I’ll be MC’ing a fundraiser tomorrow evening to raise money for artists with mental illness. Christine’s Escape is an exhibition of artwork by Christine Ross, an artist who has battled mental illness throughout her life. Held at Ottawa’s La Petite Mort Gallery, the vernissage features talks by Christine’s daughter, Siobhan Arnott, who tells the story of her mother’s career and Herd Magazine founder and editor-in-chief, Stephanie Vicente, who will speak of her own struggles with mental illness.
When I was asked to pitch in for the vernissage, there was only one possible answer. This exhibition is about Christine Ross, but it is also about our need for good mental health and our ongoing battle to achieve or maintain the equilibrium we all seek as individuals. As such, there are elements of my own story that tie into the evening.
My own mother fought a raging war against vascular dementia. She tried so hard to be the general in command of her situation, but instead was forced to rely on my little family and me to act as her frightened foot soldiers. We spent much time in some very emotional trenches. It was through beating a retreat into my own creative practice that I found the nourishment I needed in order to push on and, indeed, to sleep at night. For when you have no control over the mind of a loved one, it is profound gratitude that you embrace the things over which you do. So to see an image take form or a narrative develop at your own hand is a great gift that can help keep your head above water.
Christine Ross is my friend Siobhan’s mother. And, I feel confident in saying, her favourite artist. For years they have struggled together and part, but always against the same enemy we try so hard to tame: that which is mental illness. This exhibition has come about as the result of much hard work and even more deep love.
All money raised from the sales of the artwork will go towards funding The Art Studio, a service offered by Family Services Ottawa that gives artists coping with mental illness supplies and space to work.
When I was asked to pitch in for the vernissage, there was only one possible answer. This exhibition is about Christine Ross, but it is also about our need for good mental health and our ongoing battle to achieve or maintain the equilibrium we all seek as individuals. As such, there are elements of my own story that tie into the evening.
My own mother fought a raging war against vascular dementia. She tried so hard to be the general in command of her situation, but instead was forced to rely on my little family and me to act as her frightened foot soldiers. We spent much time in some very emotional trenches. It was through beating a retreat into my own creative practice that I found the nourishment I needed in order to push on and, indeed, to sleep at night. For when you have no control over the mind of a loved one, it is profound gratitude that you embrace the things over which you do. So to see an image take form or a narrative develop at your own hand is a great gift that can help keep your head above water.
Christine Ross is my friend Siobhan’s mother. And, I feel confident in saying, her favourite artist. For years they have struggled together and part, but always against the same enemy we try so hard to tame: that which is mental illness. This exhibition has come about as the result of much hard work and even more deep love.
All money raised from the sales of the artwork will go towards funding The Art Studio, a service offered by Family Services Ottawa that gives artists coping with mental illness supplies and space to work.
It has occurred to me that I, too, could donate the proceeds of my next sale to The Art Studio. So I will. Promise.