We can never really be supported if we are never known 1/3
June 21 - 22, 2024
In the beginning, all things are hopeful and terrifying. We do not know what we do not know. There are infinite possibilities with seemingly little to no structure.
We experience meeting this still unformed day and define how we will live for twenty-four hours. By making contact with something greater than ourselves, and accepting support, we exceed our individual power.
We will not allow ourselves to be categorized by what we do not know. For individuals challenged by substance use disorders and related mental health conditions, creativity is an essential element in recovery. The outer-directed creativity of making art, solving problems, writing, and learning. As we continue to learn, welcome new ideas, new ways of doing things, make new mistakes, we expand our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
With each new phase of our lives the parameters change.
The most pervasive expression of emotional pain that we encounter in those we work with is crippling fear or shame a feeling of being inherently flawed, not enough, and doing it wrong. In building communities of recovery, we free ourselves from the limits of tightly defined identities. What follows “I am“ is dynamic and ever evolving.
Big things seldom come along; most of our days consist of many repeated small things. Especially in early recovery, our willingness is out of fear. What we practice we get good at. So, we move into a new space being open-minded, perhaps railing against outdated stories of a limited self or a loud unkind nervous system. Lurking just below the uneasiness are sensational revelations about a path to liberation.
Art of Advocacy offers something to disrupt the most resolute loner’s brain.
From the beginning of our three-year Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMSHA) grant, we built a year of hands on freely offered artistic programming to individuals in recovery. Workshops in Saori loom weaving, sculpting, wheel throwing, painting, mixed media design, photography, and puppet construction gave way to peer led creativity collectives who explored book binding, stuffed animal making, flower pressing collage, and so much more.
The weekly workshops brought marvelous interruptions, sublime interactions, and blissful intrusions. The Art of Advocacy program is a provider of healing subversions.
The work created by participants is shown not by each individual artist-led workshop, but instead interwoven with the uniqueness and diversity of the participants themselves. The body of work in this exhibition tells a larger continuing story of a community, the discussion of what recovery and wellness mean in this (our current) moment.
Until we make the connection between all things, we have no way out of the isolation that often hunts us.
How then to welcome the allure of the unknown? We simply don’t go into the attic without a flashlight and a friend.
Emotional sobriety is the frontier as we move into connection and make art so that we might more fully inhabit our lives, and the world in which we live them. If this practice brings a richer presence, a “wholeness” to our lives, we might be less apt to destroy them.
In June 2023 Phoenix House of Long Island was awarded a three-year SAMHSA grant.
The goal of AOA is building communities of recovery through creating art. To expand and enhance recovery support capital for individuals suffering and recovering from substance abuse and mental health disorders. Through multidisciplinary artist lead workshops, we are cultivating innovative programing offering environments, teachers and supplies that usually come with prohibitive price tags. Building communities of recovery and wellness through a collective reawakening of making something bigger than ourselves.
The confectionery treats hung here represent our cumulated armor, keeping us from truly being seen and therefore known. We reach out to connect, what do we receive?
What if we are met with something sour, bitter, a trait or response we dislike? “Those who need love the most, often ask in the most unlovable ways”.
A portion of these otherwise delicious craft pastries have unexpected flavors. Can we expand our capacity to take no offense, to stay, to go back, How do we relate to and not from?
It’s so damn hard to believe it isn't about us. We may have a hard time accommodating the experiences of others when it leaves such a bad taste in our mouths. Resistance naturally arises.
It’s not perfect. It’s not permanent. It’s not personal.
Reach out to what is being offered. What is underneath?
How many times will you extend your hand?
Healing only happens in community.
Inspired by the true story of a Buddha statue. It was plaster and clay, not a handsome statue, but people loved it for its staying power. There was a long dry period and a crack appeared in the statue. So, the monks brought their flashlights to look inside the crack — just thought they might find out something about the infrastructure. When they shined the light in, what shined out was a flash of gold and every crack they investigated, they saw that same shining. So, they dismantled the plaster and clay, which turned out to be just a covering, and found that it was the largest pure solid gold statue of the Buddha in all of southeast Asia.
