The Healing work art deck
THE HEALING WORK ART DECK IS A YEAR LONG, GUIDED PERSONAL EXERCISE IN INTROSPECTION, CONTEMPLATION AND MEDITATION OF THE SELF. Heal yourself and become the hero of your own story.
What is the Healing Work Art Deck?
The concept of The Healing Work Art Deck is something that I’ve unconsciously been developing my entire artistic career. As I’ve grown as an artist, I’ve realized that there are quite a few people whom connect deeply, personally and emotionally to my work, as if I was telling their own story for them. I’ve realized that my purpose was to connect with these people and give them a visual tool that’ll help them heal from the things that they’re still carrying around.
So for 2023, I am putting this concept to work. I am working on a 52 card art deck, with each card featuring a unique work of art and accompanying sayings and guiding principles. This is similar to ‘affirmations’ except you have to do the healing work for yourself to create REAL self affirmations that carry weight. So how does it work?
One card for each week of the year
Every week, you will choose a card from the deck, and use it’s imagery and words to guide you through moments of personal introspection, contemplation and meditation. You’ll spend time with yourself and our (included) journaling prompts, working through your own thoughts and emotions and actively choosing to do the ‘healing work’ towards a more positive and fuller self. This deck is being designed to help you actually self assess, challenge your own perspectives and change the way you view yourself in a way that’ll help you truly HEAL from the wounds of what is everyday life.
The journal prompts will initially be in a printable PDF format, and will go into detail on subjects like attachment styles and love languages- so you won’t be left on your own to learn about a vast number of subjects.
what is ‘healing work’?
"Healing Work” is the intentional psychological and spiritual effort to understand and create a healthier version of yourself, to heal your own wounds and change your own behaviors and perceptions for a better, fuller life. No matter the path you take to ‘heal’, you cannot do it without your own acknowledgment and effort- thus, you have to do the ‘healing work’ to be successful and create permanent change. Healing work is a practice in digging deep, exploring your own behaviours and transforming into the person the universe intended you to be, and this deck is intended as a tool to help you do just that.
what are some subjects covered in the deck?
My artwork is viewed differently by every individual due to their own personal perspectives and life experiences, but I work hard to tell stories of a wide range topics- parenthood, trauma, abuse, death, depression, anxiety, attachment styles and so forth to name just a few. I will also be exploring things like purpose, overcoming and even faith.
Who is involved?
Right now, this is a joint collaboration with myself and my artist friend, Danielle Koren Holmes of Gulf Coast Gowns, who will be helping me create wardrobe, props and assisting in shoots with models. For special images, I will be collaborating with artists of various mediums throughout the year.
Who is the Healing work art deck for?
This card deck is designed to be a practice in improving your own mental health, so it’s useful for anyone who simply want to build self affirmations that last, or for those who’ve been suffering from life events that they can’t get past; childhood trauma, emotional distress, unhealthy relationships or simply poor habits that impact your everyday life are some examples… The deck can be used by anyone, however it’ll be a useful tool for counsellors, life coaches, therapists and those in similar fields to help those whom they work with directly.
What is the timeline for this project?
I anticipate working on this project for most of 2023, as 52 works of art take quite a bit of time to create. Not to mention the very specific nature of this body of work needs to be as accurate as possible to create the right outcome. I am aiming to have this project completed and in production by late September 2023, perfect timing for delivery before Christmas and for folks to start their healing journey in 2024.
I need your help…
The size and scope of this project is vast. If you’re not familiar with my work, I am a composite photography artist who collects and creates props and wardrobe for every work of art I create. It can be daunting and expensive. And when all is said and done, the next step in this project will be the actual printing of the decks. I am expecting this project to cost an easy $8,000. That only covers the expenses for materials to create the wardrobe/props and the art itself, paying models, and the printing of the first set of art decks (250 decks will cost around $4,000 by themselves). This is all before even “paying” myself or Danielle for the work.
It’s daunting, but I truly believe in this project, and am asking anyone else who is interested in seeing this project come to life- anyone else interested in helping others heal, to support it’s creation.
How can I support “The Healing Work Art Deck”?
One of the best ways to support our project is to follow our Facebook and instagram pages for The Healing Work Art Deck, and sharing our project with all your friends. Spread the word for us so we can garner more interest and support, which is free!
Support the creation of the HWAD by pre-ordering through our crowdfunding campaign. We have multiple tiers to choose from, and many of them have the option of making monthly payments! Starting at $65 for a single deck, the more you opt for, the more you will safe and receive.
what are other ways to support this project?
Throughout this project, I will have very specific and special images that will involve collaborations with other artists. These will be set up as their own projects with their own crowdfunding needs and rewards as I believe that every artist involved should be paid for their work.
For Example…
The Glass Wings Project will require a dozen handmade stained glass feathers by local artist, Darby Beth of Groovy Garden Glass. Once this project is completed, supporters will receive the first art prints of this special image, as well as one of the actual glass feathers used in the image as a thank you for their support. This, and other special projects, will be limited in spaces.
We will be adding other ways to support soon, but the final way is to simply order from Kelsi Adams Art or Gulf Coast Gowns to help us keep it going!