Thursday, April 4, 2019

WINDOWS ON CEDAR-Alice Savitski

The Price We Pay

by Alice A Savitski

The price we pay to keep a secret
The price we pay to stay silent
The price we pay to look the other way
The price we pay to say, "It’s not my business."
The price we give to hold back
The price Christ gave for us to be forgiven
The price that was paid for us to feel grace
The price that is given to all of us (Psalm 16:8 AMP)
The price we ALL pay.

This body of work has been created to illustrate the heavy price paid by victims of domestic abuse. Even after the abuse has stopped, the suffering continues for many. For some the pain is permanent. Speaking as a victim of domestic abuse, I must work through my memories, emotions and endure the psychological disorders I have as a result.

I currently live a peaceful, calm and balanced life - but some days my past will haunt me. In 2012 I was committed for attempted suicide. Treatment helped me greatly and gradually I began to feel safe again, but the psychological burden of the violence I suffered will still rear its ugly head and I will start to remember these harrowing events in a “flood of emotions.” This body of works began in June 2015. The first memory arose on a warm summer morning where I found myself panicking from the ghosts of my past. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. For ten short minutes, in the clutches of sheer terror, I had no idea where I was. This body of works I hope will display those feelings and the recovery progress.

Glitter: The unconscious mind
Circles: Cycles of abuse
Bird(s): One bird signifies victims of abuse being set free, or the knowledge of hope. Two birds signify partnerships (for good, bad or indifferent). Three birds signify the Holy Sprit, God and Christ.
Lines: My and/or abused victims’ experience of post-traumatic stress disorder, mental illness, limited finances and psychological problems after leaving the abusive relationship.
Splatter paint: My feelings of entrapment, isolation and shame

I am an emerging mix media artist who is creating body of works that educates the public about domestic abuse and how it impacts all of us. As a victim of domestic abuse, I have been able to overcome violence through prayer and the Holy Spirit. I work through past experiences by creating beautiful healing sprit-driven bodies of work to display my physical and mental emotions. In 2012, an unknown donor gave me a gift of self-awareness and self-love treatment at North Memorial Mental-Health Clinic. Because of this donor, I have a new outlook on life, and I know that I AM WORTH it. NOT Worthless. Within weeks I’d learned many amazing life skills such as boundaries, to forgive others and myself, how to work through my feelings without committing suicide by talented compassion therapists.
Over the past five years, I have made great gains in my personal life; I have exhibited at Healing Art shows at hospitals and clinics in Southern Minnesota, HealthPartners Hudson Hospital, WI and art galleries in Minneapolis, MN. Presently prints of my work are being sold through Art Force, located in Minneapolis, please contract for items sale

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