complete feeling of isolation and forsaking. They are totally helpless and exposed to the evil reality of life. P.S.(Leviathan is not in a Biblical, but in Thomas Hobbes meaning).
Shari Herndon
Biography:
My art has helped me deal with my ups and downs of my mental illness. It pushes me to be more creative, in a field of area that I have not been formally trained in. The result , incredible art. I’ve become more creative in painting, etching, and multimedia art. I am married and have three children. My husband suffers with mental illness also, but, together we have learned to meet each others challenges and overcome them.
Statement:
This year has been challenging with the isolation and handling groups over zoom, due to the Covid 19, as well as everyday life. It has taught me one important lesson, and that is, I am wiser, stronger, a fighter, overcomer, activist for life, but most of all courageous. Living life one day at a time and to face all its challenges head on to become a victor not a victim, is the beginning of life. I am worthy to live and be happy, to have a voice and stand up! Covid 19 does not define me, I define it! To me it has become in my art piece “Peace 19”. Hope for life.
About this Work:
This art piece was inspired by my faith in God, that this is going to change, and the Covid 19 pandemic will be done with and gone forever. So I changed the direct meaning of Covid 19, to Peace 19, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit protection of the earth. The cross represents our faith and freedom.
Jennifer Dahling
Biography:
I am a snoopy fan. I enjoy painting Snoopy because heâs a relatable cartoon for his upbeat attitude. I can be upbeat like Snoopy about my artwork as it helps calms my anxiety. I also like to crochet because it keeps my hands busy and relieves physical tension. I do collage. I find collaging expands my world. I enjoy it because I get an innately good feeling that I canât explain, but I can feel it. Thatâs why I enjoy art.
Statement:
Covid was personally very hard. It wasnât just precautions for me. I actually had the virus. Having that behind me, I took a character that I like to paint, draw, and brought to life to the fact that even Snoopy needs to wear a mask.
Dunstan Bretton
Biography:
I am very focused on drawing men and women. In the beginning, my men and women looked identical in my artwork. By socializing with fellow artists my drawings of men and women started to take small individual traits. I am a perfectionist concerned with making mistakes. The mistakes make me anxious and then I have a hard time focusing on anything else. I am not a quick learner, but Iâve been learning to let loose and accept imperfection through art.
Statement:
This is a self-portrait of me wearing a disposable face mask. I donât have many self-portraits since I am not the best at looking at myself directly. I draw daily and find art helps me feel good. During the pandemic my ability to paint my drawings were stopped. When I was able to come back to my art program, where I can paint, I felt good. Coming back to program, the need to wear a mask for safety was shared. I try hard to wear a mask to protect people. I painted myself wearing the mask to show how I care and want to continue to paint in my program.
Franklin Castro
Biography:
I am an artist and an expert craftsman. I used to suffer from depression, then I found myself making art. I feel good and relaxed when I create artwork. I enjoy exploring different types of art and learning thru art. I make art every day to add beauty in my life. When I suffered from depression, I found it hard to see how beautiful I am. By creating art, I can see and share how wonderful I am as a human being. I am a powerful artist! I can encourage people with my art and that is positive power.
Statement:
During the pandemic people had to stop doing certain activities and for me I could not stop making art. I continued with my art and outreached using the internet. I found myself connecting with someone on the other side of the world. We individually made artwork and shared them to each other. This painting âDream Reflection,â was created thru the resilience we found in art to keep from getting depressed in the pandemic. The meaning of the painting: âThat one of the most beautiful things that human beings can have is the ability to dream. The possibility of hope we all have the right to have hope, and to keep our dreams intact we must have a horizon to which we look forward to a dream to fulfill.â
Christina Walsh
Biography:
I have lived with mental distress, not belonging since childhood, caused by abuse and neglect. I had spent my life trying to find creative ways to deal with deep pain and unmet needs. I started writing at a young age, then started making abstract art. I enjoy it and find it freeing! I make bird and animal art too. I am self-taught. Being on a fixed income, I use art as therapy, enjoy sharing it with others to bring joy to the world. I am a believer in self-expression. I’ve had a lot of trauma-informed therapy which helps me greatly.
Statement:
Since the pandemic began last March, I have been making more art than ever! I use recycled materials such as junk mail flyers to make solid art. I use a variety of paints, glitter glue, things around the house to save money. I’ve been more isolated than usual, so art helps me process this loneliness and allows me an outlet to express myself and share it with friends online. The pandemic forced me to be resourceful as many art stores were closed. I went to dollar stores to get the supplies I needed during the pandemic. I find art to be a friend, to be a rewarding experience as I don’t know what I will create next!! Art is a surprise! Art making is magical, especially during this pandemic.
