Lost in Space

My art is a reflection of my own mental health struggles and the process of understanding and coping with the effects. I grew up with the stigma that struggling with depression, and admitting that, is a sign of weakness and therefore I kept most of those emotions bottled up. My main focus for art was purely academic. Over the past few years I have been using it as a way to work through my thoughts and feelings and more recently educate others about the power of healing associated with creative process. I created this self portrait using a mix of watercolor and ink. The watercolors give me a sense of peace, the flow of colors and the unpredictability of the mixtures entrances me. I added the black to ground the image and open the piece and connect the idea that space around me was enveloping my mind and body. I am now more self aware and feeling comfortable in my own mind.