“I’ve gone back to my roots, you might say.”
– Errin
Web: errinwitherspoon.com
FROM ERRIN
Early on in treatment for an eating disorder, when I discovered this passion for creating interesting and beautiful things to look at, I was doing it in old books. It began as part of my therapy. When I was trying to start journaling, and found it too scary and painful to let my thoughts come out onto paper in words, I would doodle. Gradually, those doodles turned into sketches, then into colour illustrations, and eventually into paintings.
Recently, I decided I wanted to paint some faces that would express some of what I experienced while living with an eating disorder. As I scoured the internet looking for interesting reference photos, I found myself drawn to images of people wearing sunglasses.
I asked myself what it was about the sunglasses that might be attracting me to them. What I realized was the glasses are a symbol of how an eating disorder changes perspectives.
When you wear sunglasses, they alter your view of the world. They change the tones of your environment. They dim the brilliance of the things you see. And just like they change your view, they also change how the world sees you. If the eyes truly are the window to the soul, wearing sunglasses is a great way to stop the world from really seeing who you are.
In many ways, that’s like my experience living with an eating disorder. The eating disorder consumed so much of my mental space as I moved throughout my days, that I often wasn’t able to fully live those days. It kept me from taking in much of what I had available to me to encounter. Not only that, but the eating disorder also acted as a barrier to protect me from the things that had either hurt me in the past, or that I feared might hurt me in the future.
Excited about this realization, I followed my intuition. I chose eight second-hand hard cover books from my stash, prepped them for painting, and got to it.
My series “The Significance of Sunglasses” consisting of eight mixed media art works created on books is the result.
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