Hi there, I am a self-taught artist who first picked up a paintbrush after becoming a mom. I built my brand with custom-painted wine glasses and nature-inspired art. Things were escalating rapidly before I experienced my 1st major manic episode.

I have a bipolar disorder with generalized anxiety. I painted a butterfly drawing in the midst of that mania before being diagnosed. After rebounding and finding a regime that worked best for me, I realized how well that butterfly wings painting represents bipolar. How on one side, it is beautiful and inspiring while on the other it is chaos and disaster. I feel this drawing’s style represents all mental disorders because we try to show our best and beautiful selves on one side even when we may be crumbling on the other.

I was painting a series of my ‘Bipolar Butterfly’ designs when I heard an alarming segment on NPR about mental health with the rise of violence and suicide. There were many terrible statistics but the one I could not get over is that suicide is the #2 cause of death for 10- 34-year-olds. TEN to 34. I have a ten and thirteen-year-old who are genetically pre-dispositioned to struggle with anxiety and depression. I want to change the stigma of mental health for their’s and all future generations. It should be no more awkward to say I am bipolar than it is to say I am diabetic. That the mind, as well as the body, may need medicine.

I want to help end the stigma by creating unique art to raise awareness and show community and unity for anyone dealing with mental health. Everyone knows what pink ribbons and rainbows represent. I want to give mental health that power and plaster a series of bipolar butterflies everywhere.

More info: makikisart.com | Facebook | Instagram

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