About Sharing Experiences:
Sharing Experiences is an ongoing series of community art workshops and exhibitions offered by the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery. The gallery partners with community organizations to share lived experiences through clay. We thank John and Rebecca Short for generously supporting this program.
Sharing Experiences aims to support healthy wellbeing, build community connections, and spread awareness about important issues impacting people in the Waterloo Region and beyond.
Each Sharing Experiences project is unique, as the theme of the exhibition is chosen by the group. For this exhibition, the gallery was honoured to work with House of Friendship to explore the theme of recovery.
DENIS LONGCHAMPS, PHD
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CHIEF CURATOR,
CANADIAN CLAY & GLASS GALLERY
House of Friendship – About the theme of Recovery
The theme of ‘Recovery’ was chosen for these workshops as September is recognized as ‘National Recovery Month,’
to celebrate strength and honour recovery practices. Participants were able to dictate through art what recovery means
to them, in the same way they are supported and encouraged to determine what recovery means in their own lives.
At House Of Friendship we believe in dignified, and person-centred care focusing on the strengths of each
participant in our Residential Treatment Program, and we’re thrilled with the opportunity for them to express these
strengths through the workshops. ‘We are stronger together’
KASSITY MUSSELMAN, SSW, RSSW (she, her)
Addiction Counsellor, Addiction Services –
Women’s Residential Treatment
HOUSE OF FRIENDSHIP
www.houseoffriendship.org
A series of 4 workshops took place in September and October 2023, and the resulting artwork was displayed at the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery November 2023 – January 2024.
Images and Artist Statements:
Amoreena Mallen
Page 85
“We didn’t get clean to keep running from life”, is a sentence from the Narcotics Anonymous basic text which resonates with me in my recovery journey.
Top Bolimon
Top G
I like it, I want it, I take it
Ryan Brown
Morning Joy
I created this to be a reminder to be kind to myself. And to start the day happy and mindful
Z. A.
Flower tray
Trail of flowers
Ben
Still Learning
I have been clear from my drug of choice for close to 5 years. The quote “Be quick but don’t rush” was something that was important to me in my recovery. Learning to slow down and learning to walk before I ran has helped me come to terms with my recovery. And that no matter where I am in life, I will always be learning.
Tim “Clayton”
Ashtray of love
I made this ashray for my girlfriend whom is also in recovery. Smoking is the only addiction that remains…
Kenneth Ram
100%
As an avid coffee drinker and former perfectionist, I thought a daily reminder of my human abilities could be useful for others to remember. The idea of being perfect is stressful and unrealistic. This ideology consumed me and fueled a life of addiction.
Paul T.
Kintsugi
I thought I was broken beyond repair. Through recovery I now can celebrate the flaws that make me whole.
Nyeduel
The Interconnection Blossom
The interconnection blossom was constructed using stoneware clay. The small butterfly represents the essence of growth, which the small butterfly transcends into the larger and completed, developed butterfly which is portrayed. The contrast of the sizes of the butterflies symbolizes that your inner butterfly will continue to be connected alongside your journey as a fully developed butterfly. This small butterfly symbolizes your inner child, being a part of you as an adult, and represents who you are. Both butterflies together represents how embracing my inner butterfly connects me to the foundation of who I am, and acknowledges the connection between the two.
In my encouragement coaster, the outer lining with contrasting black and white symbolizes the resilience of continuing on, during trials and tribulations. Stating this mantra reminds me of the obstacles I have endured throughout my beautiful journey in this life, and reinstates me in my power to proceed in recovery, into the unknown, with courage. Green represents the growth and new beginning in life which transpires during recovery, and finding yourself again. In contrast, the red represents the fragility of the feelings of the heart, hopefulness, and the warmth of being your true self.
Anonymous
Flame of Friendship
I constructed this flame to show my best friend how important they are.
Rebecca Ng
Make Peace Out of the Pieces
In our lives, there are pieces of experiences that we carry with us, and that shape us. These pieces are a part of what makes a school, and they are part of how we become who we are. When we analyze the pieces, some of them can be difficult to take in, yet, as we do, we grow, and there is beauty and pain, as well as in transformative healing. We each have the freedom to choose what we want, and how we want to add to our lives. Over time we learn what adds to our lives, and what doesn’t, and we learned to make peace out of the pieces.
Stacey Barletta
Metamorphosis
This piece was inspired by my journey in recovery. Like a butterfly transitioning from a caterpillar, I too have the opportunity to spread my wings and become something more beautiful in the world each day. I believe a happy, fulfilling life is about evolving from my experiences, no matter how difficult, and being my authentic self. I not only want to embrace change, I want to be the change!
Luciana
Arte es Vida
I am the rose that blooms in the night.
I am art, the most beautiful light.
Healing through art, transformation through love.
I am a force not to be reckoned with.