Art can mean many things to different people. For some, itB次元官网网址檚 a way to express themselves, for others itB次元官网网址檚 therapeutic. But for Amy Frank, itB次元官网网址檚 become a tool to help her heal, even in her darkest of days.
B次元官网网址淚t helped me when I was sad to just pick up a pen and draw,B次元官网网址� said the 32-year-old Victoria artist, whose work is on display in the West Shore beginning this week. B次元官网网址淭hey let me get my feelings on to paper. Especially as a teenager, I was creating visuals of how I feltB次元官网网址 would just throw it all out onto the paper.B次元官网网址�
While Frank has been drawing since she was young, she didnB次元官网网址檛 realize the affect it could have on her mental state until she was a teenager.
At the age of 14, Frank started junior high in Victoria and thatB次元官网网址檚 when things started to go downhill. She was bullied at school and as a result became severely depressed. Unable to cope with her overwhelming sense of sorrow, Frank began smoking, drinking and experimenting with drugs and shortly after, left home. Frank described Grade 9 as B次元官网网址渉orrific,B次元官网网址� and by Grade 10 she had been expelled.
While her parents and school administrators thought she was just being rebellious, Frank knew deep down it was something more. When she was 15, she attempted to commit suicide by overdosing, which landed her in Jack Ledger House, a psychiatric service for children and youth at Queen Alexandra Centre for ChildrenB次元官网网址檚 Health.
It wasnB次元官网网址檛 until she was 18 years old when she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks.
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Despite the diagnosis, Frank never stopped putting pen to paper. During her teenage years, her art often depicted the world as she saw it and included marijuana leaves and mushrooms B次元官网网址� work she described as B次元官网网址渟toner art.B次元官网网址� Over the years, her art style has evolved, changing with her mental health. Today, she predominantly uses zentangle patterns, which she then fills in with coloured pencils, and opened her business in 2011.
Art has become a way for Frank to cope with her disorder.
B次元官网网址淲hen IB次元官网网址檓 in a really creative space, I just go manic. I donB次元官网网址檛 want to take bathroom breaks, I donB次元官网网址檛 want to eat, I just want to work and work and work,B次元官网网址� she said, adding the goal of her art is to help break down the stigma around mental health.
B次元官网网址淏ut when I incorporate the pattern, because zentangle is known as a meditative art form, the patterns really bring me back down and I go into this meditative state, doing line after line or pattern after pattern. I incorporate the patterns into all my work to find that balance.B次元官网网址�
Now, FrankB次元官网网址檚 work, alongside Brentwood Bay artist Helen Windsor is on display at the Coast Collective Art Gallery, as part of an exhibit called Healing Power of Art. Both artists have chosen pieces that represent the transformative power of art and the impact itB次元官网网址檚 had on their lives.
Healing Power of Art: Helen Windsor and Amy Frank is on display at the gallery until April 15.
The gallery (103-318 Wale Rd.) is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information visit .
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