Nonprofit Promotes Art for Recovery
Text by Rick McVicar
Addiction and Art, a nonprofit organization, touts the wonders of creativity through visual art for health and recovery from addiction in various forms.
The group's owner responded to a Facebook message and gave permission for citing Addiction and Art's website.
"Our site promotes the use of visual art to promote dialogue about addiction recovery,'" the message said.
The group's website features art published by reputable sources. For instance, the website promotes the book Addiction and Art, published by Johns Hopkins University Press.
The nonprofit group displays on its website the work of several artists recovering from addiction.
One example of featured artwork is a painting titled, “Freedom from Addiction,” by Candy Aaron. It shows a deck of cards flying into a blue sky while scattered pills and a broken bottle are depicted nearby. The gallery entry includes a statement of faith from the artist.
“Loveliness surrounds the captive which is unseen by the one drowning in tears of regret and helplessness,” Aaron writes.
The artist goes on to tell how God intervenes to bring someone out of the throes of addiction.
Further, “Hope,” by Rita Byalcerzak, portrays a 12-step staircase, lined by ivy, leading to a stone arch. The artist describes the painting as steps leading to a mysterious door of hope.
Meanwhile, “AGONY,” by Perry Barclay-Goddard, is a series of drawings representing various stages of the artist’s recovery. A sample piece made with charcoal and acrylic shows a garden bulb producing a large circular flower. Barclay-Goddard also has written a short description of how his series has helped renew bonds with his children.
Poetry is included on the website as well.
For instance, “Recovery: The Blessing of Life,” by Wally Byalcerzak, tells a personal story of progress from addiction to recovery. The poem begins with a story of addiction and leads to words of gratitude for sobriety.
“That relationships in recovery brought the most joy to us and our beloved,” reads one of the lines of the poem.
The nonprofit website can be found at www.addictionandart.org.
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