This piece was done for a very specific show. My Twitter friend (and now we’ve met in real life, friend) Cathy opened up a gallery at the end of May called Windrush Gallery in Metchosin.
For her opening she invited artists of all skill levels to submit pieces around the theme of Mental Health. Partial proceeds of show sales were being donated to Youth Space, who provide mental health support via chat, text or e-counselling to local youth in a mental health crisis.
Cathy has always been incredibly supportive of my work and is also an awesome person. The show was for a very good cause and it’s in Metchosin which is maybe one of my favourite places in the world. It was an absolute no brainer.
I’ve been lucky enough in my life not to have struggled with mental health in a serious way. However I’ve had many, many friends that have and it is in my family. It’s everywhere. Mental health affects us all. I went back on forth on trying to express my relationship with mental health and other people but it didn’t feel right.
Instead I did some soul searching and decided to paint something representing my fears about my own mental health and what seems to be the tenous grasp I keep on it. Kind of like going through life without having broken a bone, sometimes I feel like it’s inevitable and I go through great lengths to keep some semblance of control over it. I try and stay balanced, I try and live in a healthy way, I never hesitate when it comes to making decisions for my own sense of peace. Ultimately though I’m dealing with pigeons and birds and as much as I can try to hold onto them, I’d have to go through extreme efforts to keep them from struggling and flying away in a cloud of lost feathers. That’s life, birds are going to need to fly and you can’t hold onto them forever. Thing about pigeons though is they generally return to the same space after a quick tour. The place where they’re most often fed.
Anyway this is a terrible photograph of this painting so I would encourage you to visit Cathy’s Gallery, Windrush in Metchosin if you’re in the Greater Victoria area. It’s a beautiful drive, beautiful location and the Mychosen cafe is right next door and it’s SO good you guys.
Windrush is open form 10-5 Wednesday to Sunday. Visit http://www.windrushgallery.ca/ for more infromation.
This painting is also up for sale of course and goodness there’s some beautiful work in there (including some incredible work by my friend Stephanie Arnot). Go visit!