Art offers me comfort, coloring my inner and out world as the paints, and the glue makes their way to the paper being one with one another, along with other materials such as grocery receipts, napkins, etc.
Art-making offers company to me is something I look forward to and plan especially at night when it is really lonely. I find evenings and weekends to be especially mentally distressing as I have no family support and my professional supports happen from Monday through Friday 9-5 hours. Making art pieces allows me to distract from the pandemic and gives me hope every time I create a piece. I enjoy titling my pieces with hopeful titles and receive compliments on these titles as well with whom I share my art. I feel uplifted when I share my art and receive positive replies online and in text messages. It’s a great fun way to communicate pain, distress, and any emotion without using words sometimes. I love sharing the love of art with others.
About this Work:
I wanted to use eggshells to create texture and dimension to symbolize the brokenness I was feeling during the pandemic and to let others know they are not alone. Enlightening my moods with art and color to bring hope and inspiration to both myself and others. A lot of uncertainty, loss, and isolation with this pandemic leaving many “walking on eggshells” with social distancing, stores, agencies and many things closed, a disruption in daily schedules, many working from home, many losing their jobs and their homes, so much brokenness I wanted to convey in my piece as a way to acknowledge all that is happening during this pandemic. “Celebrating Our Brokenness” allows me and others to be vulnerable, to reach out, to ask for help, to offer help so we are not stuck in our brokenness alone without contact. I named this piece as a way to create a story where we can be broken together, we can be enlightened by many blessings together, we can survive and thrive in our own ways together.
Valerie Moran-Clark
Biography:
I am a multi-and-mixed-media artist, musician, and writer living in western Massachusetts. I am also a survivor of shock treatments, forced hospitalizations and other assorted psychiatric tomfoolery. The mental health system came into my life in 1990 at age 12 and has been with me ever since, stagnating these 30 odd years through their force and my apathy. My subjects focus on liberating traumatic energy by disrupting the status pattern. In all aspects of my world I seek desperately to illuminate the beauty within the filth of despair, which starts with a revolt against the sane-makers.
Statement:
Visual art has been one of my few outlets to channel emotional distress in the past year. With in person social venues virtually shuttered in my area, the simple act of going out for a tea or a smoothie to blow off steam is not impossible. I am one of the lucky ones who stayed employed but work demands mushroomed as we pivoted to a covid safe plan. The pandemic did not pause any problems I had before COVID-19 appeared, so I felt more strain and less support, and way more isolation. Talking on screens with humans on the other end through zoom and other apps still feels weird and disconnected and I long for human warmth.
With all of this stress comes rage for me, rage that no matter what I do to support my community, my loved ones at this time, it can never be enough to make the world feel safe or okay these days. I am so scared for my 10 year old’s future and the impact this quarantine is having on his social development. The only place I can put these raw emotions is in artwork, through throwing paint on canvas. Instinctually, all that which I don’t have words for, all that despair, anger, grief and confusion blooms into something beautiful before me. While I am making art, it is one of few times lately where I feel peace, where I feel present in my body, and where I feel grace.
About this Work:
10 months into pandemic restrictions, when home feels like a prison and fantasies of escaping have me longing for the psych unit instead of my bedroom.
Brian H
Biography:
I’m a Brian I am an honest person and enjoy being creative through my artwork. The visions and thoughts come to me and I enjoy expressing my interests on paper. During the pandemic I have experienced some mood swings and in order to focus, drawing is a release and helps me to focus.
Statement:
My drawings are based on folktales, experiences and my imagination. My art relates to the pandemic because people can relate to the finding new hobbies such as Japanese anime cartoons. The pandemic has emotionally impacted me because it caused me to get creative and explore my hidden talent of drawing.
About this Work:
My art is awesome and I loved creating it for everyone to see!
Edward Morales
Biography:
My maiden name is Eduardo Ricardo Morales Paredes. I was born in Santiago-Chile on Oct. 2, 1959. I attended High School in Chile where I learn Technical Drawing. In 1979 I left Chile and moved to the USA, being the first of the family in the US (pioneer). in 2005, I became disabled due to a car accident). In 2010 I went back to school and finish four years of school in legal studies, and I took painting one, and I was told I have invented a new style of painting (straight lines with very special colors).
