RESCUING MY ARTISTIC SOUL:
Book & Art Exhibition Project
It's About:
• Re-igniting who you are
• Self-care tips for hopeless times
• The uplifting power of art
• Re-igniting who you are
• Self-care tips for hopeless times
• The uplifting power of art
Artworks saved by my Mom & Dad
More Artworks
BOOK OVERVIEW:
THE ART OF DECLUTTERING YOUR SOUL
I have a story to tell that I know will inspire so much hope and indestructible optimism for anyone feeling lost and alone in their life.
SHATTERED IDENTITY
2010 was the darkest year of my life. Due to several undiagnosed mental illnesses I painfully had to declare bankruptcy. I lost my illustration business, my home and most of my belongings. Many of my framed, original artworks would have been lost forever if they hadn't been rescued by friends and family during this traumatic and near homeless period. Worst of all, I had shattered my identity on so many levels: personally, professionally and artistically
So for many years I really didn't know who I was. Whenever friends and family commented and reminded me of what a great artist I was I could never feel it. I was an award winning illustrator but couldn't feel it. I couldn't feel the prestige of having been featured in the media such as The New York Times, The Toronto Star, CityTV's Fashion Television and more. I had lost that connection of who I was and was unable to move forward.
DECLUTTERING IN THE DARK
It would take me 14 years of "pretending" I was normal and struggling to get back to the land of the living. I created superhero identities of Motivatorman and Social Media Wingman as new professions while I moved eight times not able to feel I had a stable home. I was broke on multiple levels and survived financial with the help of social assistance and loving friends and family.
Depression was in the driver's seat and I could only create self-care methods to help me cope and feel hope. I applied my love of photography to document my journey, delicious foods and thrift store finds that lifted me up and empowered my self-confidence and self-esteem. I could feel so joyful just looking at a morning plate of sunny-side up eggs, bacon, sausages and buttered toast. Finding the perfect jacket or messenger bag at a thrift store always catapulted my spirit into a blissful state. And when I felt deeply depressed I could just feel myself re-energize being inside a thrift store anticipating the fun of a treasure hunt about to begin.
BURIED TREASURES
14 years later I finally reconnected with my identity when I spent 6 weeks in 2024 decluttering my mom's home. I discovered she and my dad had kept all my hand drawn birthday and holiday cards I gave them growing up. They also kept many newspaper and magazine clippings of my published illustrations. All of this shocked me. Seeing all this brought me to tears and touched my soul deeply. I could feel a warm glow growing in my blue heart again.
I was able to look at my old art and published illustrations as if they were created by someone else and thought, "Damn! These of fuckking good!" That's when I realized I had rescued my own artistic soul. I was able to embrace my identity again.
It cost thousands of dollars to return my artworks, family heirlooms and memories back to my home in Canada but it was worth it. They were all priceless! At the same time it was inspired to reach out to friends who had rescued my artworks and prints when I lost my home and illustration business back in 2010. This became a personal healing of reconnecting with amazing angels and the deep emotions I felt seeing my original artworks for the first time in over a decade. I knew I had find new homes for these artworks while selling them to kickstart a new professional stage of my life. And yet the images of these artworks could bring joy to others around the world feeling sad or alone.
EVERYTHING IS A MIRROR
One of series of rescued artworks were from my first show at Gallery 76 while I attended OCA (now OCADU) in the mid 80's. It was a revelation to see these self-portraits in a whole new light over 40 years later. The anguished and playful line drawings mirrored mental illnesses that would be diagnosed much later in my life. The portraits revealed deep depressions I hid from people and also unresolved pain of a wounded inner child. And so I was able to love these portraits from a new perspective. I was able to embrace my real talent of using art intuitively as a powerful self-care tool. Looking at these artworks now I could see something scary, disturbing and beautiful all at the same time.
Another series of rescued artworks were from my epic Heroic Tails Exhibition in 1991 that garnered much media attention and showed the diversity of my professional illustration works. And though they were commissioned for newspapers like The Toronto Star and The Globe & Mail and other publications I could now see they were all mirrors for inner pain and joys I experienced in these years. My favourites included artworks entitled "Inner Demon" and "Are You Happy?". I used mixed media collage to capture the article story being printed and I remember the joy of creating order from chaos from these raw and visceral materials.
The Rain of Angels artworks that were rescued represent and exhilarating time in the late 90's but also painful.
NEW PURPOSE
My wish now is to share these artworks with people around the world and have have them feel the same joy I felt reuniting with my old artworks.
THE ART OF DECLUTTERING YOUR SOUL
I have a story to tell that I know will inspire so much hope and indestructible optimism for anyone feeling lost and alone in their life.
