S.C.A.R.S.Art was born from my own personal experience

and struggle of healing from trauma and learning to

love, embrace and feel empowered by the scars I've

acquired during my journey.

 

From 2012-2017, I underwent a series of intense operations

to fix a congenital spine defect. When I awoke, my right

leg was partially paralyzed and I couldn't walk on it for

almost a year. Overnight, I went from being a performing

artist and dancer immersed in my passion, to learning how

to walk again. Three years later, after continuing to struggle with

pain, dysfunction, and other health complications, it was discovered that the surgery had

not healed correctly and needed to be redone. I raised money for my second surgery by

selling handmade jewelry, and after months of wearing a brace and physical therapy again,

it was successful. A third surgery was done 18 months after to remove an internal metal

cast, and a fourth was performed shortly after to treat an infection that had formed in my surgical incisions.

 

During this journey to recover my health, I encountered many deep struggles including chronic pain, autoimmune issues, assault by a physical therapist, financial struggles, and depression. I turned to poetry, drawing, photography, and music when I couldn't move or dance much. Art became my therapy. I vowed to dance and perform again one day, and create a project and platform that could create value from my suffering to help others heal and thrive. Although the healing process is always continuous, today I am walking, dancing, performing, and teaching again, a huge victory!

​

S.C.A.R.S.Art is a project that has many branches that are all rooted in the common theme of connecting, helping, encouraging, and inspiring those who are struggling through dance, artistic expression, storytelling, and cross-cultural exchange. It has evolved from a photography project and multidisciplinary arts platform for sharing "scar" stories. It is inspired by the Buddhist concept of "turning poison into medicine" and the ancient art of Kintsugi, in which broken objects are repaired with golden lacquer. This symbolizes and teaches that something that has been broken and put back together is more valuable and beautiful than before because of its history.

 

I paint around people's scars with gold to represent Kintsugi and then photograph them at a meaningful and personal location. I record video interviews of each person sharing their "scar" story highlighting their struggles and how they continue to overcome their challenges. Combining this process with a multifaceted, we create dance films and shorts. I am continually looking to collaborate with other artists to create live performance works and produce this film series combining dance, music, and spoken word poetry based on our scar stories. I hope that when people watch these films, they feel encouraged to not give up, and are able to connect to someone that shares a similar struggle or culture to that person.  

​

S.C.A.R.S.Art has since expanded to collaborating with various schools, organizations, and communities to facilitate multidisciplinary arts programming to empower, connect, and heal.  I envision is creating a mobile non-profit organization in the future that brings empowerment art therapy workshops to under-resourced and under-served communities, engaging in all types of art forms as a therapeutic practice and as a catalyst for healing and creating value from struggle; as well as raising  awareness and funds for those with limited resources that need medical care for congenital birth defects.

​

​