‘I’ve struggled with grieving and there have been some sad happenings related to my recovery – art has helped me open up. I know now how I can connect to other griefs using art.’

I came into contact with Portraits of Recovery about 15 years ago now. I’d always created art, but as I got older, it was one of the things that fell away, especially as I became more and more reliant on alcohol.  

When my addiction got the better of me, I admitted myself to a treatment centre. Mark Prest came to visit, he asked if a few of us wanted to get involved in the project. At that time, I was really poorly, not knowing what direction to go in, and not knowing what my future held for me. I was just keeping everything in the day. It was a time of reflection. Meeting other people in recovery, talking, making new friends. And about the consistency of having something to do, look forward to, and getting praise for your work. And knowing that it was going to go in an art gallery too, an exhibition, it made you feel part of something. And Mark even said to me, I think you should go to college to study for an art foundation course, and I did. I wanted something else to focus on other than my children, and I did it. I got I got a distinction. I got an award. 

I know that art is a big part of my recovery. It gives me a space to channel my emotions and to process them, and I am grateful to Mark and Portraits of Recovery for helping me to rediscover this.