resilienceRSVP.com

MY STORY

I’ve been artist since childhood, but until recently my work wasn’t autobiographical. In the past few years I began creating works of art about my dual chronic illnesses. After spending two decades trying to balance my ongoing health issues while living a relatively normal life (work, family, hobbies), I finally gained a fresh perspective on my situation summarized down to one word:

PERSEVERANCE

The continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, opposition, or failure.

Around 2016, my health seemed to stabilize enough for me to start focusing on other parts of my life. I went into the studio and began making works of art about persevering over my broken body. I started by illustrating each part that had been surgically altered, and then moved on to embodied experiences related to my illnesses and treatments. As my work developed, I bravely documented realistic images of the unsightly damage on my hands, revealing to viewers how these illnesses have physically affected me.

I continued this self-investigation, composing a memoir of my most memorable chronic illness moments in a series of 15 postcards that were mailed to approximately 75 people over the course of 15 weeks. This project is ongoing, as I will continue to send cards as they seem relevant to my life with chronic illness.

My work is now shifting outside of my personal story. I am interested in hearing others’ stories of perseverance.

THE PROJECT

I am building a collection of stories of perseverance and resilience, two ongoing themes in my life and work. My hope is we can bravely acknowledge, share and celebrate how we collectively endure.

THE PROCESS

I have shared my story here, and in my visual art works. Most recently, I sent my story out in the form of postcards, recalling significant moments in my life dealing with my chronic illnesses. Now I am seeking voluntary reciprocation. If you wish to share your story with me, please consider responding to one of the following questions:

How have you persevered?

What in life has made you resilient?

What is one of the most difficult things you have had to overcome?

How have you developed endurance?

Where do you get your grit?

How do we embody trauma (physical, psychological) and move forward?

What made you broken? And how did you put yourself back together?

How do you keep a spirit alive in a field that is dark?

It is my hope this collection will help build a shared empathy around our personal stories of struggle. I know simply writing about your challenges in life will not be curative. However, seeing that others are experiencing the same feelings may help for us not to feel alone in our journeys.

Putting my story in the public eye was an incredibly vulnerable moment for me. I completely understand the courage it takes to make a personal moment public. My request is share only if you are comfortable sharing.

Tips for writing:

• Don’t worry about perfection - in the appearance or the language. These stories are imperfect and the visible flaws on the paper can reflect that.

• Try drafting on a scrap first, if needed, to allow yourself the time to reflect, without being concerned about “the project” (most writing materials erase off this paper, too).

• Consider pulling just a few key elements from your story to share - I tend to overwrite! Conciseness is good, too.

• You can use both papers if you have a long story to tell. You can also write on both sides of the paper. You can also contact me for more supplies if you need them.

• A ballpoint pen or pencil seems to work well - some of the gel pens tend to smear (which is ok ––I’ve learned to embrace flaws!)

• You can also look at these sample stories or contact me with questions.