Cape Coral artist processes her pain through Sanibel exhibit
SANIBEL, Fla. —
At the BIG ARTS center on Sanibel, as part of a class at Florida SouthWestern State, artists share a series of colorful zig zags, abstract themes, and bold statements.
Their inspiration is to excite an audience with boredom.
“Eventually, you get bored of the painting you made, so you start to destroy it and make like really drastic changes,” said 26-year-old Rhea Schott.
Except, Schott’s paintings are anything but dull, and neither are her experiences.
This past February, Rhea was admitted to a psych ward. She was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. Rhea says she was paranoid of her family and wasn’t leaving her apartment.
“It’s really terrifying to know that your brain can change like that, and that’s a way I can perceive reality. It was really scary,” said Rhea. “I fully lost touch with reality, so people I was close to and typically would trust, I did not trust at all. I was terrified I was being spied on. Very paranoid.”
Processing her diagnosis hasn’t been easy.
“It felt like a huge backwards step in life,” said Rhea.
Painting brings healing. And that progress is recognized by those who love her most, like her dad, Russ.
“She’s overcome so much and we want to keep her moving forward,” said Russ.
As life imitates art, Rhea reflects on some of her most rigorous challenges.
“Letting myself be vulnerable with stuff I don’t feel the strongest about,” said Rhea. “That’s necessary because not every painting can be perfect.”
Like art, the journey can be a little messy, but that’s where beauty lives.
If you’d like to see the “Boredom” exhibit at BIG ARTS, you can view the exhibit through July 24.
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