The Healing Power of Art

How my role as a caregiver led to the canvas and Mystic Indigo Cards.

How It Started

I started painting a couple of years ago as a way to cope with the grief of losing both of my parents and my mother-in-law.

I took a lot of walks around my neighborhood and was inspired by what I felt at the time and my observations of life going on around me, mainly the flora and fauna that surrounds my home in the beautiful Roanoke Valley in Virginia.

I just dove in, and I’m not trained other than some art classes I took in Junior High.

I chose Indigo watercolors and gel pens as my medium and just explored what would happen if I limited my palette in this way as I processed the grief of losing so many family members so close together.

I was looking for the light and life that enlivens all living beings.

I found some Youtube interviews of people that had Near Death Experiences (NDE) and was struck by the descriptions some had of their experiences on the ‘other side’.

I found them comforting…and very inspirational.

There was this sense of everything, even blades of grass, having sentience.

Remember the movie, Avatar?

I think the way the forest was illustrated in that movie was what I had on my mind as I created these little paintings.

I like to think about everything having its sense of beingness. And that something of us lives on after we are gone from here.

Using the soothing color of Indigo and repeating dots and circles, I explored my feelings and contemplated the life force energy in every living thing that my eyes landed on in my neighborhood.

Through this process, I found a way to meditate and cope with my anxiety about life and death. It’s been quite the experience, but I’m so grateful for the healing power of art and the support of my loved ones and dear friends.

My talented friend Terah Cox convinced me to turn my little Indigo creations into a card line, and she scooped them all up on a visit and returned to her home in Staunton, Virginia.

While there, she worked her magic and turned them into cards and prints by setting them up on her computer using Photoshop.

My watercoloring has now turned into a creative commitment to go more within as I continue to process the cycles of life and death, and the meaning of it all.

My mother, Paula Mooney

Her impact on those she loved was immense. We loved to travel and try on weird hats in thrift stores, always looking for answers to what we were currently curious about in life.
My father, Bill Smith

He supported all my creative endeavors as a kid. He taught me to fish, and his influence shaped my love of the outdoors and large bodies of water. Waffle House conversations were the best early in the morning before we hit the lake.
My mother-in-law, Jo Florer

Her love of life was infectious. She was a fantastic travel partner, and I loved introducing her to new things. Sangria was her favorite drink and she was my beloved’s biggest cheerleader.

Mystic Indigo Cards

Currently, I have two locations available for retail in Virginia. My cards are printed on a rough, watercolor paper-feeling card stock. I take my paintings and turn them into a print file and have them printed locally.

I’m about to do another printing and will have them available on my website soon. Sign up for my newsletter to find out when they are available or follow me on Facebook or Instagram.