What I have learned from my first solo art show

Note: I wrote this on 12/13/24 on pen and paper and just had the chance to type it now and share it on my blog.  The two pictures above are from the deinstallation day of my art exhibit, and this being my first time and not knowing what to do after a solo art exhibit, I did what I thought was proper, I took a bow when I got out of the library’s door!

It’s been a month and two weeks since my art show. There have also been many changes in my life because of it. First, now I can say I have had a solo art exhibition which I have never had before. It took 45 years for me to get here, and who knows, it might take that long again to have another one.

Here are some of the things I have learned. When I was in the midst of it, I was glad that I visited the library to interact more with the people there. The conversations I had with them were meaningful. I learned about the books they were reading, things they had been doing or had done. I do wish I would have gone there more times, especially at the beginning of my exhibition.

I also learned I should not have made big decisions while my art show was still up, like signing up for something I don’t completely understand. My art show brought a lot of emotions to me and being able to just be with them without any added things would have helped me understand better where my emotions were coming from. I should have been more selective in moving around outside of it.

I do like that I was able to have poetry along with the visual artworks that I exhibited in my art show. The spoken language and poetry gave another dimension to it. I am grateful for my friends who also shared their own poems during my artist reception. I imagine those words sticking to the walls of the library and though invisible, they joined the visual elements of the exhibit.

Another thing I learned is that when I meet with someone to show my art show privately to bring some refreshments in my bag, like water for my special guest, in case they need water.

It is also significant to know that I can do this kind of thing! I had previously thought that something like this was beyond my reach, but it seems like my own artworks had their own plans for me. Because certainly many of the pieces in the show I have created without the thought of them ever going public in that kind of way.

Additionally, I believe what also made my art show a success was the continuous support I received throughout the duration of the show and not just during the main artist reception. I have received huge support from family, friends, colleagues, teachers/mentors, library patrons/art show attendees and total strangers! I am beyond grateful to everyone who supported me.

Being organized was also key and continuing to believe that what I produced was worthwhile, and my artworks have their own values, and letting go of the idea that I completely understand them and accepting that now they belong to a bigger cause.

If there is a next time, I would like to enjoy more of my little accomplishments and be gentler to myself and those who are closest to me. It’s certainly been a life-changing experience in which it makes me more comfortable to call myself an artist, a person who perseveres in life and loves making art along the way.

In closing, I am very grateful and feel blessed by God to have had the experience of having my first solo art exhibition!

A reflection on my first solo art exhibition.

My first solo art exhibition had officially ended on October 31, 2024, which was the day my husband and I deinstalled my artworks at the San Marcos Library. I am taking the time to reflect on this incredible and life learning experience that I just had. I am grateful to have had a successful first solo art exhibition. I hope to share more of my experience and reflection soon. 🙏🏽💗🍂

Liminality in Nature Artworks for sale

Hello there. If you would like to inquire or buy an artwork that is on my Liminality in Nature Art Exhibition at the San Marcos Public Library, please email me at mariapd1@yahoo.com or call me at 760-715-6140 with the title of the artwork you would like to buy, your name, and the best way to reach you. I can give you the dimension/size of the artwork and price. Also, let me know if there is anything else you would like to know about your chosen artwork. Please note that the colors may vary on this website compare to seeing it in person. If you would like to see the artwork in person, my exhibition is happening now until October 30, 2024. The library’s address is 2 Civic Center Drive, San Marcos, CA 92069.

Thank you!

~ Maria

Finding Your Own Diwata Within EXA online Workshop

Hello all! I am excited to announce my new online offering Finding your own Diwata Within!
Click to Register: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe7ZLnRR2kvPs7inmYHxvWua0wdj9tp5lGqLO7LJZqqRq6f3A/viewform?usp=sf_link

Vision: My purpose is to offer Intermodal Expressive Arts Therapy online to those who are interested to join using an Intermodal Expressive Arts Approach integrating Philippine mythology as our guide and to offer my service as an Expressive Arts Therapist.
The goal for offering this workshop is to foster empowerment, self-confidence, create an online healing space, deeper connection, resilience, and transformation to individuals. It is a program that is both culturally sensitive and personally enriching. A safe place to explore oneself.
This program requires No Previous Art Experience. We will be exploring the Intermodal Expressive Arts approach and integrating Philippine Mythology as our guide to our creative process with the use of various art modalities such as visual arts, poetry, dance/movement and storytelling. The importance is given to the creative process, and not the final result of the artwork.
Intermodal Expressive Arts Therapy is developed by Paolo Knill, Shaun Mcniff, Margo Fuchs, Elizabeth McKim, Markus Scott-Alexander and other pioneers in the field of Expressive Arts Therapy and arts-based research.

