It started November 2007 when I was challenged to name an exhibition that the Jamaica Guild of Artist was mounting in Nassau, Bahamas and together with our sponsors, No Excuse Bahamas led by Bahamian Sidney Strachen whose focus is primarily on youth awareness programs with emphasis on sexual and domestic violence, also on women issues. We came up with The Healing Power of Art. Little Did I know that this name would begin a year long adventure that has changed my life. What is more exciting about the adventure is that I am not alone but am in the company of many artist who are on the same quest. What is even more surprising is that the concept fit more into my philosophy of life than I would have originally thought. You see, I’m the original positive thinker, the one who will see the successes and never even think that the negatives will occur, I really don’t plan for them, this has not always worked well for me and those around me are getting tired of all that positive, especially with all that’s happening in the world.
Can art really heal? Well yes it can, if you’ll just give it a chance or maybe it’s the positive frame of mind that you get from seeing a cheerful or reflective painting or hearing a beautiful melodious song or maybe it’s from the share joy that beauty brings that may just change every cancer cell to a healthy one. Lest you think that This lady is a little bit touched let me share with you the research done at Roswell Park Cancer Center “…….Our vision for the art program has always been to connect with patients on an emotional and often inspirational level,” said Jewett. “We see our work as a natural extension of Roswell Park’s medical and psychosocial programs… focusing on the whole patient experience, and the experience of visitors and family members facing cancer with their loved ones”1 . Then Mount Sinai also finds there is something to this “….Sharon London Liss, an art dealer for 25 years and Chair of Mount Sinai Hospital’s Art Committee, tells a story that happened while hanging a painting in the Wasser Pain Management Centre the day before the new facility was officially opened. “One patient said ‘Can I give you a hand with that?’ And suddenly there was a whole change of atmosphere. There were comments like ‘Isn’t that nice. Look at how good that looks.’ It took their minds off their pain. They had something else to focus on. It was really quite amazing.”
With more than 1,000 works of art throughout the Hospital, there are other examples of how art can have a positive impact on the environment. Following renovations that included the addition of several works of art, there has been a drop in frequency of property damage to the In-Patient Psychiatry Unit on 9 South. Donna Romano, 9 South Nursing Unit Administrator, attributes this to an overall improvement in the environment. “With art, the Unit is more therapeutic and more conducive to addressing psychological issues,” she says2. If I were going to quote all the research then It would take all day and it may not really convey the point I really want to make. Just one more thing, I found that “nature scenes had the most effective type of healing, they foster stress recovery by eliciting positive responses in blood pressure and muscle tension”
Well then if art can heal by altering ones psychological and physiological state to a more positive frame where healing can occur then why not give this healing power a whirl and see for myself. With this motivation in mind I began to paint pictures which were uplifting colourful and from nature. Each creation was a product of a very positive mindset, a deep focus on healing and an even deeper faith that God was behind this process. By March I’d generated images which I believed would help any one who wanted just an tinge of joy and I had come up with a very well thought out, heart searching concept which goes like this “……. Jesus says of flowers “…not even Solomon in all his splendor was arrayed like one of these”. For me each floral painting is about the character of the flower. The “in your face” pieces that I do challenge me to not just paint a pretty piece of work for your dining room but really says, stop, look and experience colour, shape, and what ever else you can glean from stopping here. I use colour to create excitement and lure the spectator to come closer. Most of my work is non conventional, the ordinary rules of composition are mostly used but like myself, convention is not always required. I paint for effect to elicit an emotional response. If you observe a group of people walking through a garden and the response that they have to a very red flower, for instance a rose or a hibiscus you would probably notice the exclamations, the admiration and sheer awe. My use of reds, oranges, yellows in the florals seek to capture that effect. More to the point it is also about upliftment. If I’ve given you a a reason to smile or just a twinge of joy then I’ve achieved my goal”.
My quest continues not just to earn from my art but to help others with it. To give to my fellow man all that God has given me. You see it’s about “loving your neighbour as yourself” that is true joy that erases my fears. Art has healed me.
Together with the Guild I returned to The Ladder Gallery, Nassua, Bahamas, this time we are fundraising for Hands for Hunger. This time also, we are calling the exhibition The Healing Power of Art. We hope that this exhibition has not only helped with the target of feeding the hungry but has also uplifted all who attend the exhibition you see, you can never tell where, when or how healing may happen.
http://www.preejamaica.com/?p=3047
https://www.roswellpark.org/Giving/About_Us