SHATTERED IDENTITY
2010 was the darkest year of my life. Due to several undiagnosed mental illnesses I painfully had to declare bankruptcy. I lost my illustration business, my home and most of my belongings. Many of my framed, original artworks would have been lost forever if they hadn't been rescued by friends and family during this traumatic and near homeless period. Worst of all, I had shattered my identity on so many levels: personally, professionally and artistically
So for many years I really didn't know who I was. Whenever friends and family commented and reminded me of what a great artist I was I could never feel it. I was an award winning illustrator but couldn't feel it. I couldn't feel the prestige of having been featured in the media such as The New York Times, The Toronto Star, CityTV's Fashion Television and more. I had lost that connection of who I was and was unable to move forward.
DECLUTTERING IN THE DARK
It would take me 14 years of "pretending" I was normal and struggling to get back to the land of the living. I created superhero identities of Motivatorman and Social Media Wingman as new professions while I moved eight times not able to feel I had a stable home. I was broke on multiple levels and survived financial with the help of social assistance and loving friends and family.
Depression was in the driver's seat and I could only create self-care methods to help me cope and feel hope. I applied my love of photography to document my journey, delicious foods and thrift store finds that lifted me up and empowered my self-confidence and self-esteem. I could feel so joyful just looking at a morning plate of sunny-side up eggs, bacon, sausages and buttered toast. Finding the perfect jacket or messenger bag at a thrift store always catapulted my spirit into a blissful state. And when I felt deeply depressed I could just feel myself re-energize being inside a thrift store anticipating the fun of a treasure hunt about to begin.
BURIED TREASURES
14 years later I finally reconnected with my identity when I spent 6 weeks in 2024 decluttering my mom's home. I discovered she and my dad had kept all my hand drawn birthday and holiday cards I gave them growing up. They also kept many newspaper and magazine clippings of my published illustrations. All of this shocked me. Seeing all this brought me to tears and touched my soul deeply. I could feel a warm glow growing in my blue heart again.
I was able to look at my old art and published illustrations as if they were created by someone else and thought, "Damn! These of fuckking good!" That's when I realized I had rescued my own artistic soul. I was able to embrace my identity again.
It cost thousands of dollars to return my artworks, family heirlooms and memories back to my home in Canada but it was worth it. They were all priceless! At the same time it was inspired to reach out to friends who had rescued my artworks and prints when I lost my home and illustration business back in 2010. This became a personal healing of reconnecting with amazing angels and the deep emotions I felt seeing my original artworks for the first time in over a decade. I knew I had find new homes for these artworks while selling them to kickstart a new professional stage of my life. And yet the images of these artworks could bring joy to others around the world feeling sad or alone.
EVERYTHING IS A MIRROR
One of series of rescued artworks were from my first show at Gallery 76 while I attended OCA (now OCADU) in the mid 80's. It was a revelation to see these self-portraits in a whole new light over 40 years later. The anguished and playful line drawings mirrored mental illnesses that would be diagnosed much later in my life. The portraits revealed deep depressions I hid from people and also unresolved pain of a wounded inner child. And so I was able to love these portraits from a new perspective. I was able to embrace my real talent of using art intuitively as a powerful self-care tool. Looking at these artworks now I could see something scary, disturbing and beautiful all at the same time.
Another series of rescued artworks were from my epic Heroic Tails Exhibition in 1991 that garnered much media attention and showed the diversity of my professional illustration works. And though they were commissioned for newspapers like The Toronto Star and The Globe & Mail and other publications I could now see they were all mirrors for inner pain and joys I experienced in these years. My favourites included artworks entitled "Inner Demon" and "Are You Happy?". I used mixed media collage to capture the article story being printed and I remember the joy of creating order from chaos from these raw and visceral materials.
The Rain of Angels artworks that were rescued represent and exhilarating time in the late 90's but also painful.
NEW PURPOSE
My wish now is to share these artworks with people around the world and have have them feel the same joy I felt reuniting with my old artworks.
Self-Help Book
Chapters
- How To Declutter Your Soul
- 14 Years Lost in The Nexus
- Dementia, Decluttering & Discoveries
- Self-Care Superhero
- The Silver Lining of Bankruptcy
- Reclaiming Rescued Artworks
- 14 Years Lost in The Nexus
- Dementia, Decluttering & Discoveries
- Self-Care Superhero
- The Silver Lining of Bankruptcy
- Reclaiming Rescued Artworks
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All art & illustrations on this website © Copyright Emmanuel Lopez 2017-2024