San Diego Poetry Annual

I have poem published this year on the San Diego Poetry Annual. The title of my poem is “The unknown (pg. 92).” It’s about struggling in art-making, but trusting the creative process anyway, to lead me to the beauty of it. Follow the link to get a free pdf copy: https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/67544972/san-diego-poetry-annual-2023-23/273

Reference:

McNiff, S.(1998) TRUST THE PROCESS, Shambhala Publishing.

Coping with Breast Cancer Screening and Anxiety Using Expressive Arts

It was in mid-August of this year (2022) when I felt a lump on my breast. I just turned 43 years old. I did a self-breast examination after my left breast started feeling sore, and I discovered the firm lump on my breast. Immediately, I went to see my primary care physician, in which, I was ordered to get a mammogram. (Previously, because of my breastfeeding status, I was waiting 6 months after breast feeding to get a mammogram as recommended; however, this time it was urgent).

I am writing this blog post because I wanted to write about the anxiety that I have felt during my breast cancer screenings and how I was able to process this with the use and knowledge that I have in Expressive Arts (Scott-Alexander, 2020). I have searched online and was not able to find a lot of information about this matter. One post I found was this: How to Manage Breast Cancer Screening/ Diagnosis Anxiety.

One of the ways I coped with my breast screening anxiety was with the use of an art journal. On the day of my mammogram, I was hopeful to finally learn what was going on with my left breast, but only to sent to ultrasound after learning I have dense breasts. And unfortunately, after both of my mammogram and ultrasound screenings (that happened on the same day), my radiologist came to the room to speak to me (with my husband by my side), to notify me that I will have to undergo another screening, an MRI. They found something suspicious on my left breast.

Art Collage 1

These are two poems I wrote on my art journal. Prior to writing the poems, I went for a walk with my polaroid camera and took two pictures of objects that I was attracted to. One was a lumpy tree and the other were flowers growing from the hard ground.

Haiku

Pink flower bunches

Pushed through the hard ground to grow

Showing persistence

Lumpy Tree

I am a lumpy tree

I sit here at the corner

Watching passersby and the vineyard across the street

I am curious and respectful

I don’t bother anyone

As the evening come, birds come back

On my treetop to rest for the day.

My MRI appointment was scheduled to be in about two weeks after my mammogram/ultrasound. It is this time that I felt was the most challenging, the time of waiting and not knowing. In Expressive Arts, we call this the liminal space (Turner, 1974), or another way to say this is the state of being in limbo. The longer I waited the more time I had to pester about things that could possibly go wrong, and I also felt the stress that was happening in our household because of it. This is another collage from my art journal.

Art Collage 2

While getting my MRI, my husband was in the room with me as the MRI technician tried to calm me down to not worry and reassured me that maybe this was just a fat tissue, and since I have dense breasts, he said, it’s good that I am getting an MRI.

A few days later I heard back from my doctor’s office. A message was left on my voicemail, a woman (it was either the medical assistant or nurse) saying that they were suspicious findings on my MRI results, I was being called back and this time I would have to undergo two breast biopsies.

It was another three weeks and three days before my scheduled biopsy appointment. I was scheduled to have two biopsies done at the same visit. It felt like a long wait, and I used other art modalities to keep my anxiety from heightening to a level that’s unmanageable. Some of the expressive arts modalities I used were visual art, poetry, writing, sewing, and nature based expressive arts. When my appointment date finally arrived, I felt anxious, but was also very much looking forward to my biopsy appointment, knowing that the answer to my health condition was near.

However, I was told by my radiologist and ultrasound technician that it would be another five to seven days before I will get the results. The biopsies went well, it was the recovery period that I felt the most pain on my left breast. Here is another collage I did on my art journal while I waited for my pathology results.

Art Collage 3

I felt I was now crossing a bridge, whether where it would take me, I did not know.

It took exactly seven days before I received my results. I have asked for my own copy of my medical records, and I was able to obtain them from the radiology medical records office that morning and read the results myself. In the evening, my primary care doctor also called me to tell me that my results came back in my favor. My tumors were benign and not cancer. This is another art collage I created a week after finding about my pathology results.

Art Collage 4

I would also like to acknowledge that I had professional mental health/ expressive arts practitioners who were able to help guide me in my breast cancer screening process and anxiety. I am fortunate to have such people in my life.

Please email me if you have any comments or would like to share your own experience with me at mariapd1@yahoo.com.

References:

Scott-Alexander, M. (2020) Expressive Arts Education and Therapy: Discoveries in a Dance Theatre Lab through Creative Process-based Research. Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill NV.

Turner, V. (1974) LIMINALITY TO LIMINOID, IN PLAY, FLOW, AND RITUAL: An Essay in Comparative Symbology https://scholarship.rice.edu/bitstream/handle/1911/63159/article_rip603_part4.pdf?sequence=1

Disclaimer: This blog is for informational purposes only and not meant to give a general mental health advice to the reader.