Renewal: Works About Hope

Emily Strange

ARTIST STATEMENT

From my “Monsters in My Head series,” these monsters represent a part of recovery. The eyes are counting days meaning one day at a time, and the word survivor fits into persevering, fighting every day for your life, and becoming a beautiful new person.

ARTIST BIO

Emily Strange was born in Columbus, Ohio. At a young age she found herself involved in anything creative, however the dark side got to her and took her away from creating for a number of years. During this time Emily went through a number of traumas and decided to move out of Ohio. She went to get help from a homeless shelter and began creating again. This shelter offered her a job in the art department after seeing her talent and helped her get her GED, take her SAT, and apply to colleges. Emily got a full scholarship to Parsons School of Design and moved to NYC where she lived for the next 11 years. Her senior year in college, Emily’s best friend took her own life because of a heroin addiction. This moment was when Emily chose sobriety. Her art shifted and became a voice that reflected her own struggles and the struggles of others. She hopes to educate the uneducated on what addiction is really like and touches on surviving mental illness, PTSD, rape, homelessness, and suicide. She strives to be heard for the people that are seemingly invisible.

Emily is now a full time artist living in Columbus, OH with 8 years of sobriety.