YOU ARE NOT ALONE - A companion online community discussion board for The Mental Illness Happy Hour podcast with Paul Gilmartin

...but here I am. I've been listening to the podcast for a while now; it's been extremely helpful and I'm grateful to know that some of the people whose work I feel is really great go through the same kinds of things I do, both in and out of their creative lives.

I'm queer, female (for the most part), and polyamorous. I was diagnosed with depression after a suicide attempt when I was 22. I'm 28 now, and I still feel stuck sometimes. I wish I had a job; I wish I could make my art my job, but that's not going so well. There is really no separation between my creative life and any other part of my life, really. I'm literally a "starving artist" (gods I hate that term). I do lots of different types of visual art, but mostly I'm a painter. I'm working on an MFA, and while I've wanted to continue my education for several years, I don't feel like my art is good enough, that I am good enough, and all my ideas and research about art and history and race and culture are pointless.

*sigh*

Well, that was whiny. I'm sorry.

Hi NY,

I'm also an artist. Also a lesbian, 55 yrs old. Also depressed.

What kind of art do you do? What mediums? I know what you mean about creativity being a part of everything in you life. I feel really lucky, like I get to experience an extra dimension in life. Do you ever feel that way?

Good luck to you and take care,
Anna

Hi Anna,

I do surrealist pieces, representational, in a lot of different media--acrylic, watercolor, collage, printmaking, digital, or mixed media. I do feel like art is an added dimension from which I can explore life, and I'm super grateful for it.