Recovery Art

If you’ve ever wanted to try your hand at art, but been afraid, it’s more than likely you have an inner critic that is holding you back from unleashing those pent-up creative energies. For many of us that have suffered with the disease of compulsive eating, the inner critic has been especially strong and heavy-handed.And yet, once we found recovery in OA, we came to discover that we had a great deal of creativity and playfulness within us that wanted the freedom to be “let out.”

Urged by our sponsors and friends in the fellowship, we began with simple things like doodling, coloring, and playing with the leftover art supplies of our children. Once we came to realize how much fun this proved to be (and how it was a terrific way to keep us from compulsively eating), we expanded our repertoire to include more advanced art exploration ranging from colored pencils, pen, and ink to charcoal, pastels, paint, and mixed media. Some of us boldly ventured into things like sculpting with clay, working with metal or wood, while others ventured into new hobbies like photography, singing, learning to play a guitar, sewing, or interior design.

What follows are some examples of our creativity at play.

We hope you’ll find our ventures into the world of Recovery Art enjoyable.  But, mostly, we hope that what you see here inspires you to allow your own creative juices to flow wherever they may lead. For many of us, turning to art, rather than food, has been a welcome way to express the feelings and emotions we had tried so long and so hard to avoid, numb out, stuff down, or bury. Art has also proven to be a great way to connect with, and experience evidence of, our Higher Power lovingly at work within our lives.

We sincerely hope you come to find your own unique way to unleash and express the artist within you!

Check out our Blog for Recovery Art: How OA and Zentangle helped me untangle my life