A space to share creative works by those who live and passed away with Bipolar. Eventually, with enough submissions we will have a store front to purchase coffee table worthy books, and Journal publications. Meanwhile contact us if you would like to submit your works and stories to be published on-line and on social media sites.

No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness

-Aristotle

2:365 with Missy Douglas

The extreme emotions that come with bipolar are no strangers to artist Missy Douglas. In her collection of abstract oil paintings titled 2:365, she created a painting a day for an entire year to express her bipolar disorder through art and track how her mood changes from mania to depression. No longer wanting to keep her condition a secret, the project aimed to raise awareness of bipolar disorder and the highs and lows that come with it.

In the artist’s own words to the BBC, she describes how mania and depression feel:

“My Mania is characterized by buzzing limbs, insomnia, working frenetically,  moving constantly but never tiring,” she said.

“I also feel incredibly positive, almost arrogant, like I am better than everyone else and that I can achieve anything. Depression is like a numb white cloud. You can barely see or hear.

“I am pretty much agoraphobic, I shut myself away and do not communicate. I’ve attempted suicide and have been sectioned which was the lowest I’ve ever been.”

Looking at her paintings, you can feel the emotions she was processing vividly in the use of color and the juxtaposition of brushstrokes and textures. The artworks were also accompanied by a written diary that recorded her feelings for the day and showed her transition from mania to depression. For example, a painting that captures the overlap is Day 242, created at the height of her mania but also while feeling a “massive wave of white depression heading towards” her.

Portraying the depressive and anxiety-ridden side is Day 5, the Green Window, which has a white box amidst a green and black exterior as if she is being boxed in. Missy Douglas described her feelings for the day as, “anxious, angry, and feeling trapped.”

To show the high-side where she was “buzzing and everything was technicolor and beautiful” and she was “flying and felt invincible” is Day 314, The Beach. This manic-inspired painting has broad expressive brushstrokes and bright colors to highlight the glowing beach.

For more information on the 2:365 project, visit www.uckiood.com/2365 

Sunflowers with Sara

Acrylic on Canvas, By Sara @mixculturecreations

Hi my name is Sara and sunflowers are my favorite flower for many reasons. I like that they produce seeds you can eat, are a vibrant yellow, and help reduce toxins in the ground. They represent transformation and hope since they also tend to face towards the sun. I started this painting when I was manic and it looked blocky. I didn’t like what I created and didn’t touch it for months. Finally I reworked it, adding more layers and shading until it became the painting it is now. It took some time to revisit but was worth it in the end.

My journey with Bipolar since being diagnosed in 2018 has had its up and downs with multiple psychosis relapses that didn’t look pretty but I still keep revisiting my tools to manage my illness. This painting reminds me not to give up on my goals and to make time to revisit my creations from when I was manic. I tend to have more enthusiasm and motivation to paint when I’m manic. The brushstrokes come easily to me and I don’t worry about how it will look. When I’m stable I can add refinement to a piece and take it to completion. Although I’m trying to avoid the extreme emotions that come with Bipolar and live in a peaceful balanced emotional state, I still look forward to the joy that comes with a slight spike in mania that also unleashes my creativity. I have an account where I started sharing some of my artwork but had to take pause due to a recent psychosis relapse. I’m not done with the account yet though and will definitely revisit it to keep sharing my creations again. Check out what I posted so far at @mixculturecreations on Instagram.

Abstracts in Mania, by Sara @mixculturecreations

I tend to create abstract paintings when I’m manic. The fast-paced and random nature of the process is exciting and energizing for me. During my most recent psychosis relapse I wasn’t able to work or function normally in society. I was hearing voices and imagining I was part of the war abroad or doing work for the United Nations. My delusions consumed me. The only thing I could do in between the chaos in my mind was create art. I had two large bottles of neon pink and purple that I used generously in abstract creations like these two.

The first is a sunflower based off of a photograph my father took of sunflowers in the fields of Saraburi, Thailand where my mom is from. I used both the neon pink and purple against the blue to make the petals pop. The second is an abstract of a temple with the neon purple background. I was gifted some acrylic pens great for details and which I used for the gold.

I’m not sure why art is the only thing I go back to during the worse of my psychosis. I currently create only as a hobby but during my recent relapse, all I wanted to be was an artist. Even during the worst of my psychosis symptoms, I could pick up a brush and paint. I imagined having clients around the world and created custom paintings for them in my delusions. Now that I am stable, the excitement from imagining I was a sought-after artist is gone and I’m more calculated with my creations. I’m afraid to create abstracts and struggle to make realistic pieces pop with a fun or vibrant energy like during my mania. I’m still learning how to spark the excitement for all seasons of my painting journey. For now I have these mania-created abstracts as a reminder that I can let go and flow with the paint.

If you would like to submit your creatives works with your stories, please contact us.