I'm sorry I haven't been around for quite a while. My computer broke and I didn't get a new one for over a month. During that time, because I was more isolated than usual, I almost fell into a Jesus delusion. I managed to catch myself by listening back to my audio journal (I have been tape recording myself for about two years now). I've found that the audio journal is an excellent tool. It cuts through some of my isolation because I am befriending myself by talking to myself and it keeps me honest and it acts as a reality check.
Since I last wrote there have been steps taken to start a mental health support group in a nearby town. I've gone to a handful of meetings to prepare for it. We've picked out a day and a time, but don't yet have an appropriate location. So far there are four other people besides me who suffer from mental illness who will be a part of this group, but we're hoping to draw more people to it through advertising. I might be a part time facilitator of the group. The only drawback for me right now is that we're heading into winter (though the weather lately around here has been unseasonably warm) and I'm not sure if I'll always be willing to go to the group if the weather is bad. I'll have to wait and see. Still, I'm very pleased and I like all the people in the group.
Recently the owner of a design studio bought two of my painting on my Artid site (http://www.artid.com/SecondSight) and he wants to commission me to do some more paintings for his business. So I am excited.
I've also figured out how to include a widget on my blog Yin And Yang (http://wanderer62.blogspot.com/) where visitors can listen to some of my songs from a site called SoundClick. If you have the time or the inclination, check it out. I'll be gradually adding more songs during the next couple of weeks. The songs are from the late 1990s. It's only been this past year that I re-recorded a bunch of my songs onto a CD and now that I have a new computer with a flash player I'm able to share my songs on the internet for the first time. That's exciting for me too. I hope you enjoy some of them.
I looked at your "second sight" paintings/drawings/photographs and really loved them all. I love the "Mother and Child" where both are lying back and the mother's hair is swept to one side. Is Haley your child? Your portraits nave an immediacy and certainly an intimacy, especially when you consider the size of most of them. I never paint that size anymore, but you have enticed me to try. Your eye for composition in the photographs is something I strive for but rarely reach. It used to irritate me that my husband could take beautifully composed photos w/o even thinking about it. While I, with my art degree, had trouble moving beyond just a record of what was in front of me.
I just finished painting my niece's 2 dogs and a portrait of my mother and am now engaged in painting from a photo of my grandmother and her cousin when they were teenagers, holding hands and leaning back from each other. I took a lot of life drawing in college and that was my favorite subject. Recently, I started a series of paintings of the American flag as displayed on porches around my city. But I never got very far with that. People are more fun to paint.
Keep up the good work!
Carolyn
Carolyn, thanks so much for your wonderful comment. You really made me feel good. It's great to have contact with another artist who has lived with mental illness. I'm so glad that you've been painting. You should consider joining the site I joined -- Artid.com (pronounced art eye dee). You can join for free and post up to six pieces of artwork for display. I would love to see your work. I guess Flickr is another good place to post photos of your work, but I haven't checked that out yet.
I'm so glad you respond to my work. I can't take full credit for the "Mother and Child" painting because it's based on a photograph by a professional photographer named Mary Ellen Mark. And "Hayley" is not my child, believe it or not, the painting is based on a photograph of a life like doll that belongs to one of my online friends. My friend is still young and has wanted to have a child, but she suffers from bipolar disorder and needs to take the medication, so she's waiting to try to have a baby. Hence, she bought this doll which she named Hayley.
I hope to be around SchizophreniaConnection more often. I would really like to get to know you better. Ideally there should be an online meeting place for artists who suffer from mental illness. I'm going to do a little research on that. It seems to me a lot of people who suffer from mental illness happen to be quite creative. Personally, I think it's an essential ingredient in a recovery program.
Thanks again for your kind comments,
Kate : )