The Ripple Effects of Collective Artmaking - Izabela’s Story

This is Izabela’s story, shared in conversation with Amy Kipp as a part of building knowledge about community care and collective artmaking through the Art in a Just Recovery mural project. Izabela is passionate about community building, she is a mom, a cook, a volunteer, a dog friend. She loves art - “any sort of beauty to take in and to nourish [herself] with”  This conversation is shared with Izabela’s permission. 

Amy: [Could] you tell me a bit about your experience with Art in a Just Recovery?

Izabela: [Art in a Just Recovery] was transforming. [...] I'm not even sure I can put it into words, but it was a very positive, beautiful experience. A communal experience. [...]  a. There's a community garden there that we know that grows all those beautiful vegetables. [...] Maybe that's what added to that family kind of vibe that we had. 

And it was great to meet all the artists. There was such a mix, from people mature like myself to young community members. [...] Everyone was so helpful and so willing to share what they were doing. [...] It was good to be able to be together with people and in such a personal way, when people are sharing their innermost feelings and their creations, right? It's not easy to say, “Oh, this is what I created” because it's very deep and very personal. But I mean, I never had that feeling at all there in that group because the way we were sharing, it was so inspiring too, and such a window into souls. 

“It was so inspiring too, and such a window into souls.”

Amy: I wonder if you have any thoughts around making art together and what specifically comes from that experience of making art with others?

Izabela: It taught me how different materials could be used. How [you] get a feeling, and then bring it outside and make it physical and a beautiful piece of something, right? [...] Being together and watching the other artists do their thing was so exciting. It was like I felt a buzz because everyone was so creative, the colors, the textures and how they were bringing it out, how the process was unfolding. Yes, it was incredible. It really united us like we were friends, we were very close. 

Amy: What was your experience of community care like during Art in a Just Recovery? 

Izabela: It's different when we say, “Oh, do you want some potatoes and some cabbage?” It's taking care of our physical bodies. But [taking care of] our spiritual and our psychological bodies, this is what the art project was to me. Allowing us to come together and talk about our spiritual and psychological processes and being there for each other and allowing that help, that community care: the care of the spirit in addition to the care of the body. 

“[taking care of] our spiritual and our psychological bodies, this is what the art project was to me”

Amy: Were there any challenges in the project that you ran up against during your time?

Izabela: I think at first I was like, “I'm not an artist. What am I doing here? I'm going to look so stupid.” And of course not, I mean, everyone always has something beautiful to share, right? But I was second guessing myself, of course, because “I'm not an artist,” or so we always say. But cooking is art, and gardening is art, and being friends with animals is art... Oh, I guess I learned that I'm an artist. 

Amy: Oh that’s so beautiful. I feel like no better outcome could come from the project. 

[I wonder] when you look at the mural as a whole, is there a story that you hope others see? 

Izabela: Maybe how interconnected we all are and how beautiful we all are. So different and then yet put together, we do make sense and we do fit. [...] Everyone has a purpose and we should sing our song that the Creator gave us - as the Indigenous people say - or paint our piece. 

Is there anything that you feel is left unsaid or anything else that you wanted to share about your experience in the project?

Izabela: It was a great idea and I think it just mushroomed and grew into more than maybe [even] you had all envisioned. Just like when a programmer writes a program and then an illustrator takes it and makes a beautiful piece of art with that program that the programmer maybe had not seen coming. So, I feel like this is what happened, and we can't completely put a finger on how transformational this was. But I feel like if this is how I feel, then more than likely the ripples have been sent out there and people have been beautifully affected. 

“We can't completely put a finger on how transformational this was. But I feel like if this is how I feel, then more than likely the ripples have been sent out there and people have been beautifully affected.”