Who is the person who runs this business?
Artsplorational Design 2006
I am a seasoned social worker who has spent the past twenty years advocating for others. As a recovering alcoholic and reformed smoker (I have had twenty three years of sobriety and no nicotine), I embrace the responsibility to share with others my pathways to success. I have included some of my art on this web site. My art was and still is an important part of my recovery. Through my art I found a way to explore and understand my feelings, most of which I was not allowed to talk about to others, even my parents. My art became my respite from horrors too frightening to think about on a conscious level. I became adept at keeping them inside and in loyalty to my family "make" it look like all was okay.
I took my first drink when I was 15. I loved not only how the alcohol numbed my body and mind, I no longer had to struggle to keep my secrets inside. At 17, I dedicated my life to being a social derelict. I would live up to the feelings inside that I was no good and in fact worthless. My first exposure to drugs came my second year of college. I loved my drugs even more. The freedom I felt while flying high above earth in my mind's eye was unequal to any other feeling I could identify. My art became darker and darker often pointing exactly at the horrors I experienced without ever identifying it specifically. I used drugs and or alcohol on a daily basis and thus dropped out of my second year of college. I struggled to find my path continuing to use self inflicted injuries to speak aloud of the pain I felt inside. I could turn off physical pain quite successfully at this point in my life. The drugs became more potent as I strived to reclaim those first feelings of fleeting numbness and excitement. My daily use of alcohol and or drugs relieved me of the pressure to work and make something of myself. I could not hold a job longer than 9 months and even then my work record spoke of a person headed toward addiction and destruction.
I drew pictures of lands that I wanted to find and people I wanted to meet. Even though often surrounded by friends and family I was the loneliest person I knew. I made up a make belief life that I used to fly to when high or inebriated. During the height of my addictions, I still felt I had everything under control. I truly believed I was invincible. No one or nothing could harm me - I knew I had already lived my worst horrors, nothing I experienced came close to paralleling the fear I felt during my childhood. I did what I wanted. I lost respect for life itself; often engaging in behavior that had I not had a guardian angel on my shoulder would have ended my young life many times over.
I finally ended up in a treatment facility for 6 weeks. Two weeks in the county facility while I was waiting for the one covered by my insurance to accept me. I began taking antibuse after discharge but knew that if I wanted to drink I'd just have to stop taking it for a couple of days. I knew others in the program that drank regardless of whether they were taking the drug. I managed two 6 month periods of sobriety, then 1 year and then 3 years. Yes I drank after 3 years of sobriety. After that I began to take my treatment seriously and I now celebrate 23.5 years of sobriety.
I quit for the final time, April 5th, 1985. I quit smoking April 1st, 1984. How did I do it? I went to AA meetings, ACOA meetings, conferences on alcohol and substance abuse, therapy sometimes as much as 3 times a week. I read everything I could get my hands on regarding addiction. There were many authors that I listened to, Melodie Battie, John Bradshaw, Louise Hayes, Louise Fredrickson, etc. I changed the way I was eating. I started an exercise program. I went from swimming, to riding a bike, to riding a stationary bike, to using a Nordic Trac, to do aerobics every morning to a TV show from Canada. I worked hard to keep my sobriety.
I finally finished my bachelor's degree in 1986 and I got my Masters in 1989. Whatever I needed to do I did. What remained constant through my recovery is my art. As my sobriety progressed the sophistication of my drawings improved. I drew with confidence. I didn't need alcohol or drugs to fuel my creativity. Sobriety and embracing life improved my creativity. Accepting that I could be who I wanted to be improved my creativity. Accepting that life could be what I wanted it to be, increased my creativity. Knowing that all is okay and I have everything I need increased my creativity. I knew that balance between mind, body and soul was imperative and I used whatever technique necessary to develop and maintain that balance.
I am now enrolled in the Art Institute Online working towards an Associates of Science in Graphic Design. It has been a life-long dream of mine to attend art school. I am now fullfilling that dream. I have uploaded many of my "assignments" to my gallery. Some are great, some are good and some are a process of learning. Enjoy them...
If I can help you on your journey or help you to find your path please contact me by email or call (818) 574 - 6943 and leave a message.
Go peacefully with hope, grace and light -
Addendum: In addition to the above steps I've taken to maintain and solidify my sobriety I have also been using the laws of attraction to manifest and realize my dreams...check it out
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