The monks believed that the statue had been covered with plaster and clay to protect it through difficult years, much in the same way that we sugarcoat our existence to protect ourselves from injury and hurt. We eventually forget the gold and we start believing we’re the covering the egoic, defensive, unhealthy, managing self. We forget who is here. We are pure gold.
Disclaimer:
North Fork Donut Company, its creators and pastry chefs have gone beyond their comfort zone for this interactive art installation. It is important to note that that North Fork Donut Company prides itself on making innovative enjoyable confections. They have generously agreed to facilitate the artist's vision by developing several flavors that are surprising and unpleasant to the pallet for this exhibit only. The undesirable flavors you may find here are not typical. This is an unrepeatable moment like most of life.
Allergen warning:
If you have ANY food allergy at all, please do not touch the donuts. Due to the volume and scale of this exhibit, cross-contamination may have happened. A full list of possible ingredients is below, but again if you are food sensitive in any way you take full responsibility for your actions.
List of possible ingredients: Wheat flour, Water, Palm oil, Sugar, Yeast, Milk, Soy oil, Baking powder, Salt, Egg, Sugar, Corn syrup, Vegetable shortening, Natural and artificial flavors, cocoa powder, dark chocolate, caramel, coconut, hazelnut, walnuts, cookies, candy, lemon, blueberry, cream cheese, orange, more.
5FeetTaller
MixedMediaInstallation2024
Created by residents of Phoenix House Long Island City Treatment center over five weeks of programming
I. “Pillars of Recovery”
During arrival meditation & introductions Cacho Falcon drew his signature faces. Each participant was then presented with an unrepeatable drawing to design with complete freedom. The finished faces were passed around the group sparking conversations with identification and laughter. We deeply appreciated how all the bonds inevitably require us to engage with each other's wounds, shadows, and unripeness.
Here community totems were built. I don’t get sober, WE get sober. Standing on the shoulders of those who come before us. Connection is a vital pillar of recovery.
II. “On the line”
How can we shift negative, unkind, perceptions of ourselves? Maybe we’ve repeated them for so long, we mistake them for the truth? Some report early recovery like being hung out to dry.
The artists transformed a new white article of clothing. Creating sober robes of adornment. With a blank canvas to go exploring the path revealed itself through images and words. New tools offer new possibilities towards health and wellness. Our lives are on the line.
When prompted to draw “what we want to leave behind” to later be used literally behind them as a backdrop for portraits, the artists threw down honest expressions of their past. They are displayed with ornate vintage frames in the way our mind can manipulate and romanticize the lower versions of ourselves. When we give something up, a void is created. What do we put in its place? If you leave something behind, you gain something too.
We asked the question “What is known?” Not what was known or may be in the future but right now in this precise moment after five weeks of creating together. Everyone received an oversized canvas tag to represent price, name, and toe. They answered.
Polaroids of the artists wearing their creations, with their tags, were taken in front of the groups “What We Leave Behind” backdrop. Every frame is a unique piece of the greater whole “It hasn’t had an effect on my life, it is my life”
From a bud, only a promise. Then a gentle opening: Rich blooming, bursting fragrance, The fulfillment of the center.
We can when we’re ready.
In the beginning, it is only a bud. Only when it opens is beauty revealed in its center. Our glory has nothing to do with our appearance or our occupation. Our unique qualities come from an inner source. We take care to open and bloom naturally and leisurely and keep to the center.
Just as a flower goes through stages – bud, open, bloom, pollinate, wither, fruit, fall –each of us will go through the obvious stages of birth to death. We aren’t of a single character throughout our lives we change and grow our identities unfold and bloom How could we know what we don’t know?
Healthy alliances require us to deal respectfully and compassionately with each other's current experience. The disagreements and misunderstandings are not flaws that discolor perfect intimacy. They may be rich opportunities to enrich togetherness.
We must outgrow some habitual ways of doing friendship and intimacy. We will have to be imaginative and ingenious. Are you willing to believe that you do not yet know all there is to know about being a fantastic ally and partner to the universe?
It’s not a bird, it’s the sky with a bird in it. Ascend.
Sing.
We are each other's harves
ArtShackBrooklyn
Over 7 weeks, participants learned and implemented many techniques to create a diverse personal body of work.
Handbuilding:
Ledby:
AkJansen
VannesaDeAnda
KatieMalnati
- Phillip R.
