Content: Suicide. Blood. Emotional angst. Cruel Words was painted by several of us. What strikes me is how affected I was by the suicide of the CNA’s friend. In the drawing there are heads blown off the people in the trees. That’s a first for drawings and hopefully the last….
Category: Faces
Mental Illness and Demons
My neighbor has Schizophrenia. A different neighbor says it’s not a mental illness but that he has demons. She inaccurately applied Scripture, which I quickly corrected, but its still on my mind and still bothers me. She has no idea what comments like that do to a person with a…
Sketchbook Pages: Uprooted
I feel uprooted. Everything is different. My home is great but I’ve not laid down roots here. Most of my possessions are new because the old got thrown out. The only photo of my father that I had was thrown away accidentally. It is gone forever and it hurts. My…
Strong Enough
Today is one of those days where I feel the weight of what happened in the hospital. I feel shocked, stunned, grieved. I can only describe it as a train wreck where I can still hear the sound of metal crumbling around me. What I feel today must be what…
Painting Feelings
In the hospital I felt guilty for putting my friends through worry for me. I felt bad that they worried for five long months, especially around surgeries. When things would get harry I felt horrible for putting people through tears and worry. In this art piece that expresses the guilt,…
Therapy Review: Half of Us and All
In therapy we talked about the unfinished image “Both of Us”, drawn by Robert over a two day period. We spent a lot of time on it because it drew us into a discussion about being co-conscious and more integrated. My emotions are more integrated and more identifiable. I showed…
Girl Inside
Art by: Faith Magdalene Austin Art Title: Girl Inside Media: Watercolor and Acrylic on 98 lb paper Style: Raw, African Americana, Folk Art, Black Art Finish: Sealed, signed, Here’s a close up look at this very emotional piece of a girl with someone else inside. SUNDRIP – Art for Life…
Surviving to Eke out Gratitude
Monday was one of the hardest days I’ve had in a while. It started off with nightmares that stayed with me for much of the day. I tried to go back to bed to start over but had yet another nightmare. Then as planned, I got myself together, got on…
Three Birds
Fifteen days total but halfway through I began to lose myself to the constant and extreme pain. My medication cocktail sometimes caused me to see dragons and aliens. I’d been in intensive care for the bilateral pulmonary embolism and life threatening blood clots. I was about to begin a chapter…
The Brave Face
I’m not brave. I’m not. I’m not rolling with the punches, I’m just getting punched. As I said, I’ve walked through the fire and I’m all burned up. I’m skinny, starving for a moment of real rest, of relief. “The surgeon” will see me one more time in 3 months…