Christina Thomas, "Hope" Prayer Box, 2017, featured in the Bosom Bodies exhibition, 2017
Spring is finally
here! And with the warmer days, we plant seeds in our gardens to bring us the beauty of flowers and healthiness of fresh food. In short - we not only hope for better days ahead after winter, we make it happen with our own creative forces.
Artist Christina Thomas
knows this too well and practices sowing her seeds of hope through her art. She
began with herself and then she spread her "power of personal
freedom" to others in need of healing, inspired by Dr. Winston Collins' book. What else inspired her? Here is her
story:
Christina
Thomas, Untitled, 2017
Beth: When did you decide to dedicate yourself to developing
the artist within yourself?
Christina: I have been
painting since I was 11 as an emotional outlet. After a severe flair up with
Multiple Sclerosis. My body and spirit were broken. Painting became
a therapeutic endeavor sculpting tissue into text. This was the way of
healing the agility of my fingers but not my soul. I found myself in a
very dark place and a spiritual journey was set before me. I began
working on a series called Seven Ways to Sunday.
It was based on the sermons I was hearing each Sunday. I had been led to
a community of believers. They taught me that God was love. Love is
for everyone. The shame and guilt began to melt away. My art became
less about escape and began to heal what was broken within.
Beth: What were the circumstances?
Christina: The circumstances I had to overcome were the fight I
had within myself. I was struggling to be authentic. I was
struggling with past trauma. I was dealing with kidney failure and the
terminal diagnosis that accompanied it. My marriage was beginning to fall
apart. I was also dealing with living with Multiple Sclerosis.
These circumstances made me adapt how I articulated my truth on the
canvas. My muse was the pain because words at times were too painful to
vocalize. The brush allowed me to be present in the stroke and acted as a
guided meditation. Each stroke quieted my mind.
Beth: How did you find time?
Christina: At that time I was teaching art to the developmentally
disabled. It was an atmosphere filled with love. My students took
care of me and fed the part of my soul that was so empty. I would work
when I was inspired and also I was great at working on a deadline. I made
working a priority on a regular basis.
Christina
Thomas, Untitled, 2017
Beth: Where did you work?
Christina: I painted on flat surfaces, my lap, the floor included.
I was an intern at the Pat Hearn Gallery in Chelsea during my
undergrad. I began working as a medical receptionist in dermatology and
the remainder of my career as a cardiology technician. At this
point I was trained to do wound care. Wound care was my inspiration for
the way I sculpted my text on the canvas and using ink to add
color. Packing of the wounds and the different types of dressing
allowed a different layer of my work to emerge.
Beth: Did you receive encouragement from your family or friends?
Christina: In the beginning my art was seen by some as a
hobby. It began to become recognized as I had exhibitions and grew more
dedicated myself. Friends always gave me their full support. My
first solo exhibition was filled with friends and family. All I wanted
was my art to have a life outside of my bedroom.
Beth: Who are the greatest influences on your work?
Christina: God is the greatest influence on my work. My
work would not be possible without his grace. I have almost died from medical
complications on more than one occasion. Each time I made it through
I had a new understanding that I had a purpose. Having recently been
gifted a kidney and no more dialysis I have been born again. My new
collection of art and the pieces leading up to it mark a change in my spirit.
Today my art is about gratitude.
My grandparents are also an influence. Knowing what they
lived through and living in a time when "Back Lives Matters" is chanted in the
streets is a strong juxtaposition to where African Americans have come
from. My grandfather was a doorman and my grandmother a maid and the both
took pride in their work. They were diligent and responsible in every task.
The artists that moved me the most were Frieda Kahlo and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Kahlo endured a long medical crisis and I could identify with
her. She embraced her art in such a unique way by drawing on her body
cast. Her art was her narrative.
I am equally in awe of Basquiat and his use of text. I
loved the way he made you read his story. He drew your attention to it by crossing out letters. His art reflected his claim of being
a King in his crowns.
Both artists greatly influenced my thinking and
me.
Christina Thomas, Prayer
Box, featured in Bosom Bodies exhibition, October
2017
Beth: What are the greatest influences on your work?
Christina: The greatest influences on my work are my life
experiences. My illness has made me see life through different
glasses. It is in the healing that the work
evolves. Other influences have been the issues of Black Lives
Matter, the Environment, Domestic Abuse and organ donation. I am
influenced by my personal world and the world at large.
Beth: You have discussed art and healing, art and adversity –
please tell us more: How does art play a role in your healing process?
Christina: Art is the place where I release feelings freely on
canvas. Painting is a place where my mind can rest. It is
a place where I can laugh and a place where I can cry. The
strokes and colors I choose allow me freedom and, for a moment, the control that
I do not have over my body, or the physical, stops. My focus is
confined to 16 x 20 inches and the primary colors. Creating a cohesive or a chaotic
quality gives me the power of choice.
Beth: Does it express your sense of healing?
Christina: Art does not always express a sense of healing but
willingness. It can be the beginning of peeling the onion on a
larger issue that leads to healing. The expression of healing is
picking up the brush, letting the fear go and creating. Creating just
for you as though no one is looking. My sense of healing can be felt
in the confident strokes, but more so in the times when I use a spoon to apply
colors because the MS will not allow me to use a brush. Healing takes time.
Beth: What does “art and adversity” mean to you? Please tell
us about your philosophies.
Christina: I have faced adversity and art was my way
out. Art was a world I could escape to. I was able to get
lost in the colors and the canvas. Emotion and concentration helped
me to find balance between hue and shape. Art was my bridge. It
seemed as though I was always surrounded by adversity. Art served to
get me from point A to B. It was my constant. As a patient in the
hospital I would create in my mind and on home dialysis I would paint during
that treatment. Art has been necessary for my survival and has
anchored me to reality. My paintings tell my story and show the path
through my adversity. The art was God’s gift to me. The art was
God’s life preserver. So far it has worked time and time again.
May Christina Thomas'
work and her words be an inspiration to you all - hope, create and share
your love through your art.
To learn more about Christina Thomas' work, please contact her directly at ct74249@gmail.com
You can also view her work in
person at the Art Tour International Magazine exhibition, opening on April
28th. For more information about the exhibition and Christina's work in the exhibition, please contact the curator Viviana Puello through Art Tour International Magazine.
Best
wishes for Passover and Easter,
Beth
Beth S.
Gersh-Nesic, Ph.D.
Director
and owner
New York
Arts Exchange, LLC
