‘We can get through it together’: Sacramento art exhibit puts spotlight on mental health
Updated: 9:02 PM PDT May 23, 2024
SACRAMENTO ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO THINK ABOUT THEIR MENTAL HEALTH. YEAH, SOME ARTISTS SHARE THEIR WORK TELLING STORIES OF THEIR EXPERIENCES AND THEIR PERSONAL JOURNEYS. KCRA 3’S ANDREA FLORES SHOWS US THE IMPACT OF THE ART ON ONE SACRAMENTO ARTIST. THIS IS MY PIECE RIGHT HERE. IT’S CALLED ASTRAL CONNECTION. ELIZABETH DAVIS WATCHES HER ART THAT SHOWCASED AT THE LGBT CENTER IN SACRAMENTO. THIS PIECE IS IS DEDICATED TO MY BEST FRIEND CAITLIN HERRICK, WHO PASSED AWAY FOUR YEARS AGO. THE BLACK AND RED REPRESENT HER FAVORITE COLORS AND THE RAINBOW REPRESENTS HER SON AND I JUST MADE THIS PAINTING BECAUSE I REALLY, REALLY MISS HER. DAVIS STARTED PAINTING FOUR YEARS AGO AT THE START OF THE PANDEMIC. IT’S BEEN LIKE A MEDITATION FOR ME TO CREATE ABSTRACT ART. THIS FEELS SO GOOD TO RELEASE EVERYTHING THAT I’M FEELING ONTO, ONTO A CANVAS, LIKE A RUSH OF ENERGY AND LIKE EXPERIMENTING WITH DIFFERENT COLORS AND TECHNIQUES. HER ART HAVING A POSITIVE EFFECT ON HER MENTAL HEALTH. WHEN I’M DOING MY ART, IT’S LIKE I’M SO LIKE, IT’S ALMOST LIKE I’M NOT THINKING MY ANXIETY USED TO BE REALLY, REALLY, REALLY BAD. BUT DOING ART HAS KIND OF LIKE CALMED ME. I CAME FROM A REALLY ROUGH BACKGROUND, A LOT OF FAMILY TRAUMA, A LOT OF GENERATIONAL TRAUMA. BUT ART KIND OF SAVED ME. I THINK ART IS SO SOOTHING BECAUSE IT ALLOWS YOU TO BE ABLE TO RELEASE FEELINGS OR EMOTIONS. LAVIOLA WARD ADMIRES THE WORK FROM THIS YEAR’S CONTEST. I BEGAN CREATING ART DURING THE PANDEMIC AS WELL. I HAD A LOT ON MY SHOULDERS. I FELT ISOLATED, I WAS HOME, I WAS PREGNANT, I HAD A LOT GOING ON. I HAVE WORKED REALLY, REALLY HARD TO OVERCOME A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT I HAVE STRUGGLED THROUGH. WARD IS A LICENSED CLINICAL COUNSELOR IN SACRAMENTO. I GO OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY, I HELP PEOPLE STRUGGLING WITH THEIR MENTAL HEALTH CONCERNS AND I ALSO LIVE WITH GENERALIZED ANXIETY AND DEPRESSIVE DISORDER, AND I HAVE SUFFERED TRAUMA IN MY LIFE. USING HER OWN EXPERIENCE TO HELP OTHERS STOP STIGMA. SACRAMENTO UM, IT’S MY BABY. YOU KNOW, WE’RE SPREADING INFORMATION. WE’RE SPREADING RESOURCES. MOST OF ALL, WE’RE NORMALIZING THE FACT THAT, LIKE, WE’RE ALL EXPERIENCING THIS MENTAL HEALTH IS SOMETHING THAT WE ALL POSSESS. AND AT SOME TIMES WE’RE ALL GOING TO STRUGGLE WITH OUR MENTAL HEALTH. BUT FINDING THE HEALTHY WAYS TO COPE IS KEY. I’VE LEARNED TOOLS TO COPE WITH THINGS IN A MORE HEALTHY MANNER. WE NEED TO FIND WAYS TO MANAGE OUR MENTAL HEALTH IN A IN A HEALTHY WAY, LIKE THROUGH ART, THROUGH MUSIC, THROUGH DANCING AND ENCOURAGING OTHERS. IT’S OKAY TO NOT BE OKAY TO START THEIR OWN JOURNEY. WE’RE STRUGGLING TOO, BUT WE CAN GET THROUGH IT TOGETHER, YOU KNOW? AND I HOPE THAT THAT’S WHAT PEOPLE WILL WILL GATHER FROM THE EXHIBITION. ANDREA FLORES KCRA THREE NEWS
Advertisement
‘We can get through it together’: Sacramento art exhibit puts spotlight on mental health
Updated: 9:02 PM PDT May 23, 2024
A new exhibit in Sacramento’s LGBT center is aiming to put a spotlight on mental health.The works of a handful of local artists are on display, allowing them to highlight their experiences and personal journeys. “It’s been meditation for me to construct abstract art,” said Elizabeth Davis, who has art in the exhibit. “This feels so good to release everything that I’m feeling onto a canvas, like a rush of energy.” One of Davis’ paintings honors her best friend who passed away four years ago. La Viola Ward, a licensed clinical counselor, also uses art as a healthy outlet. She said she began making art during the pandemic. “We’re struggling too but we can get through it together,” Ward said. “I hope that’s what people will gather from the exhibition. To learn more about how art has been a healthy outlet for Ward and Davis, watch the video player above. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app.
A new exhibit in Sacramento’s LGBT center is aiming to put a spotlight on mental health.
The works of a handful of local artists are on display, allowing them to highlight their experiences and personal journeys.
Advertisement
“It’s been meditation for me to construct abstract art,” said Elizabeth Davis, who has art in the exhibit. “This feels so good to release everything that I’m feeling onto a canvas, like a rush of energy.”
One of Davis’ paintings honors her best friend who passed away four years ago.
La Viola Ward, a licensed clinical counselor, also uses art as a healthy outlet. She said she began making art during the pandemic.
“We’re struggling too but we can get through it together,” Ward said. “I hope that’s what people will gather from the exhibition.
To learn more about how art has been a healthy outlet for Ward and Davis, watch the video player above.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app.