HIERO

HIERO is a mental health initiative that focuses on using art to normalize struggles with mental health, and also offers resources for those who need it. As my work is deeply focused on mental health, I’ve been involved with HIERO through their sketchbook collection Small but Mighty and their online gallery, The Collection.

Read more about HIERO.

Find Blooms and Bones on HIERO’s site here.

Blooms and Bones focuses on the stages of struggling mentally. The three-part series begins with a figure holding on to the skull of an animal, seemingly finding some sort of comfort in it and being surrounded by flower buds that have yet to blossom. The second image shows a figure still holding on to an animal skull, but it can now be seen crumbling away as she looks towards the developing blooms around her. In the final image, the girl can be seen looking outwards and away from the now completely shattered skull, surrounded by new orchid blossoms.

Blooms and Bones, 2020. Colored pencil on wood. Three circular pieces at 6″ x 6″.

This relationship between the skull and the figure is meant to represent my own relationship with depression, as I found myself building a habit of falling back in to it as a sort of comfort. Only when I started letting go of the comfort that I found in sadness was I able to look forward towards new opportunities, represented by the orchids as they progressively blossom. I still have my struggles, but the hope in this piece lead me to believe it was appropriate to contribute to a collection focusing on improving one’s relationship with their mental health.

The three pieces up close individually.

The use of colored pencil on wood allowed for a more organic quality to the drawings, with this series being the one that led me to my current style and method of art making. This was the first time I had drawn on wood or made a three-part series, both qualities that would later show up in my Thesis I and Thesis II projects.

Blooms and Bones as displayed on HIERO’s site.