SheilaLynnK Art Studio: Day 21 ~Bringing the Days Together

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Day 21 ~Bringing the Days Together

Survivors' Exhibit Sign Created by Wendy Skinner
at Signs and Wonders

Day 21 For the last few days, I have been posting the Opening Reception Details and Activities Around Social Media so that as many Arachnoiditis Survivors as Possible might be able to experience the exhibit and see for themselves that they were in our thoughts that day. I have to keep stopping myself from jumping too fast into the next cycle of the project. I just want to process THIS moment for a while instead of letting myself miss it. There are still a few videos to edit and assemble And Survivor Portraits to finish before we truly close out the first year of the Art For Arachnoiditis Project.

I am hoping these tasks will actually encourage me to focus on what is happening RIGHT NOW. I have an icky habit of getting so lost in preparation for the missions with a future end date that I frequently miss out on the blessings right in front of me. This was one of the hard-earned validating moments that shouldn't be allowed to get lost in the shuffle. There are lessons here that I must learn and absorb before I go any further.

It is yet another life experience which causes me to carefully examine my own definition of "success".
Opening day was, for the FIRST TIME EVER, the ground floor of a building dedicated ENTIRELY to the Arachnoiditis Survivors, information about how they came to exist, and how they are learning to cope.

In case I forget to mention it....this process is also key to Preventing ANYONE ELSE from experiencing a similar fate.

The sun was shining. It was in the 70s on a long-awaited Spring Day in Upstate New York. Were people breaking down the doors to come BACK INSIDE to see this work? To buy the art? To donate to the project? No.

Did Arachnoiditis Survivors Make Healing Art? Did they connect with each other as they learned about the project and the art? Did visitors SEE all of the names in one place? and All of THEIR work TOGETHER showing the existence of arachnoiditis? Did strangers once uninformed about Arachnoiditis find out more? and Attempt to complete normal tasks from an adaptive, perspective-changing position on the Ostrich Cot?
Did the Survivors get to see this
TIME AND SPACE EXCLUSIVELY DEDICATED TO THEM/US? YES!

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

Day 20 Was about Limited Liberty, a video of the interactive installation created with artist, Allison Midgley and the assistance of project exhibit volunteers, Kristen Kruger, Crystal Carlton, and Christell Kalkbrenner.

"To Include Survivors from Near and Far, Names of ALL registered Arachnoiditis Survivors, including those registered for the Map of the Survivors, were inserted into prescription bottles and suspended throughout the exhibit at assorted heights to simultaneously illustrate the limitations placed upon us by the medical injury, the freedom/impairment dichotomy that comes with prescription medication for pain management, and OUR DETERMINATION TO COME TOGETHER ANYWAY."

Limited Liberty Installed

Day 19 Was An Art For Arachnoiditis Project Presentation Video from the opening Reception of the Survivors' Exhibit with an Important Message from the Foundation for Art & Healing. This 37 minute presentation video created for the Opening Reception of the First Art For Arachnoiditis Project Exhibit is the long version of why the Art For Arachnoiditis Project is happening and the benefits of its existence.