NAMI makes my art its new Logo!

NAMI of Delaware and Morrow Counties requested to use one of my prints as the logo for their local affiliate. I couldn't be more pleased. Especially since I am active on the board. Here it is displayed on the t-shirts we printed for the Franklin County NAMI Walk.

  I digitally revised the older and somewhat faded original from 2008. It is so nice that my art has found its place in the description of mental health recovery.

Here is my art logo printed on the banner for NAMI Delaware and Morrow Counties. We proudly carried the banner on the Franklin County NAMI Walk in June 2014.

Here is the original art




             

           






 And the digitally revised art here.  I am pleased with the                                        crisper,brighter colors.

The Story behind "Releasing the Pain"

 This is my mixed-media piece, "Releasing the Pain".  The three figures represent the evolution of a person  through a painful experience. The first blue figure curled at the bottom is sad/blue. Her face is 
hidden by a broken heart. The second red figure is able to express warm compassion toward her broken self and embrace the pain. Her face is no longer covered by a broken heart. The third yellow figure represents  lightness and freedom in releasing her pain. Her pain no longer defines her. All three figures have emerged from darkness as seen by the black background. This painting represents hope through pain, which seems to be a recurring theme expressed in my art.

Creating Art has been a little slow recently. I am always sketching but haven't created anything worthy of framing or exhibiting. I have been enjoying some sketch pad apps available for my notepad. It is fun to learn to create with new media. For the creative person, something artistic can be made from just about anything. I guess our decendents' first permanent canvas was a cave wall. So here are some of the art I haved been playing with on sketch apps.

 

 

I sketched this one in church using "Drawing Pad" app for kids on my Kindle Fire.

 

I sketched this on SMemo on my Samsung GalaxyIII phone.

The content was from a traumatic incident in my life. During the most painful

time I saw Jesus in bright sunshine, comforting and helping me survive. Just sketching

this scene was healing.

                                                                                                                                                                   This also was created on the SMemo app on my Samsung GalaxyIII
   The "Harvest" sketch below I also made on the "Drawing Pad" app on the Kindle Fire.

And just for fun during a boring meeting I "clay doodled" this little guy and perched him on my notebook...just for fun. It is always handy to keep some Sculpy handy.  

So although none of these fun creations are masterpieces, it was fun exploring the endless media options available. And no messy paints are needed when the creative juices flow in the middle of a church service.                                          

April Art Exhibit...a success!

   Well the N.A.M.I  Art Exhibit and Reception last night was a tremendous success! Nearly two dozen artists exhibited some amazing work.   Exhibitors included painters, musicians, poets, crafters etc. To realize that many of these individuals struggle with  debilitating mental illnesses and still create is a testament to courage. Besides the symptoms of the illnesses causing challenges to daily living there are medication side effects that can play havoc and interrupt planned activities.
   The featured speaker was Dr. Frederick Frese a practitioner and advocate who also struggles with Schizophrenia. Dr. Frese was inspiring and funny.He encouraged fellow consumers, "We are different not deficient."
 Thank you to all who attended, supported and exhibited and thanks to the local N.A.M.I Affiliate of Delaware/Morrow Counties for your work hosting this event that continues to become more popular.   The butterfly painting in the photo below, was framed and presented to Dr. Frese in appreciation for his advocacy and support to our local N.A.M.I. His wife, Penny, on her way out the door later, took time to thank and assure me she had already selected a prominent place in her home to display the painting. I hope to post more photos of the evening activities as I receive them.
 

Art Exhibit in Delaware, Ohio

 The Art Exhibit on November 4th was well received. Thank you to all who visited and purchased art. It was really nice to see all of you. It was so confirming to realize that other people also enjoy what I have created.

The live musicians and entertainment was an enjoyable part  of the evening as well. Thank you to

 Lyn St. Clair of the Delaware Artist Showcase for hosting this beautiful cultural event.

 Read what others have said about JoEllen's Art Prints

 "Dear JoEllen......I am a counselor in Michigan and am doing a women's workshop in a couple weeks hoping to help women heal from woundedness, and was wondering if you would give me permission to use your drawing "Cocoon1" in powerpoint for my presentation? I am interested in your other art, also."


 Greetings of Peace.
I would like to ask permission to use "God's Comfort in Human Pain" as part of the instructional materials that I will use in a seminar-workshop on Handling Trauma in the Religious Formation Setting.

I am from the Philippines (Asia) and have been doing both formation work with the religous congregations and trauma work as a volunteer counselor. I am in the process of collecting materials which will be helpful for trauma survivor-formands using a holistic aproach, i.e., integrating the body-mind-spirit aspects in healing.

Thank you very much. I look forward to your positive response.
Sincerely yours,
----CARMEL

"I wanted to write to you and tell you how much we love your artwork  I was having a 'down' morning, and I went searching for some positive things on the Internet to give me a lift.  I found the art gallery  and saw the one called "Cocoon" (with the child cradled in hands). It is so gorgeous. I wanted to tell you that just seeing it helped me feel safer this morning.Thank you for sharing your gifts. You are very talented. When something like this touches me, I always want to let the person know about it. Thanks so much.

Peace and Happiness,
--"D" (name withheld for privacy)

Releasing the Pain

Releasing the Pain
http://www.cocooncreationsgallery-joellen.blogspot.com/

 This is my mixed-media piece, "Releasing the Pain".  The three figures represent the evolution of a person  through a painful experience. The first blue figure curled at the bottom is sad/blue. Her face is
hidden by a broken heart. The second red figure is able to express warm compassion toward her broken self and embrace the pain. Her face is no longer covered by a broken heart. The third yellow figure represents  lightness and freedom in releasing her pain. Her pain no longer defines her. All three figures have emerged from darkness as seen by the black background. This painting represents hope through pain, which seems to be a recurring theme expressed in my art.