Answer in Images: Art and Mental Health Visual Interview with LYLY
"Anxiety is a beast but also a muse" ...
I am very excited about this new series of visual interviews about the complex relationship between art and mental health. I love words but sometimes we don’t have the words or there aren’t right words or the words aren’t enough … sometimes we can share our experiences best in images. I am learning so much from each new response that comes in!
Today, I’m so happy to have LYLY here with beautiful responses.
Lyly is a “self-taught artist from France” who said on the About page of their now-discontinued Substack My two cents, “I like to call myself an “illustrator of the small details of life “, all the atmospheres and insignificant things of daily life that we often miss because of everything goes so fast.” Let’s see her responses to the visual interview:
What does the term mental health mean to you?
What does your own history of mental health look like?
What does creativity mean to you?
How have mental health symptoms impacted your creative process?
In what ways have mental health symptoms impacted your creative medium?
How have mental health symptoms impacted your productivity as an artist?
How have mental health symptoms impacted your self-perception / identity as an artist?
How is art therapeutic/cathartic/healing for you?
In summary, for you, what is the relationship between art and mental health?
After completing the earlier questions, what is one more image that you feel compelled to share in response to all of this?
Want to share your own responses to questions about the relationship between art and mental health? You can answer a visual interview here or answer in words here.
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I've been journaling for 14 years, and I find handwritten personal stories incredibly beautiful. There's a certain degree of intimacy in seeing the way someone's handwriting slants or how their characters loop. The anxiety attack chart especially resonated with me. Thanks for creating this safe space where artists can share about their mental health journey. :)
brillant