Statement:
On 2011, I took my first painting course (at 50 yrs. Old back to school) at Purchase College; as a requirement for my Legal Studies major, I had to take an art class-I took painting I- At that course, I was found to be gifted, especially because my use colors and his ability to mix his technical drawing of straight lines, and color the object with some colors that we have seen for the first time.
I am 60 years old male surviving only with my Social Security Disability ( Through the years I have demonstrated to me, the new style of painting is remarkable (as people have said).
The style is composed of only l lines (no round lines allow) with special colors; some colors have never seen before. I respectfully request your support because deserve to be recognized as part of Art world of my painting ability, and not waiting for after my death, to be recognized.
I am considered a disabled person (bipolar depression) by the Social Security Disability, receiving food stamps and Medicaid. You can imagine my negative effort to buy supplies and dealing with my depression due to the pandemic. My last painting had been sponsored by using he credit cards and put himself into severe debt, which cannot allow him to afford the cost of supplies anymore.
For these all I kindly request your consideration. I want all to show my new Art; I considers that my Art are for all to enjoin. Please note that the attach pictures do not represent the actual color since the photos were taken with regular cell phone and computers and printers cannot duplicate my colors; however, I can email them to you for an actual look of the colors.
About this Work:
My (this) painting(s) are unique. They are a new style of abstract. They are created only with straight lines and unique colors. There is nothing out there that can be compare.
This work is sole based in 100% creativity, since is brand-new art! Please note, that not all of my paintings are on Facebook, and most-all of the paintings in my Facebook webpage are not my work; but chosen by me do to their color.
Christopher Fairley Jr.
Biography:
I am combat vet who suffers from ptsd and anxiety. I was laid off at the beginning of the pandemic two months after receiving a raise that was 4 years overdue. Art has been my sanctuary during these unprecedented times. It has supported me both mentally as well as financially.
Statement:
I am a painter who has transitioned into a digital artist, after teaching myself the intricacies of photoshop and illustrator. I have been battle with my mental health since I was teen and it is evident in some of my work. It was never intentional to create work that reflected a depressed state of mind, I like to put the blame on my subconscious.
Andrew Koloski
Biography:
Andrew Koloski (b. 1987), grew up in the suburbs of Long Island, New York. He endured bullying at school which led to severe mental illness and social isolation. He graduated from Stony Brook University in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management, Specialization in Marketing, with a Minor in Media Arts. Despite this accomplishment, his mental illness has prevented him from working. He’s a performance artist, actor, and comedian who utilizes the internet for self-expression, he’s at the forefront of new media, using the internet for self-promotion.
Statement:
I was in the psychiatric ward and recovery groups (back in 2011 and 2012). After getting bullied in middle school, I became socially isolated and was alone all the time. I created a daydream world where I blur fantasy and reality (delusions). While in the hospital and recovery groups, I began to draw. Although they’re not technically skilled drawings, art teachers have described these drawings as attention-grabbing, child-like, psychological, and honest. After taking a hiatus, I resumed artwork in 2018. I was beginning to make progress in my mental health recovery, meeting friends at the psychosocial clubhouse, then COVID-19 happened (2020 and 2021). I felt enormous frustration from the social isolation and quarantining, cut off from the world, so I began to draw very often. I create artwork to feel validated and heard, instead of keeping the enormous pain inside, I let it out through my artwork. The intensity increased and you can grasp what I’m feeling by looking at my artwork.
Margaret Phinney
Biography:
Several years ago, I was diagnosed with PTSD, not military related. The flashbacks were horrible. Once the memories flooded my brain, I couldn’t hold them back, especially if I were sitting still. I began drawing my feelings and thoughts during PROs classes, I drew over 150 abstract drawings. During a social club for people with mental issues, I discovered acrylic paints and feel in love with it. I began painting, when I could, to ease my mind. I haven’t stopped since.
Statement:
Painting is my outlet for everything. When I have a memory that won’t go away, it goes on canvas. When I am feeling good, it goes on canvas. When the pandemic started, I was painting my vision of what certain mental illnesses might look like. As the isolation continued, I began feeling as if being isolated was the only way to get through this horrible time. My family and friends became worried I would never go out of my apartment. I truly was scared of getting Covid 19 and dying.
Then, we were told we could leave our isolation, but wear a mask and use antibacterial stuff all the time. I was still worried, I felt like a small unimportant speck in the middle of chaos. So, I painted what I was feeling. The painting started out dark and I was uncertain what to add to the dark background. How could I show how I was feeling. Then it occurred to me what would be the best way to show what I was trying to feel. So, I used small butterflies to convey the feeling of coming out of my cocoon and going out into the big, scary world.
