My Bipolar Artwork

Here are a few of my art pieces that inspired by my struggle of being bipolar (these are on my facebook art page). These reflect my personal feelings, moods, mania, depression, discrimination, stigma, and experiences.

"Flipside" by Sarah Zamora aka: Original Youth

MORE:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150559680725212.658342.156881330211&type=3

FYI: I'm bipolar, and it's not just sticks and stones that hurt...

FYI: Referring to the weather casually as 'bipolar' is offensive, unkind or ignorant.

Just like (inappropriately) misdiagnosing or calling someone (or something) any other label could be.... would you use any of these 'retarded, autistic, OCD, schizophrenic, mentally ill' in a negative way to casually joke about someone (whether they are or are not) and think it wouldn't hurt their feelings? I recommend you don't try.

A quick search online found these articles, which reinforced my gut instinct; I'm obviously not alone on this. Just thought I'd help others (any of you who needed clarification) be more educated on your decision to unkindly add more ugly discrimination and stigma to the world. I encourage you to just err on the side of kindness and not use mental (or physical) diagnosis as a metaphor.
The fact that many friends don't get the help they need or even tell their close friends/family/co-workers/pastors/church about their struggles or diagnosis is a continual reminder that we (as friends/peers/family/society/the church) are failing the ones who need us most. 

And some of us have a hard enough time as it is.

In truth and love, Sarah Zamora.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15213824
and
http://www.mindfreedom.org/kb/mental-health-abuse/psychiatric-labels/not-mentally-ill

My original artwork (sold to an L.A. Couple in 2011)
copyright Sarah Zamora, wwwOriginalYouth.com

Globes on the mantle

I thought I'd try a new display on the mantle after clearing out the Christmas decor. These vintage globes usually settle on our TV armoire (with one more) but are much easier to admire here.

I usually don't decorate symmetrically but I think it somehow works. What do you think?

Mixed Media Painting above is by Cindy Willingham of Revel Designs.
 

 Below is one of my new pieces, a layered work with found objects.


Hubby says 5 globes is more than enough; not sure I would tire of having more, I love them so! I'm a collector at heart, it's genetic. :)

Rockified urban changing table..

A much needed addition to the art studio, since many of my new students have younger siblings.  I've needed to get it up there for months, but had a HUGE piece of furniture blocking it in my garage that some friends just came to get.  It had the paint on it from Diego's room (before that it was purple for Sophie, and before that it was a factory pine finish), so I jazzed it up with some paint splatters, and spray paint stenciling.  Now it's much more hip, funkified, and stylish for the studio.

 

Organizing supplies on a dime

I thought I'd show a few more shots from the studio, on how I've organized some of my art supplies!  The shelves themselves were all FREE as well: scrap wood from the curb and from leftover projects from friends, and the black bookcases were originally brown and green, and were given to me by a friend who moved out and couldn't take them with her.

Paintbrushes above the sink are in re-purposed cans; I've spray painted all the cans one of 2 colors:
-White= NO sharp edges of any kind, safe for kids hands or to be left out.
-Red= NOT safe for kiddos, these have either one bit of tin that isn't smooth, or are the 'pop-top' soup type cans, where they aren't perfectly smooth.  It's kind of an icky way to remember, but they are red, cause they are sharp....and a cut makes blood.  Gross, but easy to remember!

Glass jars!  Love!  Makes it so easy to see everything.  They are kept high though, so little hands don't reach them/

The top shelf has loads of decorative boxes and tins, to hold other lovely things that arent' necessarily pretty.  Office supplies, Hot glue guns, etc..  They will eventually get a tag on them so I can see what they hold without having to open each one. :)  For now, most of them are actually empty.

the little turquoise and minty blue baskets are from $1 stores, and are great for transferring to the tables.  I love having a basket for sharpeners, erasers, different types of markers, etc. etc.

The black trays on top of the shelves serve 2 purposes: first, they keep things contained, like water spills from the cups or paint from the palettes, and to bridge the gap on top of the shelves between the wall.  The baseboards in this quirky home are really funky and fat, so there are about 4" between the wall and the top that we don't want to lose supplies in!  The trays were originally $1 at Target, and I got them at the thrift store on 1/2 price day, so I only paid 25cents each for them.  They are stackable (necessary when you have bulk supplies!) and hold lots of spillage; great for the kid's tables for paint and water cups.

The pop-up red fabric bins on the lower shelves are from Wal-Mart, they were 3 in a pack for $4.50 but recently went on clearance, so they may be cheaper!  They hold rubber stamps, painting rags, collage papers, inks, glues, and all sorts of other wonders!


Yesterday in day one of the preschool classes, we had a quick lesson on color mixing, and introducing the primary and secondary colors.  I used 6 jars, starting with just red, yellow and blue water, and we poured them together into the other 3 jars to make our secondary colors.  At the end of class, as a time-filler, we reviewed our colors, and I let the kids 'make music' with them with a spoon, tapping each jar to count the colors or say the color name.  At the end, the pretty-rainbow-waters were so lovely I couldn't bear to pour them down the drain, so now they are eye-candy in the kitchen window, at least until they evaporate!  I used Crayola Color Dotz (bathtub dye!).

Thanks for taking another little glimpse into the studio with me!

Happy Happy Pretty Shiny things

A friend visited the studio last week and snapped these lovely photos... You can become a fan of her photography on her facebook fan page: Jessica Rambo Photography  or, for more photos from the studio,  follow her BLOG!

BALLOONS for the open house!

 

happy little paint spinner

my daughter was a LITTLE bit excited. :)

AMAZING one of a kind aprons by Revel Designs!

The 'hot lava' rug....

paintbrush chandelier!

Quotes of the Month (February)

I thought it would be fun to make some quick signs each month for the studio wall, with inspirational artist quotes.  These are just paint pen on top of layers of spray paint and acrylics on canvas.

e.e. cummings.  WISE. :)

and

Andy Warhol.  An interesting pairing, but wise words from both, none-the-less.

Do you have a great artist quote I should use in the future?  Share it!