Exquisite Arts Magazine Vol 3 - Nov/ Dec 2016 | Page 20

ART IS NOT

a

LUXURY
“My story through depression
as an artist and how art saved
me - premise is art must be
accessible for all.”

Catherine Reed
My real relationship and connection with art
starts in a room alone while working for the
NHS. Months of enormous pressure resulted
in my sitting alone in that room while it felt
as if my mind actually shattered into
millions of glass pieces. I don’t remember
everything about that day I broke but I do
remember the real physical pain. After this
followed a diagnosis of severe depression
caused by work and then months and
months of battling my ‘dark shadow’
(Winston
Churchill
referred
to
his
depression as his black dog).
I suppose though I should go back to the
beginning –to my upbringing and childhood
in Africa. Art runs through my life and
somehow always returns to art. My

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