Healing Through Art: How Creativity Became My Path Back to Myself
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There are seasons in life that reshape us; slowly, quietly, and often through pain. For me, art didn’t begin as a career, a business, or even a passion. It began as survival, a heart that desperately needed a place to rest.
I didn’t know then that the wax I was melting would eventually become my healing. I didn’t know that color would one day become my language. I didn’t know that the act of creating would eventually carry me through trauma, grief, chronic illness, and the long road back to myself.
But like all true forms of healing, art arrived exactly when I needed it most.
When Words Weren’t Enough, Color Spoke For Me
There were moments when my body was exhausted from illness and my spirit felt bruised from life’s unexpected turns. I tried to explain what I was feeling, but words kept failing me. Nothing fit. Nothing made sense. Everything felt heavy.
But color… color understood.
Molten wax moved the way my emotions moved.
Warm yellows whispered hope.
Deep blues held my breath steady.
Greens carried me gently toward peace.
Reds reminded me I was still alive, still fighting.
Violets gave voice to intuition I had forgotten how to hear.
In encaustic painting, I found a safe space to release everything I didn’t know how to speak aloud. Each layer of wax became a layer of truth. Each carving, each swirl, each stroke was a conversation between my heart and my healing.
Creating Became My Therapy
I didn’t realize it then, but each piece I created was helping me reclaim a part of myself.
Traumatic brain injury had changed the way I processed the world.
Chronic illness forced me to slow down, to listen deeper.
Grief cracked my heart open in ways I didn’t expect.
And in the middle of it all, art was the one place where I felt whole.
In my studio, time moved differently.
Pain softened.
Breath deepened.
Wounds loosened their grip.
Art gave me control when everything else felt unpredictable.
It gave me beauty when life felt overwhelming.
It gave me purpose on days when purpose felt impossible.
Color Became My Medicine
As my practice grew, I began noticing something extraordinary: color wasn’t just paint, it was energy.
Yellow taught me joy again.
Blue invited peace back into my life.
Green helped me grow through grief.
Pink brought softness.
Orange rekindled creativity.
Purple guided me inward.
Red restored strength.
Color became my therapy, my mirror, my spiritual compass.
Art Helped Me Transform My Pain Into Purpose
Over time, strangers became customers, customers became friends, friends became a community. What I created in wax began resonating in ways I never expected.
My mother’s cardinal brought comfort to others walking through loss.
My sunflowers brought joy to those rebuilding hope.
My energy-filled pendants became tokens for strength, courage, and healing.
My color readings began helping others hear their own inner voice again.
I realized:
Healing becomes even more powerful when it’s shared.
The same colors that helped me heal were now helping others heal too. And that, to me, is the greatest gift art has given me.
A Life Rebuilt Through Creativity
Today, when I step into my studio, I see more than wax and pigment. I see my journey. I see the places I’ve broken, and the places I’ve grown. I see the moments I thought I’d never survive and the beauty that came from choosing to try anyway.
Art didn’t erase my pain, it transformed it.
It gave me a language.
It gave me peace.
It gave me a business built on meaning and connection.
It gave me a community of souls who believe in the healing power of color.
And most of all, art gave me back to myself.
If You’re Healing Too…
You don’t have to be “fixed” to create.
You don’t need to be whole to make something beautiful.
Your heart, exactly as it is, is worthy of expression.
Art helped me heal one layer at a time.
Color helped me find myself again.
And if you’re on your own journey, I hope you know this:
Healing isn’t about perfection, it’s about presence.
Not erasing the past, but transforming your relationship to it.
Not becoming someone new, but remembering who you’ve always been.
Art is how I remember.
Color is how I rise.
And my hope is that through my work, you find something that helps you rise too.
Thank you for being here, for reading, and for witnessing this part of my story. My hope is that my art, my colors, and my offerings bring a little light to your journey too. If you ever feel called to explore color energy, visit my studio, or receive a personal reading, I would be honored to walk that path with you.
- 💕Alisa Marie