How Art Heals-WEB

77 Sharon’s series of figures covered with imagery such as euphorbia, or toadstools, represents more recent work, a response to the poisonous ideas people express, especially when under stress. “For the Laced series, again it was about walking. I had taken a couple of tours in Italy and Spain that focused on textiles. As a contemporary textile artist, I was somewhat disheartened by the lack of interest by lace makers in creating contemporary lace. They, more often than not, followed tradi- tional patterns and incorporated very little of their own lives and culture into their work. “I felt, in a sense, they were poisoning the lace practice. I started to think that I, too, was poisoning myself, my own body, by how negatively I was thinking. This led me to focus on my physical body. I traced around my body and photographed myself. When I started the project, oleander plants were in bloom. I visited an artist’s garden and saw the f lowers of the angel’s trumpet plant. As the days went on, toadstools began to appear, and green euphorbia reached its peak. All of these plants carry toxins, poisons that can make you sick or even kill you. I felt they represented perfectly the poisonous thoughts I was having.” I was totally consumed with the Laced series. At the beginning of making it, though, I had serious problems with one of my knees and underwent a knee replacement. It was a really depressing thought that I could be at the end of a good physical life. However, I walked each day and cleaned up my diet. I lost 20 kilograms by the time the work was completed. I also f inally had relief from knee pain. I realized that I had to be healthy if I ever want to make a large body of work again. By the time the work was ready for the public, I felt so good about myself. I have come to understand myself better, and it makes me a better artist.