My latest art project turned out to be more than I anticipated it to be. I love painting windows; not from the inside looking out necessarily, but from outside looking toward the window. It reminds me of my mental illness in that you can look at the window, but you never know what’s happening behind those curtains; much in the same way someone can look at a person with mental illness, but can never tell what’s going on inside that person’s mind. The curtains of the mind are closed.
This painting; ‘Window To My Soul’, is dedicated to all those who, today, are suffering from mental illness; and to those who have lost their battle with this ‘cancer’ of the mind. They have fought a courageous, brave and tiring fight. But, just like cancer, there are times when it just can’t be beaten.
I also want to dedicate this painting to the founder of ‘Project Semicolon’, Amy Blevel, who has since died at the age of thirty-one. Her aim was to end the stigma around mental illness. She came up with the idea for the project in April 2013, when she urged those affected by mental illness to draw a semicolon on their wrist and post a photo on social media. The punctuation mark symbolizes a story that is not finished. “A semicolon is used when an author could’ve chosen to end their sentence, but chose not to.” Amy said on her website, “The author is you and the sentence is your life.”
Since then the semicolon has become a permanent symbol of mental illness by being used as a tattoo, most commonly on the wrist where I so proudly display mine. It’s not just a semicolon; it’s hope, it’s inspiration, it’s who. We. Are. ‘Your life matters.’ Your story isn’t over yet;;;;
To help keep Amy Blevel’s goal of ending the stigma around mental illness, and to support those with a mental illness; I have decided to place a semicolon in my painting, “Window To My Soul”. Look closely until you find it!
I would like to challenge those of you who are suffering from a mental illness or those who have been touched by mental illness through a family member or close friend, to get a semicolon tattoo as a reminder that your story isn’t over yet; and the support of family and friends is so desperately needed. We cannot travel this road alone.
And, the next time we look at a window from the outside, may we be reminded of the struggle, the fight, the pain that is behind the ‘curtain of the mind’ of a person dealing with a mental illness.