Imperfect - Chris K.
Untitled - Chris K.
Facilitatedby: YuiSone
YukakoSatone
Saori loom weaving was taught to participants as a moving meditation. More advanced techniques were offered into the second hour.
“Weave the fabric of your reality with a pattern of recovery and wellness”.
Facilitated by Saori weaving teacher Yui Sone we welcome everyone to spend some time experiencing the Japanese style of hand weaving. Put your personal mark on one continuous community piece which will be created over 6 hours of gallery time then displayed at a Phoenix House Location till it is auctioned off for charity later this year.
Moving towards sustainability a group of participants from our first pottery workshop began the Continuing Creative Collective. Over 6 months individuals took turns leading peers in various artistic endeavors such as bookbinding, rhinestone art, needlefelting,stuffedanimalmaking,andcollage.
Partofacontinuingcollective
Black&Whitedisposablecamerasweredistributedtoartists.
My excitement around being invited to complete a submission was immediately confronted by the limitations of a black and white disposable camera. I’ve been shooting digitally for years so not having the luxuries of digital photography like image preview and editing, left me feeling limited. But the uncomfortably of not being able to see or control the final image turned into a kind of freedom… a way of letting go. I leaned into the basics, the elements of design, and sought out images with contrast, rhythm, volume, tone, and balance. I was happy to be pushed out of my comfort zone and still feel good about the way I see and capture the world.
Untitled
Zoe R.
TheygreetedyouonthewayinourPhoenixandRecoveryMonster. FacilitatedoverfoursessionsbythecreativemindsbehindGiantPuppets.
We will continue helping other people access their creative resources and activate their unknownpotentialswhilebuildingconfidenceinlikemindedcommunities.
We will continue to work with the LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and harm reduction communities. We aspire to begin creating art with incarcerated individuals. This is so much easier said than done but we can, because we want to. With the help of our grant and your generous contributions we can expand. We continue to meet our grant deliverables driving towards programsustainability.
Our hope in year two is to acquire a space of our own to hold workshops with featured artistsandcontinuingartcollectives.
To work more with glass. Workshops in Mosaics, stained glass, and glass blowing. Glass blowing hot shops and facilitation is extremely expensive. The correlations between the practice and craft of blowing glass and recovery are many. We hope to provide this unforgettablelearningexperiencetoasmanyindividualsaspossible.
Itmaydependonyou.
THANKYOUforyoursupport.
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Friday Night only: with your donation you will receive an exclusive handmade delicacy by Stacy ThomasofTallawaTreats(whilesupplieslast)
PLEASE NOTE: You must make a notation that your donation is to be used specifically for Art OfAdvocacy.
TallawahTreats
Phoenix2024
As a baker, I try to marry my artistic visions with delectable treats and this creation is no different. I view my bakes as more than just food; they are edible art forms with meaning, historyandintent.Theytellstories-oratleast,thisisalwaysmygoal.
This piece was inspired by the resilience of humanity, and the desire to overcome our strongest vices. I symbolize the journey of overcoming addiction by drawing inspiration from themostresilientcreatureimaginable,ThePhoenix.
I'vecreated3elements: a crunchy nest - the birth place of the phoenix, which enhances the textural profile and marries beautifully with the chocolate caramel tart nestled inside, which has been topped with a bright burning flame - a powerful force that consumes and transforms. The centerpiece tart perfectly combines a salted caramel sauce with a chocolate ganache - a dualityofsweetandbitter-oftenthestoryofthejourneyofrecovery
Each bite represents renewal, hope, and the beauty of reclaiming one's life, which can be so wonderfully sweet Just as the phoenix emerges stronger after adversity, I hope my treat ignitesasparkofinspirationandhealinginthosewhoindulge.
ShaunWillis
AnneMarieKom
SavannahLampley
JodiByrne
RooseveltEspert
LatoyaWilliams
MoniqueJones
ErickSossa
DelidaTorres
CarolBrown
NanekaJ.Brathwaite
ThestaffofPhoenixHouseLIC
ThestaffofBrooklynCommunityRecoveryCenter
OpeningReceptionMusic
DJBombaZeen
Avibecreator,droppinglovebombsonthedancefloorand connectingheartswithherbeats.