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After decades of struggling to conquer her mental illness, Julie Hardle often paints in the middle of the night. Getting out of bed and opening the paints gives her a release, a sense of healing.
One of 25 artists featured in the ongoing National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) exhibit in Salt Lake City, Hardle sees the event as a chance to be defined as more than being bipolar. This is a chance for her to be Julie Hardle, the artist.
"It's very easy to slip into this sort of consciousness where you are your illness," she said. "By doing something like the NAMI Utah artists project, it gives you an opportunity to step away."
The "Vision and Voices" exhibit is a yearly event for artists in the mentally ill community, intended to encourage recovery and give participants a showcase for their work. About 100 artists submitted work for the juried exhibit; 36 pieces were chosen, ranging from watercolors to pencil drawings.
"It shows what people with mental illness can do," said Liz Felt, who helped coordinate the exhibit through NAMI.
Participants in the exhibit have the chance to sell their work to the public. Some years artists receive gift certificates to help them buy supplies. Framing assistance is also provided.
The works range from neon-shaped like Darth Vader to a Picasso-esque painting of sparrows. A painting of Beethoven is accompanied by the score for 21 "bipolar" preludes composed for piano. Four envelopes from the Salt Lake County Jail become the backdrop for a fairy, a frog and a dragon pencil drawing.
Artists range from an inmate to a homeless youth to recovered, employed participants, such as Hardle.
"Some of the greatest people in history suffered from mental illness," said Hardle, whose soft, rich "Autumn Pears" was chosen for the exhibit. "I think art has been a really integral part of my recovery."
After a three-week hospital stay, a friend took her to a pottery studio to throw pots on a wheel, something she hadn't done in about 10 years. She had an empowering realization.
"If I'm able to center this ball of clay, I have the ability to center myself," Hardle recalled. "Through my creative energy I could successfully quiet some of these symptoms."
To see the exhibit
Visit the Patrick Moore Gallery at 2233 S. 700 East, Tuesday through Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free. The exhibit runs until Nov. 6.