Coping With COVID: 2020 Art of Recovery Virtual Gallery
Because COVID prevented us from having a gallery show, please view the artworks below for the 2020 Art of Recovery Exhibit. As new works are submitted, they will be added here, so check back periodically.
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LossTwila Wilt
Miami County Painting She represents all of us who long for hugs from children, grandchildren, friends. Her arms have atrophied from lack of use. The spirit dies a little each day without human touch from loved ones. The simplest things in our lives reveal themselves as immense during this period. Loss has been sizable. |
LongingTwila Wilt
Miami County Drawing The central tree represents me. The others are family and friends who must be kept at a distance, especially since I have an underlying health condition, lung cancer. The buildings in the distance, barely seen, represent the places I was accustomed to frequenting: friends' and families’ homes, clubs to fellowship with others in Recovery for support, shops and restaurants, entertainment venues. The hill represents the obstacle COVID-19 hands me in enjoying life as it was. |
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Defiant
Theresa Smith
Miami County
Painting
COVID......a word that ignites fear, anxiety and dread. All of those and more fill my head while trying to wrap my mind around overwhelming grief. I knew what Covid meant for me. Extreme isolation. I have been a practicing isolationist for years. The 2009 H1N1 pandemic caused permanent damage to my lungs requiring oxygen 24/7. I know all to well the depths of despair one can sink to when left with your own thoughts. I too have walked through the valley of darkness. As I worked my way through I learned I am the protector of my mind, my health and my soul. It is I who chooses who and what I surround myself. I chose not to dwell on the lurking plague of Covid outside my door but to fill my hours and days with encouragement, joyfulness, wonder and love. I chose to be purposeful, and mapped out my Covid isolation goals. 1. Travel the world 2. Meet people from all over the world 3. Tour museums 4. Explore every medium in art 5. Self care - meditation, Tai Chi, yoga & ballet 6. Virtually from my home daily. My Covid road map has taken me far and wide and established friendships from all walks of life. My disability taught me to reach out and to make self care a priority which has guided me through this pandemic. Family & friends joke I am busier now than when I could walk out my door. Title: Defiant Artist: Theresa Smith The black backdrop represents uncertainty of health, well being and dark times. The girl stands facing defiantly the uncertainty in our lives with her feet firmly on the ground surrounded by the vibrant flowers she chooses to accompany her through this isolation. All the while fully aware of what is lurking on the other side of the door for her and the world.
Miami County
Painting
COVID......a word that ignites fear, anxiety and dread. All of those and more fill my head while trying to wrap my mind around overwhelming grief. I knew what Covid meant for me. Extreme isolation. I have been a practicing isolationist for years. The 2009 H1N1 pandemic caused permanent damage to my lungs requiring oxygen 24/7. I know all to well the depths of despair one can sink to when left with your own thoughts. I too have walked through the valley of darkness. As I worked my way through I learned I am the protector of my mind, my health and my soul. It is I who chooses who and what I surround myself. I chose not to dwell on the lurking plague of Covid outside my door but to fill my hours and days with encouragement, joyfulness, wonder and love. I chose to be purposeful, and mapped out my Covid isolation goals. 1. Travel the world 2. Meet people from all over the world 3. Tour museums 4. Explore every medium in art 5. Self care - meditation, Tai Chi, yoga & ballet 6. Virtually from my home daily. My Covid road map has taken me far and wide and established friendships from all walks of life. My disability taught me to reach out and to make self care a priority which has guided me through this pandemic. Family & friends joke I am busier now than when I could walk out my door. Title: Defiant Artist: Theresa Smith The black backdrop represents uncertainty of health, well being and dark times. The girl stands facing defiantly the uncertainty in our lives with her feet firmly on the ground surrounded by the vibrant flowers she chooses to accompany her through this isolation. All the while fully aware of what is lurking on the other side of the door for her and the world.
