Emotional | painting-grace

Emotional/the Heart Space

The Heart has always held a special interest to me in its artistic, poetic, and spiritual expressions. Since 2012, I have focused on using my painting for my own [he]art therapy, and honed in on the Heart for my painting inspiration. As a recreation assistant leading senior citizens who have Alzheimer's and Dementia, I shared multitudes of joy and love, but I also experienced varying degrees of grief and loss. Being connected to my own support systems was imperative in my own health and well being. Letting things go or "die" in order to move forward in the continuum of life is a continual theme I return to. I excitedly added to this series with some inspiration I gained while working through my wholehearted journey of health and wellness. Some things that influenced me in this time included the books Rest: Restoring the Soul by Restoring Sabbath by Mark Buchannan, Tending the Heart Fire by Shiva Rea and The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown, practicing yoga, and re-visiting some Jim Dine paintings focused on the Heart. I intentionally worked on architectural salvage to continue the themes of restoring and renewing.