Art of Recovery celebrated a decade of art, expression, resilience and healing March 25 at House Three Thirty, a new location for the event.

As the event opened, CSS CEO and President Bob Stokes was presented with a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from the office of U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes commemorating 10 years of Art of Recovery.

Nearly 60 works of original client-created art were on display and up for bids by nearly 250 attendees, who also met the artists, enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and learned more about CSS’ art therapy program. A special art therapy exhibit also shed light on the therapeutic aspects of creating artwork as part of mental health treatment.

The artists’ stories were showcased during a video presentation and highlighted in remarks by Expressive Arts Administrator Michelle Morton. Seven of the artists were presented with awards for their works, which were judged by local mental health counselors Christine Mehen and Hannah Mansell.

Taking home the top awards were:

• Zephania Le’Finest Hall, who won Best of Show for “The Feminine in Your Mind,” a thought-provoking acrylic painting that questioned the perception of femininity in culture.
• John Hunter, who earned second place for “The Stained Glass,” a mixed media collage featuring colorful geometric shapes interspersed with broken mirror pieces.
• Kimberly Maack, who took third place for “Contrast and Contradiction,” a colorful piece incorporating alcohol inks on ceramic tile, bordered by copper foil.

Receiving an honorable mention was James K. for his “Blue Anchor,” which featured random shapes of red, blue and green outlined in white on a black background. 

The Judge’s Pick Award from Mehen was awarded to Connie Sparks for “The Mascot,” a printmaking work depicting a standing groundhog. Mansell presented her Judge’s Pick Award to Samantha McClish for “I Can’t Stand it Anymore,” a detailed acrylic and watercolor painting of hands sewing a wounded heart together.

Artist Lewis was recognized with a special honor; a framed print of his roaring tiger painting was presented to the event’s top sponsors.

By the end of the evening, 50 of the 58 featured works of art had been sold. Seventy-five percent of the art sale proceeds went to the artists while the remaining 25% went to the CSS Expressive Arts Therapy program.

It is our honor to celebrate these artists, and we thank them for sharing their art and their stories of hope, resilience and recovery. (See more from this year’s artists here.)

We’d also like to thank our sponsors for celebrating with us and helping to make the event such a success.