Sasha Bachleda
Self Portrait, 2023
Ink on Paper
In moments of life’s tumultuous storms, I have been caught off guard and presented with some challenges I’ve been unprepared for or struggled to overcome. Art has become a safe shelter, an outlet to release my pain and shift the harsh internal narrative I was developing within an unforgiving mind. Born from these struggles came the idea of releasing my feelings into a visual representation of the therapeutic identity of coping and processing my emotional story. Through wave-like lines and motion, I depict tearful sorrow pooling after heavy downpours and shift the narrative to span a large distance, honoring how I’ve endured struggles yet remain resilient. Drawing these flowing patterns helped silence the storm within, gaining an unexpected calmness through this artistic process. I also realized that I could take my power back from negative influences in my life that were dragging me into violent turbulence, the kind of power that comes with shifting aching pain into an interesting thing of beauty. Artistic expression has helped fortify my belief in myself and my resilience. It's helped me realize that pain is not always bad. Most of all, it helps me understand that after the storm, the flowers bloom.