I am still struggling, as I am sure many other people are. I am fortunate enough to be able to paint at home where I am safe. I am also fortunate to be able to do so many things online, order my supplies, apply for grants and calls for artist. I know this year I am still struggling to find a way to feel good about getting out of my apartment. I can only keep painting and hope when summer comes I will be more comfortable getting out.
Juan Cassiani
Biography:
Juan SebastiĂĄn Cassiani is a 24 year-old Colombian analog collage artist and sociology student who identifies himself as mentally ill. His work focuses on subjects such as time, environment and social relationships.
Statement:
I identify myself as mentally ill and I’m proud of it, I was diagnosed with anxiety when I was in high school. Collage is something I started to do as therapy, to not take any more medication. I started doing collages in November 2019 and haven’t stopped since then.
While I was in quarantine I created a series called “Home” based on everything that was going through my mind during those days, the piece I’m submitting here is very special to me since it was the first one I made for the series. There’s a total of 3 pieces on it, so far. I’m from Colombia, lockdown here started around March 13th, I made this piece with the experiences I had during 3 months.
All my work is handmade and use anything that comes to my hands from newspapers and magazines to leaves and feathers.
Lauren Pfanenstiel
@the_healingtable
Biography:
From a young age I’ve lived with a heightened sense of empathy, anxiety, and depression along with challenges of being a girl with undiagnosed ADHD. Painting and writing have been my healing source to push through all barriers of being neurodivergent.
Statement:
In February, prior to shut downs, I started painting my children. Incredibly grateful that that one act helped prepare me for the month to come. It gave me confidence to just start painting. In April, I laied in bed for days just watching Netflix and hoping for a new tomorrow. Every day was the same, we didn’t leave the house and parenting and working in a pandemic broke my brain. I felt incompetent in every area of my life and completely unwanted. I had done all of the fun mom stuff with my kids but I couldn’t see an end. Then I discovered how openly blind my family was during Black Lives Matter protests to the issues of our friends and neighbors. I was angry and felt alone. In May, I ended up going back to therapy until I got a bill for $650 for three sessions. That was unsustainable, with insurance. I started painting what I was feeling in June and July. I started my art practice with writing and finding quotes that spoke to me, the time we are living in, and the desire to heal from the world we previously knew. I chose to paint ceramic plates this summer to heal myself and share hope with others. I’ve been painting for about 6+ months and have just started sharing them with others. The pandemic has brought me confidence and vulnerability to share who I am and what I do with other people. It may not be the best in terms of skill or craft but for the first time in almost 20 years, the gift of time gave me a renewed hope and spirit. When I’m living in strong feelings, I paint.
About this Work:
Dolly Parton is not only a legend and an icon in country music, she is a woman who went after what she knew to be her future. Dolly didn’t stop herself or get embarrassed by how big her dreams were and still are today. When you come from nothing but love, you’re safe to dream big because you aren’t chasing what someone else wants from you. At any point in time, we all can choose to pave a new path. The catch is, only we can make that decision to go a new direction. We have to be daring enough to dream big and share it with others.
Adrianne Stacey
Biography:
I’m almost a survivor but still contending for truth here. My roots will show eventually… but for now let’s say I am a LifeLong Learner!! My worst mental distress came once I was truthfully diagnosed with C-PTSD then manipulated to trust a psychiatrist while I was on Prednisone therapy … ouch!! It has resulted in not one – but two lengthy admissions during Covid-19. A moral injury so typical in western Canada. Five wrong labels, with narcissistic being the worst (I said I knew Robert Whitaker plus a few others). Haha – a bit rebellious: ART here-and-now on the inside!!
Statement:
The Involuntary Journals – A Semiotician on the the Inside
How does a semiotician keep herself sane âon the inside?â Stringing beads for 8 weeks just wouldnât appeal to me, as I was a teacher for those challenging kids at both ends of the spectrum, employing all my creativity to keep difficult students engaged.
âCollageâ you may call it, which I contend would use a lot more random symbols and without a true thread of meaning or sequence. This current work âwhile here now on the insideâ is my way of exploring those âangry-to-recovery-spacesâ that I know I really need as my own âmental health tool kit as there are no programs on wellness recovery here… so sad this is… so I make my own fun and show a select few to a psychiatrist. âThatâs nothing about mindfulnessâ I hear from the other side of the fence. âBut Doctor- consider the five hours of reading and cutting just the right âcraziness to recoveryâ beautiful works of other artistsâ as I do my own âmashupâ work!! (A musical term).
