CONFLICT: This series began as an exercise to express my own anxieties and comment on their effects on myself and the way I perceive the world around me.

CREATIVE SOLUTION: I created artwork to visually express my feelings, and work through them. As a poet, even my visual ideas are framed in verse, so it was natural to include a line or title to encapsulate the symbolism of many of the pieces.

RESOLUTION: The art helped me identify the areas of my own life that needed balance and opened avenues for others to discuss their own mental health challenges.

Series

There are a few recurring symbols in the series, and this is what I think they mean (as of now):

1. The Eye:

The eye is the window to the soul, so this represents humanity, or me.

2. The Hand holding the dot:

In most of these designs, the hand is reaching down to grasp the dot. This represents God, or a spiritual aspect.

3. Teeth:

The teeth represent anxiety or the problems of life and how they affect us.

4. Scales or Armor:

The armor represents my tendency to go into self-preservation mode, but there’s usually an open spot to get in and out.

That’s Going To Leave A Mark

The figure is of a dancer, speaking to the fluid nature of life, the cadence and rhythms that we follow. The world around him has left its mark on his psyche, the anxieties and problems patterned on him. His effort is to dance, in spite of the swirl. The final piece speaks to the recognition that we don’t fail if we can’t control the world around us, but only if, and when, we don’t control the one within us.

Right: The Shadow Proves the Sunshine

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We always assume we are the good guys.
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The best way to keep from sounding like a fool is to shut up and dance.
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I was winning, but I think someone changed the rules.
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I’m not a dancer, I’m a slave to this melancholy music in my mind.
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Someone said I don’t dance well, so now I do it poorly.
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Don’t be afraid of critics, be afraid of being afraid of critics.
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There is no failure in not being able to control the world around you, and no victory if you can’t control the one within.

Circular Reasoning

Many of the same symbols continue into this section of the series, contained within a circle. The circle edge is meant to represent how life can seem orderly and constrained, even when inside the boundaries, there is a torrent of anxious activity. The culmination of this is the understanding that anxiety can sometimes be conquered, but more often than not, you just have to look above it.

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Unstable is not the same as willing to change.
Random Psychosis
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When I was a child, I was afraid of monsters. Now that I’m an adult, I realize that the monsters are mostly other adults.
Doesn’t it seem that our baser instincts easily encroach on our most lofty ideals?
Hate pretends to be a mountain.
Royal dreams
Bitterness masquerades as a forest.
Fear Pretends to be an Ocean
Sometimes, you just have to look above your anxieties.
Fear Pretends to be an Ocean

Recently, I was in an airport in Chicago. I was wearing a blue wool knit shirt, not even thinking about the text and image. A stewardess passing through security at the same time asked me what my shirt meant. I told her the design was from a series called “We’re All A Little Anxious” and it represents how my own fears and anxieties, at the time, sometimes felt as deep and powerful as an ocean, and though the feeling is real, it’s not always true. She said she struggled with overwhelming anxiety herself, and was encouraged by the message. You never know who may be working through their own mental health issues.

#art #illustration #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealth #anxiety #anxious #apparel #empathy #encouragement #airport

Hands Down

These images were the seed of this exhibit. The eye and the teeth, the person and his issues, intertwined into the problem and the proclamation.

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Congratulations, you’ve met the requirements of mediocrity.
Turns out, you can buy a crown at the dollar store.
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Absolute madness may be my only hope for sanity.
Some days are better, some days are just more.
The difference between a dragon and a sheep is that no one owns a dragon.
Allow me to elaborate.
Time flies, even when you’re not having fun.
Portrait of the artist
I should probably see a psychiatrist, but all I see are these pointed teeth.
As far as I can tell, man’s worst invention was to trade time for money.
And your enemies closer
If you don’t have anything nice to say
Common Carpe Diem 1
Common Carpe Diem 2
Bitterness was never good at disguises.