#Heal through art - a new project

Hi again, I hope you're all keeping well.

You may be aware that 'something' occurred, well I'm struggling with several life changing injuries and whilst I battle to hold on, I thought it might be beneficial to share how I'm doing that through my current circumstances.

If you've read my previous blogs, you will know that throughout my life, from early childhood, art has been my safe place, my inner bubble where I can keep safe, express myself and work things out. After my terrible event last September, I've been left with both emotional challenges but also many injuries which I continue to try to adapt my life around. My incapacities are many and varied and unfortunately impact significantly on my ability to create art. Losing this core element of myself, has been so difficult to bear that I have fought harder than I even thought was possible, and it's by no means over yet.

My survival instinct found (somehow) to find the strength to push on despite the physical pain and distress in order to keep art in my life. It felt like without it, my life would have nothing of me remaining and so I've fought and continue to fight.

Some days, despite my greatest efforts, I just cannot manage but on other days I manage 10 minutes and that, for me , is a huge win, You may have noticed that some of my art has been around supporting organisations that offer crucial support and advice to domestic violence. I have found myself in need of their help and I wanted to raise awareness to others about what and how insidious it is.

I wanted to also share the pitfalls and intense emotional pain that these experiences cause to their sufferers, but also to try and share hope. I then realised (took awhile doh), that what I was doing was finding a way to try and hold on and heal myself emotionally and that this could be of use to others. So what has been my beginnings of a long journey to heal emotionally, has evolved into a project...#healthroughart.

This doesn't mean that all my art is going to be about domestic violence, turmoil, pain or darkness though. It means that as I focus on using the act of creating art of any kind, that part which is me through and through, will be nourished, maintained and ultimately survive. That itself will mean that I will also survive.

Ironically, I once explained in a blog, how art was like the air I needed to breathe...as air was literally taken away from me, it's fitting that art helps to metaphorically bring it back.