âSemiotics… whatâs that?â you may ask. It is the study of every possible way a human can use to communicate something. It looks at any form or symbol, written or spoken words, dance, theatre or music, architecture, facial nuance … etc. I studied semiotics in its purist sense in my university work, looking deeply at the magnificent art in childrenâs picture books and how artists employ colours and shapes, movement, action and characterization as the storyline moves along.
Okay presently I am currently Involuntary, for prednisone-induced psychosis.
âNo Adrianne… you have a diseaseâ for which I politely disagree with smiles… calmly contending we should really chat about trauma of âdrugs-onlyâ psychiatry
About this Work:
I loved the red boxing gloves “Were going to know CK the snot out of you… and you’ll thank us for it” Hahaha!!
Diana Babcock
facebook.com/simplynowordsbydianamlasher
Biography:
Due to experiences that were outside of my ability to understand and deal with, that caused fear and melancholy pretty much all my life, I became what I call untethered.
In my early forties I found myself deeply embedded in the psychiatric system and on a lot of medication. It took almost ten years to unweave myself. I recognize the impact of these experiences on my emotional and physical health and make sure I have what I need to stay tethered to who I am in my human form.
Statement:
I love to get out with my camera and take photos of the elements, fire, earth, air, water and have struggled with this where I live because of fear, covid-19, weather, etc.
I made the decision to make my fourth trip and return to Puerto Rico for the month of January into February. It rained a lot in the area I was staying. One of the first things I realized was my intake of water was not as strong as it usually is, water is a precious commodity on the island and I buy gallon jugs as soon as I get there.
We are made up of about 60% water. The heart is made up of 75-80% water. When dehydrated, eventually it will impact our heart muscle and rhythm. I had heart surgery in 2012. Hydration is especially important for me.
For me Covid-19 has had the impact of dehydration physically and emotionally. This waterdrop reflects the impact of that dehydration. I am still tethered, yet the impact is embedded and it will take time to grow that fullness of hydration again.
Stephanie Fisk
Biography:
I am a mental health counselor working in New York. COVID has increased the demand for mental health services, resulting in increased stress for mental health counselors.
Statement:
This photo collage was made in reaction to my personal experience during the COVID pandemic. The collage contrasts how I viewed myself as a mental health counselor before the COVID pandemic, and how I viewed myself at my most stressful point during COVID.
About this Work:
Original concept was created by myself & the photos were taken by Tyler James of TJ Photography. He is being listed as a co-author on this art piece.
Nadya N
Biography:
I live with complex trauma, a legacy from many generations of family dysfunction and substance abuse and the effects of my horrifying experience with the psychiatric system. I host a podcast Expression Quest where I speak to other creators about what their work means to them and how they approach it. I strive to live more fully in this world with each passing day.
Statement:
In my visual art I study and transmit the emotional landscapes and characters that live within me. The images that I create connect my present experience to the events of my past and my family’s past in ways that often surprise and enlighten me. This last year has been incredibly challenging–I have experienced severe distress that has been very disabling. It has also been a fascinating and freeing period where I have had more time to pursue personal projects in a more serious manner and all the triggers have been opportunities to commune with my wounded younger self and to mourn. I feel that this has been a strange, ugly but also a magical time where everything has been flipped around and new things are also made possible.
Caroline Eizik
Biography:
I am a retired art therapist and licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC). I practiced art therapy for over 28 years in multiple settings including a therapeutic school, residential treatment homes, foster care programs, and private practice. I also have a degree in fine art and have been making art for all of my life (73 years). Using art, I have helped many in their struggles to cope with mental distress. I have also experienced my own struggles and have used art as a way to stay connected and to heal.
Statement:
Like most people, I have experienced a roller coaster of emotions this year. First, there was fear. What did this mean? Who would get sick? Who would die? Would it be me or someone I loved? Then there was anxiety. What would happen next? How would we cope? What about the children and school? And the economy? What about my daughter and her husband, both hospital nurses? Would they be safe? And then there was sadness and grief. For all that was missing from life. For the overwhelming loss of life in America. For the failure of our leaders to do the right thing. When would this end? Would it end? When would I be able to see children and grandchildren? Finally, there was just weariness and boredom. How to keep going in the face of so much loss for such a long time? In the cold and snowy Chicago winter even outdoor walks became difficult. In graduate school, my favorite professor, Don Seiden, taught us to keep a visual journal, a practice I continue to this day. It’s a straightforward process of creating an image every day, or almost every day. It could begin with something as simple as the date or a doodle. It has been a way to stay connected to myself and to art. In the midst of all the boredom and the cold and the snow, the Burpeeâs catalog arrived in my mailbox as it does every February. Itâs a book bursting with color and life that makes me think of warmth and spring. A photo of a girl holding a tomato inspired me. It was a reminder that despite the difficulties of this year, there continue to be reasons for gratitude, among them, the beauty of nature. A tomato and a human hand.
