All Creators Are Survivors: Finding Healing Through Making
All Creators Are Survivors: Finding Healing Through Making
There's a truth I've come to understand: all creators are survivors of something.
I didn't set out to become an artist. I turned to art when life gave me more than I thought I could carry. First, after being diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, when my world suddenly felt unfamiliar and uncertain. Creating became a way to find calm in the chaos — to process, to heal, and to hold onto pieces of myself I was afraid of losing.
Then, I turned to art again through the pain of deep loss, and again after being diagnosed with lupus, and again through loss. Each time life knocked me down, art helped me stand back up. My studio became my safe space, my therapy, and my way of transforming pain into color, texture, and beauty.
The more I hurt — the deeper the pain — the more I create. And somehow, the most powerful pieces are born from those moments. They carry raw emotion, truth, and an authenticity that can only come from lived experience.
But this journey isn't unique to those who call themselves artists. I see it in the gardener whose flowers bloom most vibrantly after her hardest year. In the home cook who pours love into family recipes after loss. In the woodworker who builds something lasting while rebuilding himself. In the poetry and songs from my friends.
Creation is fundamentally human. It's how we make sense of our experiences, how we process what words alone cannot express. Whether you're arranging photographs, writing in journals, knitting scarves, or simply rearranging your living space — you're creating. You're transforming your experience into something tangible.
Science confirms what many of us know intuitively: creative expression helps us heal. It reduces stress hormones, activates pleasure centers in our brains, and gives us a sense of agency when life feels out of control. But beyond the biology, there's something almost magical in making something where before there was nothing.
Beyond our struggles lies the true essence of creation—the stubborn refusal to surrender. It lives in daily persistence, in fragile yet unbreakable hope, and in those solitary moments of bravery that the world never witnesses.
When I look at my own art, I see pieces of survival. I see light that came from darkness, hope born from struggle, and joy rediscovered after pain. And I see the same resilience in the garden my neighbor tends, in the poems and songs my friend writes, in the carefully prepared meals that bring families together.
So if you're carrying something heavy, I hope you'll give yourself permission to create — in whatever way speaks to you. Your story matters. Your survival matters. And who knows... the most beautiful, powerful work might be waiting to come from the deepest part of you, too.
With love and creativity,
— 💕Alisa Marie