Each piece is composed of the numerous labels of medications I have taken now in hopes of calming my mind. Treating severe mental illness is a frustrating and, at times, a seemingly endless fight. These pieces trace that path of trial and error.
"Pill Head" 2022 14"x10" Addiction and drug abuse run rampant within the medical community; however, it is something few of us want to face. With the high demand and intensely stressful lines of work, turning to substances is all too common. Whether as a society we admit it or not, often our favorite caregiver is, in fact, a pill head. $1100
"Treatment Team" 2023 10" x 10" A treatment team is as it sounds, a team of medical professionals coming together to treat your illness. All too often, it has felt instead to be a rival team rather than one of your own. SOLD
"Special K" 2023 10.5 x 9.5 This piece explores the multifaceted nature of ketamine and its significant role in medical and, specifically, mental health treatment. This artwork serves as a visual celebration of the immense potential of ketamine therapy beyond that of simply a “horse tranquilizer.” $900
"Ozempic" 2024 14 x 10" Anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder characterized by restricted food intake leading to significantly low body weight, intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, and a distorted body image, has been a concerning issue for decades. I had suffered from anorexia for one of those decades before entering recovery. This crippling disorder has been named and shamed. Binge eating disorder (BED) is a relatively recently recognized eating disorder, only added to the DSM-IV in 1994. However, despite increased recognition, BED often faces similar, if not more, stigma and shame compared to anorexia. Those with BED regularly engage in episodes of binge eating, during which they consume large amounts of food in a relatively short period while feeling a lack of control over their eating. Ozempic and other drugs like it are simply a bandaid on a gushing wound. While medications may have a role in some instances, they should not be viewed as a standalone solution. Eating disorders are treated in therapy, not in the pharmacy. $1200
"Groceries" 2022 5" x 7" When we wake up hungry at 3:32 am most of us go foraging into the fridge to soothe our sleepless state. Somehow ice cream tastes different in the wee small hours of the morning. However what if your fridge is empty and your pill cabinet is your sustenance, then what? There are no absorbable calories found in a Tylenol 325mg tablet. I know this because I have, in fact, looked this up in an anxiety-ridden state. SOLD
"Home Life" 2023 10" x10" I was often shamed for the amount of medication it took to calm my mind. One night, while at dinner, I was rustling through the black hole that is my purse. I reached for the stick of gum and pulled my hand out of the abyss. To my horror I opened and subsequently threw half a bottle onto the dinner table. One friend picks up a single pill, “I didn't know mood stabilizers were on special,” $900
"It's Been a Hard Day - You Still Need to Eat" 2023 6.5" x 9.5" It was not until I had lost approximately 50 lbs that I first asked the question, “How many calories are in an antipsychotic?” At 5’11” and 110lbs, there was no low too far down. What many don’t realize about having a restrictive eating disorder is that your goal weight will never be enough. It was not until my heart skipped a beat (malnutrition-induced arrhythmia) that I began to doubt my starvation. $875
"HOPE" 2020 11" x 10.5" Medication management can sometimes seem like a guessing game in psychiatry. Patients become frustrated with the trial and error that can come when finding effective treatment. Antidepressants and other psychiatric drugs are not magic pills, and alone, they are not a cure. We look to medication as the beacon of hope when, in reality, a pill may not be the answer we are looking for. Depression and other psychiatric illnesses can be treated and effectively managed, but it does take time, and it does take work. SOLD
"HELP" 2021 11" x 10.5" Medication is a form of treatment. Ideally, these prescriptions help us feel better. It is a rude awakening when we find this form of help comes with strings in the form of adverse and side effects. I do my best to educate my patients and their families about the responsibility that comes with psychiatric medication management. I tell them compliance with medication directions is essential. Whether it be an antibiotic or an antipsychotic, please take them as, and only as they are directed. SOLD
"Shake Well" 2022 12.5" x 10.5" SOLD
"Potions" 2022 10" x 5" SOLD
"Customer Service" 2021 12" x 5" The healthcare system has shifted focus from life-saving treatment to satisfactory scores. We often cannot refer to those under our care as “patients.” Instead, they are consumers, clients, users, and so on. Despite my protest, patients are in fact “consumers.” Many pay out of pocket for psychiatric treatment and others with insurance still find themselves paying huge amounts for their care. It seems only natural that patients would fill the role of a customer. SOLD
"Chic Woman" 2023 12" x 10.5" A beautiful woman is meant to be admired.. and heavily medicated. Mommy’s little helper has been replaced with modern-day Xanax and Lexapro. Women are often directed and demanded to medicate away our “emotional state” to better fit the stoicism of modern-day America. $900
"Nurse's Dose" 2021 12" x 5" As a nurse I understand too well the pressures that come with filling the role of the most trusted profession. I have been hit, smacked, punched, bit, kicked, and insulted in heinous ways. After returning to work from the most recent injury that required seven sutures on my arm, I was told I should have been wearing long sleeves and asked what I did to contribute to my attack. That patient was eventually discharged only to be readmitted shortly after. If you assault a bus driver it is a felony. If you SOLD
"Keep Smiling I" 2023 4" x 4" A smiley face was the first concept I worked with utilizing my own pill bottle labels. I had amassed a hefty number over the course of five or so years. I peeled back each label trying desperately not to tear the paper. One by one I ripped the label in half or cut it off short. I had the idea to make a smiley face to show what was fueling that obnoxious grin. $750
"Keep Smiling II" 2023 4" x 4" You don’t always see what sits behind a smile. What is propping that grin up so high? We hope it is happiness. We hope it is delightful thoughts and found memories. We do not always suspect that a smile may, in fact, be a grimace. $750
"Say Ah" 2022 12" x 9" SOLD
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