Art Can Be A Healing Act

There’s a quote by author, Ray Bradbury, that has always resonated with me. “Everyone must leave something behind when he dies, my grandfather said. A child or a book or a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made. Or a garden planted. Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die, and when people look at that tree or that flower you planted, you're there.”

When my mom, a gifted artist, passed away in 2013, I carried home her supplies with no expectation of when or if they might ever be used again. In my grief, it was simply a comfort to see those well-worn paintbrushes standing at hopeful attention in her favorite coffee mug, along with boxes of paints and canvases.

Finally picking up one of her brushes a few years ago, I focused on flowers, one of her favorite subjects, as well. Suspending judgment, I simply allowed myself to see what developed, and with each piece, I came to understand more deeply how a creative act can help us heal, how putting our work out there can be an act of courage, and how much the natural world around us deserves our attention and appreciation.

Recently, my favorite jeans began to show signs of wear. Holes at the knees, and fraying at different points. Not about to toss them away, I’ve begun patching the weak spots with the leftover scraps of my mother’s batik paintings. One patch even contains her signature. 

Ray Bradbury had it right. Every time I wear these jeans, they make me smile, knowing that these slivers of colorful fabric, sewn on with mismatched, imperfect stitches, tell a story. One of joy, connection, and honoring my mom’s beautiful spirit.