Kimmy Henderson
Biography:
I am a self taught accidental art activist. After 6+ years of switching majors and switching schools, I ended up with a career bartending until I picked up a paint brush after becoming a mama. I discovered a passion and eventually found my niche of designing custom, hand painted stemware. I went from selling at local art and wine events to shipping worldwide with the help of social media. Business was booming before I experienced my 1st manic episode. My focus as completely changed after painting the Bipolar Butterly and sharing about my mental health journey.
Statement:
I am using my personal struggle with bipolar 1 and GAD as inspiration to raise awareness and help end the stigma on mental illness. I hope to open comfortable dialogue through interactive public art installations. I painted a Butterfly in the midst of my 1st yet to be diagnosed manic episode and later realized how well it represents not only the dual sides of Bipolar disorder, but all mental health. How on one side we try to show our best, most beautiful selves even when we may be crumbling on the other side. After sharing about it I received such an outpour of support from the mental health community that I decided to paint a Bipolar Butterfly series. After hearing alarming statistics on mental health and violence/suicide, I decided to use the Bipolar Butterfly to change the future for my genetically predisposed children and their generation. I responded to an open art call for a mural at a local mall. After sharing my story they agreed to let me paint a Bibutter on the reverse side of the wall. This was in Oct 2019. This movement was born right before the pandemic and has thrived and bloomed in 2020. With the generosity and help from organizations and companies who want to be a part of the movement; I have had 9 public installs of murals and sculptures all over NE Ohio. I believe this whole movement chose me and has thrived and grown during the pandemic because mental health needs addressed more than ever before. Mental illness has no demographic and unites us all for a battle that is so easy to combat. Just talking, sharing listening to each other and making it more comfortable for people to address mental health and seek help when needed.
About this Work:
This was painted to hang at a cancer wellness center in the lobby as a photo opportunity. Recognizing the strong correlation of physical and mental health, the center wanted to provide an uplifting and meaningful welcome to the establishment for those experiencing a difficult time. Being the daughter of 2 time breast cancer survivor, this was an extra meaningful installation and such an honor. She was specifically designed to match the interior decor of the brand new establishment. With special attention to detail to compliment the upholstery, texture and highlights of the furniture.
Heather Nash
Biography:
I have lived with adhd since I was 5 years old. My dad was verbally and emotional abusive growing up. Sexual abuse has a kid. I been diagnosed with bpd and ptsd , because of abuse. I have struggled , I m a activist, advocate, and artist. I m 45 and I’m going back to school for a social work degree.
Statement:
I have used art to help frontline healthcare workers, I sent artist trading cards to Boston hospital. I have used art in the last three years to help with relationship s I have lost and the last year to cope with the pandemic. I use art for grief, to help my friend s and myself, we have zoom art parties.
Silvana Smith
Biography:
Silvana Smith is an artist born in Catania, Sicily, and raised in Jacksonville, Florida. She received her BFA in sculpture from the University of North Florida. She uses a variety of methods and mixed media including photography, food manipulation, typography, sewing, painting, and cast resin. In her final semester, the studios were off limits. In isolation and without access to traditional materials she turned to alternate methods of printmaking. Her theme shifted from a theme of the power of words to themes of sadness and the silence of isolation.
Statement:
In 2020 I broke up with my boyfriend of 10 years. I graduated from college with no ceremony. I lost access to my usual studio and materials. I quit my job to keep my family safe from COVID. I was no longer able to see my friends due to quarantining. Despite all of my efforts I still tested positive with COVID. I was struggling financially and emotionally. I was going on daily walks and during or after the walk I’d have a daily cry. I started to watch videos of how to do alternative methods of printmaking around the same time and this became one of my outlets. The piece I’m summitting is representative of me. It’s a girl who is crying so profusely, she begins to melt. All of her body is turning into tears. This print was made with a large gelatin “sponge” that I drew the image onto and then rubbed the paper on top to pull the image from it.
