Last night we opened the first long-term I Am More Mental Health Resource Center & Gallery at Northshore Mall in Peabody, MA. There were family and friends, representatives from north shore non-profits, portrait subjects, student and professional artists–pretty much everything that I had imagined a year ago when I first sat down with the mall. They kept their promise and generously shared the high traffic area in front of Macy’s so that anyone who visits can find free mental health resources on the north shore.

There were representatives from NAMI, The NAN Project, NAGLY, Younity, and Cancer Support Community MA. In addition, there were plenty of resources from North Shore Postpartum Help, North Shore Mother Visiting Partnership, Core Recovery, Art Works, and Veteran’s Resources from the office of Rep. Seth Moulton. There were portrait subjects, student and professional artists, and supportive family and friends to enjoy snacks from Amigos provided by Northshore Mall. Here’s what you can see if you visit:

Portrait subject Pam was her usual fun-loving presence but somehow escaped the photos 🙂

Guest artists for May – come visit to read their stories:

And more scenes from a joyful occasion:

I want to leave you with a piece that took my breath away, addressing a topic that was new and difficult to fathom, in a way that perfectly expresses what this project is about:

I am more, I am many, I am Debbie. The Deb’s are dissociative states I may pass through in my art process. One loves drawing, another painting, another cutting paper dolls, another likes to erase, paint over, another always questions what happens if…and a Fierce Inner Critic and Protector of my early work. Sometimes I don’t recognize my work and praise it, to which the owner says, “You should, You did it.”  

I am now 70 with over 50 years of self-portraits that heard Amy’s call for professional artist self-portraits. 

It is named a disorder, a label I refuse to identify with.

I have a dissociative order, post-traumatic stress, transient anxiety.

My earliest memory of making art is coloring on a neighbor’s stuccoed wall right next to her front door. I was given steel wool to scrub off my art, along with a bit of my knuckles. Painting begins with p-a-i-n, yet painting and art became my sanctuary, a refuge for 70 years.

The Deb’s, Copyright  2024. Black brush m/m on cradled gesso board

My mall partner in this endeavor, Marketing Director and outstanding human, Lauren Dalis, stood with me yesterday morning as we put the final touches on the exhibition, and we both looked at this piece together, a little bit in awe of what we had been gifted by these individuals.