Art & Healing: MInd Fields

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More About

• Christie Furnas
• Bridget Riversmith
• Mental Health

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"Mind Fields" is a show that requires courage both from Intermedia Arts for conceptualizing it, and from the artists who chose to be honest about their own histories of mental illness. The idea is to show how art can help people heal, and to explore mental illness in an artistic way by mixing works by artists and health care practitioners. The result is a diverse display of mediums and styles including recordings, drawings, and paintings that share the artists' stories and emotions. Iowa-bred Bridget Riversmith, whose painting Momentum shows a figure being swept out of a cornfield by a menacing twister, says "They told me I had mental illness when I was in grade school, and I almost died from it when I was 11. I've lost jobs, dropped out of school, became homeless, and hated myself for having this ineffable malady. At least I never lost art. I kept it safe and it's kept me safe, too." Christie Furnas, whose drawing Self Portrait appears in the gallery, says that being diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder made her realize just how important art is to her. The artists took refuge in their crafts when they were unwell, and the gallery viewers can take solace in that strength.
Sept. 27-Jan. 5, 2007