Mind Craft Showcase: July 2023

The Mind Craft Showcase features all the incredible artwork from young people nationwide, who have participated in our Mind Craft program and shared with us how their artistic expressions support their mental health journey.

Below are all the July 2023 featured submissions from other inspiring young people of the DoSomething community.

💜🖤 Paige, Georgia

+++ "I made this bracelet in the colors of the nonbinary flag. ⤵ I'm not out to my family but wearing it helps me to feel connected to myself and my identity." +++

🧶 Ella, Virginia

+++ "During the peak of the Covid pandemic, quarantine played a massive role on my mental health, which prompted me to find ways to cope with such mental challenges. ⤵ The creative process of crocheting helped me to focus my attention elsewhere and reduce any anxiety or stress. Having the ability to create whenever i wanted reminded me of my resilience of being able to find joy amidst such difficulties." +++

🖌️ Swar, North Carolina

+++ "For years I have struggled with body dysmorphia and figuring out what I actually look like. Taking pictures of me has always been a weak spot as I would refuse and be the photographer. ⤵ Seeing pictures of myself worsened my body dysmorphia as I did not like seeing my flaws. Since then I had the idea to paint myself based off a picture to help me embrace these “flaws”. This painting made me realize that my legs aren’t tiny and that I look normal even in cartoon form. I have continued this trend of creating these paintings of myself in a cartoon form to help my mental health and it clearly has." +++

🤗 Sophia, Virginia

+++ "This work of art involves taking my face, one that I avoid glancing at the mirror, and treasuring it the way I deserve to. ⤵ I took a part of me that I hated and transformed it into a moment of self love, taking my self provided canvas and painting a new me upon my skin." +++

🖊️ Brianna, Maryland

+++ "This illustration serves as a reminder to me that I am growing and it's okay if that is uncomfortable at times. ⤵ Creating this helped me to better process my anxious thoughts." +++

✒️ Mary, California

+++ "As a freelance illustrator and student, I'm constantly creating pieces for other people; when I'm not doing homework, I do family portraits, character fan art, stream backgrounds, and so much more. ⤵ This digital illustration was made in the midst of the pandemic, when my mental health was at the lowest point in my life. I was swamped with commissions and had been drawing exclusively for other people for months. My dad noticed my poor mental state and suggested taking a break from freelance to create something for myself. My first personal piece of art in months reignited my passion for digital painting because this time, it was my style, on my schedule, done for my family. It reminded me of the whole reason I paint: for myself. After the creation of this piece, I decided to incorporate 5-10 minute personal drawings into my daily routine." +++

✂️ Emily, California

+++ "Making this work of art helped through one of the most trying times of my life thus far. I was hospitalized for severe malnutrition due to Anorexia Nervosa; an eating disorder with the highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses. ⤵ This disease ravaged through my body, my mind, and took away my creativity. During my hospital stay, I had an art therapy group focused on collaging. I worked on this piece for hours, cutting out each image or word from a magazine, then carefully picking its home on the collage. As the page filled, so did the hope within my soul, something I lost for a while. The process was healing and grounding, something I desperately needed. Upon completion, my collage represented so many things for me; but overall, it felt as if I had splashed my personality onto that page. I had begun the journey towards recovery. The journey towards returning to my true self." +++

🏺 Leilani, California

+++ "In the summer of 2022, I decided to take my first ever ceramics course, where I learned so much, and gained a new appreciation for the medium. I have always had a love for art, but this was my first studio art class that I had taken at my university. ⤵ This class marked the beginning of my commitment to Studio Art as my major. This was a very tough decision for me to make, and I feel it took a lot of courage to finally say yes to my passion, and to believe in myself. I began my higher educational journey as an undeclared student, unaware of myself, feeling a bit lost. Then, when the pandemic hit, I took quite a gap away from school, which lead me down a depressing path. After a year of turmoil, surrounded by the darkness brought by the pandemic, my ceramics class truly saved my mental health, and became a very meditative practice for me." +++

🎨 Sophi, Maryland

+++ "Painting has given me the outlet to express myself creatively and connect with others that feel similar to me. With piling stress from school and other extracurriculars I feel confined in my ability to experiment. ⤵ Within this painting I allowed myself to break free of limitation through unorthodox imagery. The drive to find myself has inspired me to use depictions of water as a means of analyzing restraints created by the real world and the desire to express my raw imagination. This painting has allowed me to escape from other stresses and gain artistic freedom." +++

✏️ Elizabeth, Florida

+++ "When I was struggling to overcome my grief, I created this piece of art to represent the feeling of getting a part of your heart ripped out of you. ⤵ After creating this piece I slowly learned to accept the feelings that come with grief and mental health." +++

🖌️ Submit your artistic expression and share how it is a beneficial part of your mental health journey for the opportunity to earn a yearlong SketchBox subscription, the best drawing and painting art supplies for you to continue exploring your creativity. (1 box per month, for 12 months, valued at $240) Join Mind Craft today!