from
surviving
Our April issue features artists such as Nina
Luna and Karen Lillard who have taken a trauma
in their lives and transformed it into an art form.
Traumatic experiences have profound impacts
on our lives and what we do with it as we sort
through the emotions and the experience(s)
helps us process what happened and what it
means for the future.
Nina and Karen had different experiences
but both wound up using art as a means of
expression. I was moved by how Nina described
her awareness of a nude mannequin and how
she suddenly saw it differently. Nina survived
breast cancer - a battle that many women deal
with but not all survive. Those who survive, I
am told, often cope with a new sense of self.
Having our breasts removed is often a part of
our womanhood and identify. The decision to
have a mastectomy or lumpectomy and perhaps
breast augmentation isn’t taken lightly. Breasts
are often a part of our womanhood and - for
many woman, it’s a part of motherhood as well. I
love the videos online that show women who
turn their scars into tattooed artwork. Nina’s art
was to paint nude mannequins. I love this idea
and am inspired by her canvas for expressing
her art.
the
editor
& art
moods and art has the ability to change with us.
Jilian Cramb, also featured this issue, shares
that her art is often created as an outlet during a
period of despair. Jillian bravely shares with us
that she has a mental illness but works through
it - survives it and lives to tell the story of coping
through her art.
I am so deeply inspired by the artists who
share with the world something that could easily
have remained hidden -- they could have coped
without anyone knowing. Whether battling a
mental health illness, a physical disease like
cancer or surviving a sexual assault ... these
women could have kept their experiences
locked away. But, instead, they put it on display
for everyone. Their art is beautiful and shows
the transformative ability of what we can create
through our emotional lives.
Thank you to Jilian, Karen, and Nina for
sharing the story behind their art.
LMarelli
Liesl Marelli
Editor-in-Chief
Karen’s experience as a survivor of a home
invasion and sexual assault was her motivation
to heal and express through art. Turning to
art, poetry, performance art and the like are
powerful and meaningful ways to express
troubling experiences. No two people may
feel or experience a situation similarly but I do
feel that art as a therapy is a positive way to
process -- because emotions and experiences
are connected, distorted, change based on our
ART
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