“My piece is a representation of my anchor in life – my pets. Life can be stressful at times, but the simple presence of an animal is immediately calming; it’s why people have therapy pets and why dogs are brought to hospitals to cheer people up. When life gets hard, sometimes the best thing you can do is look into the eyes of something that’ll always support you [and] always love you, no matter what.”
“My submission shows one of the things that anchors me, which is skincare. Doing skincare is my self-care. I feel refreshed after I do skincare, and my mind is clearer. I tried to translate this feeling into my painting by having the reflection in the painting show my happiness. […] Skincare is a part of my routine, and I always know I’ll be able to do it, so it is the constant in my life that helps me stay hopeful.”
“My mother has always been someone I can rely on and brings me happiness. She is always available to offer me guidance and console me when I’m going through a hard time. My painting shows my mother acting as a guide, helping me go through my journey of life which is represented by a map of rough terrain. Her touch radiates warm yellow light, a symbol of comfort that repels negative emotions.”
My entry is titled, “Mental Health Matters.” My entry demonstrates that life can be extremely busy, and many things can be overwhelming. Many people don’t realize what may be going through a person’s mind everyday. A person’s mind can get so full that it turns into a bunch of negative thoughts, that are running through your mind. Deep down that someone can conquer what may be going on mentally by listening to their heart, and going to find someone trusted to talk to about what they are feeling inside.
I know that a lot of people experience mental health differently and the things holding people back from being happy can be one thing or many. People can’t just “be happy”, it takes more than that. The person in my drawing is holding a watering can and the flower on there is meant to represent someone’s mental health and the person allowing it to grow and flourish. Drawing this made me really happy and I think that a lot of people feel held back by certain things, but once people realize whatever it is that will make them happy they can grow
My submission shows how mental health can change daily. You can do the same thing everyday but you can still feel like you’re in different worlds. Every day you can feel like you lost a running out of time and your going nowhere but other days you feel free and you have a purpose and you feel the time is right.
My art work shows the different sides of mental health. One side is about when I am feeling strong and confident, I feel invincible. BUT behind that I have lots of insecurities and I overthink a lot.
Growing plants is a big part of a world that supports my mental health so I drew a person gathering dirt around a new plant that curls into a green ribbon. I thought that it was a creative way to incorporate the ribbon into the plant showing how plants can help improve mental health. Plants are proven to help improve mental and physical health. Not only is it peaceful to walk through nature but a study shows that trees and plants release phytoncides which not only protect the tree but if inhaled help lower stress hormones. Sometimes the simple act of planting a seed, flower or plant can give someone purpose and something to look forward to seeing grow.
My art reflects upon the idea of young people being seen and heard with their mental health. I feel as though many young people aren’t taken seriously when it comes to this, especially in younger children. This is an important problem that is overlooked in society. A world where mental health is taken seriously is what is portrayed in my painting, simply a young person being heard by an adult/therapist/person that cares. Communicating and expressing care towards young mental health creates a great impact of a sense of belonging and feeling heard.I feel like this is something the world needs. To represent how this relates back to mental health month, I included a green ribbon on the listener and on the corner table, a stack of cards that show Directing Change’s slogan and logo.
My piece aims to depict a common mental strain that students in particular face a lot of; anxiety. Pressures are piled upon many students, largely from expectations from parents, society, and themselves. Anxiety often goes ignored until it reaches a breaking point for many students though, as there is a culture in pushing oneself until burnout. This is not a healthy practice, and the youth should be educated in the fact that they should allow themselves time to step back, reflect, and get help for any negative emotions they accumulate. The splash of color in my painting, incorporated through the lime green ribbon, represents the help that is available in a sea of warped and grim emotions, show through perspective and monotone colors. It is my hope that through increased mental health awareness, more adolescents will be able to recognize their own mental hardships, and find help in the communities around them.