Rebirth, Reform, Reinvent

"I based my piece on positive and negative mental health images. I wanted to show how there is beauty in the human form and that even with things such as bipolar disorder, depression, and anxiety, represented in the faces on one side of my piece that they can be countered by positive things associated with mental health on the opposite side. I wanted anyone that sees my piece to take away that what you're feeling inside you're not alone in that and that so many people around you are struggling with the same things you are.
I started with the idea that I wanted to incorporate mental health into a piece. Then off of that, I started brainstorming and sketching designs. From there I began thinking of colors and forming the faces for each piece. Finally, off of my sketches, I was able to put a my design together with colored pencils into what it is today.

The entirety of the piece for me was a glance into my mind. I created a challenge for myself by representing emotions that I feel into tangible images. The ability to visualize emotions I feel can be difficult. I struggle with anxiety and depression and often believe people don’t understand those. I wanted to give insight into these emotions. I also incorporated other mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder. Mental health advocacy is important to me and I wanted my piece to reflect that. I want the audience to interpret their meanings even though they represent specific emotions."