Listening For Breath Sounds
A unique category of spontaneous ink drawings accumulated over twenty years while working with thousands of psychiatric and addiction patients.
This type of drawing with ink is similar in ways to sculpting stone and wood, you can’t erase. The process causes small doses of euphoria, moments of unrest ,visual conflict and opportunity for resolution. As they move forward some mysterious principle of self organization seems to take control. Often the resulting image carries some harmony and motion with varying degrees of tension and discord . A number of these drawings have been the subject of brief conversations between myself and many patients. These interactions always seem to reveal an opening in themselves of our innate interest in creativity , a common ground that sets the stage for future supportive interactions.
The temporary permanence of ink reminds me of life . Our minds stir and organize an approach toward harmony and unity even under the most dire circumstances.
A book in the works of a few hundred of these miniature ink drawings, descriptions of my own experiences with mental illness and thoughts on addiction, patient’s insights, and the general environment of a stand alone psychiatric hospitals locked wards where this art was produced.