Stronger Together
Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
Painting I created this watercolor around the time the COVID lockdown began in Ohio. This painting is a message of hope, that through working together as one, we can overcome and heal from this historic and unprecedented crisis. |
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Love of Country
Beckie Neff
Clark County Painting I recognize this is a piece of art with different views... especially during COVID times and the election looming. But I was given this vision to paint and share... so hoping it will bring hope to those in need. This is what I was thinking as I created it..... As I was painting, this vision recently given to me, I thought of how I was born to loving parents of “the greatest generation”. How lucky I was to learn from them. They had experienced the fears of losing their freedoms we have today. Those sacred freedoms explained, respected and honored in our home. My grandfather served and fought in WWI, my father served and fought in WWII. They both lived strong lives of convictions afterwards, with Love of Country in the hearts each day. I saw the light in their eyes flicker with battle scars, seeing their brothers die in front of them, while watching their beloved American flag burn from bullets, bombs and shrapnel. My dad taught me what the inner beauty of our great American Flag waves and stands for. As tears welled up gratitude in my throat, I know that I still have my freedom today and every day, because of brave men & women like them. I pondered deeply why I was given this vision blindfolded when I could see the Love of Country in the eyes of my loved ones and those who serve. I thought about blind faith too. And then I realized that sometimes blindfolding our physical sight, and using our inner sight, is what allows us to truly see. |
Blind FaithBeckie Neff
Clark County Painting "When we find ourselves in the darkness of the unknown, we need only to lean on our blind faith. The knowing that you must move forward even through fear. The divine light will always give you the guidance to find your path. Your light never leaves you". Love B I have lost and buried both my Mom and Father-in-law and a sister-in-law since April during COVID. I have endured and survived 4 weeks of having COVID myself and being by myself for two of those weeks, while dealing with my rare autoimmune as well. Truly my blind faith is the only thing I had to grasp onto during these ongoing challenging times. I shared it on Facebook and it helped many others too. |
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COVID - Yin YangRusty Harden
Miami County Drawing The yin and yang nature of the covid-19 pandemic sometimes lent itself to guilt. However dark and difficult dealing with all events or lack of events there are experiences, decisions and triumphs that are positive. The worst and then the best of times I could not outrun unresolved issues by staying busy. I guess they were going to catch me someday. The modest drawing representing such duality is also a a change. No deeply beautiful image speaking profound thoughts or disturbing images meant to be provocative. Odd times. |
Field of Postponed DreamsBrad Reed
Miami County Photography This image of my grandson sitting in the empty bleachers at an empty baseball field captures the feeling of the Lost Summer due to the pandemic |
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Spinning During COVIDDonovan Moore
Miami County Painting/Video During Covid, I found a passion in creating spin art with a drill and canvas. I would record my creations and post them on social media. One of my videos gained 3000 views and 400 likes. It showed me a lot of people were surfing social media during this time. |
St. Sebastian
Maureen OKeefe
Shelby County Painting acrylic on wood panel 48" x 96" inches completed in 2020 On the surface, this painting is an image of Saint Sebastian, an early Christian martyr who was sentenced to death and shot with arrows. He survived his death sentence, was brought back to health, and continued to try to warn the emperor of his sins. He was put to death again. I used my younger brother as the model for this work. He posed for it shortly after being released from prison. My brother was a heroin addict. He tried over and over again to come back from his addiction, to help others in their struggle, and to take care of his family. He wasn't always successful, but to me his refusal to give up was a symbol of the strength of his character. In the end, like Saint Sebastian, he was defeated. My brother succumbed to his addiction after two months of COVID quarantine and isolation. Although it was completed before his death, the end of his story mirrors that of Saint Sebastian in my mind. Its my reminder never to give up, never to stop trying to do better even if you seem to fail. |
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Temptation and RegretCrista Bartlett
Miami County Photography When in quarantine people in recovery from an eating disorder found their battle getting harder and harder to get help. Eating Disorders are (sometimes) about control, when those people lose control in their lives, they cope with unhealthy behaviors. Some people with anorexia, bulimia, etc, found it tremendously hard to continue on their path of recovery. |
The Lost MindJ. Andrew Stekli
Miami County Painting During the shutdown of schools in the Spring, I found myself extremely stressed and lost when I could not attend school in person. The painting was a way for me to anchor myself. The lighter blue strokes above the subject's head represent my mindset during quarantine and the tear running down the subject's face depicts the pain many felt during the pandemic. |
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Virtual FreedomHannah Hopkins
Shelby County Digital Illustration I spent most of my time during quarantine by playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Animal Crossing helps me retain my social skills when I'm unable to communicate IRL since it has a feature where you can have daily conversations with your villagers, as well as having online features to play with your friends over the internet. It also helps me express myself in the way I want to be seen compared to how many of my family or friends see me. It helps me feel free :) |
In the Year of Fear, Hope Lives HereSafeHaven Members
Miami, Darke and Shelby Counties Mixed Media An outdoor mask art display in the yard of SafeHaven’s Miami County site at 633 N. Wayne St. in Piqua, October 5-6, 2020. The public was invited to drive by, park, or walk through the yard to view masks made by SafeHaven members in Darke, Miami, and Shelby Counties, created with themes of mental illness and recovery. As part of mental health awareness week, this display is an invitation and an opportunity for anyone to learn more about mental illness and the journeys of those we serve and to help fight stigma…and for us to spread appreciation to all those who provide support to the suffering and to SafeHaven’s mission. In the year of fear, Hope Lives Here. |
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