Art for Awareness:
An Online Gallery for Eating Disorder Awareness Week
Feb 24- March 2, 2025
In recognition of National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, this online art gallery shines a light on the lived experiences, struggles, and triumphs of individuals who have been impacted by eating disorders. This virtual event aims to foster understanding, offer a platform for healing, and challenge the stigmas surrounding these complex conditions. Through visual art, this gallery explores the intersection of body image, mental health, recovery, and self-love. It provides an opportunity for artists, advocates, and those who have been personally affected by eating disorders to share their stories creatively. This year's theme is "Voices of Resilience."
Thank you for supporting this gallery and Eating Disorder Awareness Week! Please consider completing the feedback/comment form at the end of the gallery, and review ways in which you can help increase awareness and support National Eating Disorder Awareness Week.
Title: A Lily the Waves Couldn’t Drown
By: Hannah Y.
Age: 17
Meaning: A Lily the Waves Couldn’t Drown is a self-portrait of resilience, a visual representation of my journey through my eating disorder. A delicate lily, drawn in flowing white lines, rises from a deep, swirling ocean. The ocean tried to drown me, but I didn’t let it. The waves beneath the lily symbolize the overwhelming nature of my struggles with disordered eating, the moments when it felt impossible to stay afloat. But despite the ocean’s relentless efforts to break it, the lily remains untouched, thriving against all odds. This piece is a testament to survival, to the strength it takes to fight, heal, and reclaim oneself. The ocean was powerful, but I was stronger.
Title: She
By: Anonymous
Age: 24
Meaning: A poem about being afraid of taking up space for so long, only to
realize maybe you should have been doing it all along.
Title: The Safest Place
By: Beth S.
Age: 56
Meaning: Imagining a safe retreat during times of extreme distress comforts me. My favorite and long-time safe place is painted on this canvas. It is located underneath a single shade tree on a lone hilltop. The sunset in the background serves a dual purpose. The darkness represents the calmness and peacefulness of this place, but the dusky light reveals the confusion and distress of the situation.
This is not a place to escape forever but a place to rest for a time, to think. For several years, the hilltop was accessible only to me. The hill dropped off on both sides, and I could see for miles below me yet I was untouchable. When I painted this image, as you can see, the hill was extended, and I was no longer completely isolated from the world. Despite believing I was alone on that hill. I wasn’t. The sun symbolizes God who watched me and stayed near during difficult times and who brought people into my life for support and encouragement, people that I sometimes allowed to climb the hill to offer comfort and care.
By: Beth S.
Age: 56
Meaning: Imagining a safe retreat during times of extreme distress comforts me. My favorite and long-time safe place is painted on this canvas. It is located underneath a single shade tree on a lone hilltop. The sunset in the background serves a dual purpose. The darkness represents the calmness and peacefulness of this place, but the dusky light reveals the confusion and distress of the situation.
This is not a place to escape forever but a place to rest for a time, to think. For several years, the hilltop was accessible only to me. The hill dropped off on both sides, and I could see for miles below me yet I was untouchable. When I painted this image, as you can see, the hill was extended, and I was no longer completely isolated from the world. Despite believing I was alone on that hill. I wasn’t. The sun symbolizes God who watched me and stayed near during difficult times and who brought people into my life for support and encouragement, people that I sometimes allowed to climb the hill to offer comfort and care.
Title: The Struggle
By: Beth S.
Age: 56
Meaning: This painting represents the struggles I experienced with emotions and their expression. Each arm symbolizes a different emotional hurdle in my life.
The blue arm signifies sadness and hurt. It is neither prominent nor well-defined because it was an aspect which I rarely recognized or allowed myself to feel. It was buried deep within the recesses of my heart.
Closer to the surface but not visible to the naked eye was my anger represented by the red arm clenched in a fist. I grew to feel more comfortable with acknowledging this emotion but expressing it in “healthy” ways was not as simple.
The black hand grasping the angry arm is death. In my life, death took the form of my self-induced starvation and other self-destructive actions. When I stuffed my anger, it blanketed the hurt and sadness. The door then stood wide open for “death” to take control.
For most of my life, the painting ended there, but as I healed, that changed. The prominent green and white arm symbolizes the hope I had for my life as well as the uncertainty that goes hand-in-hand with the unknown. But the openness of the hand demonstrates my willingness to face my fears and to take the risks necessary to reach the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.
By: Beth S.
Age: 56
Meaning: This painting represents the struggles I experienced with emotions and their expression. Each arm symbolizes a different emotional hurdle in my life.
The blue arm signifies sadness and hurt. It is neither prominent nor well-defined because it was an aspect which I rarely recognized or allowed myself to feel. It was buried deep within the recesses of my heart.
Closer to the surface but not visible to the naked eye was my anger represented by the red arm clenched in a fist. I grew to feel more comfortable with acknowledging this emotion but expressing it in “healthy” ways was not as simple.
The black hand grasping the angry arm is death. In my life, death took the form of my self-induced starvation and other self-destructive actions. When I stuffed my anger, it blanketed the hurt and sadness. The door then stood wide open for “death” to take control.
For most of my life, the painting ended there, but as I healed, that changed. The prominent green and white arm symbolizes the hope I had for my life as well as the uncertainty that goes hand-in-hand with the unknown. But the openness of the hand demonstrates my willingness to face my fears and to take the risks necessary to reach the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.
Title: Me
By: Beth S.
Age: 56
Meaning: Shame, emptiness, vulnerable, incomplete, invisible, naked, unworthy, hopeless, desperate, alone, barely alive – with this painting, I wanted to communicate how I felt. Initially, I planned to go back and finish it. It wasn’t done. But then one day, I realized it needed nothing. It was there. Originally, my anorexia provided a sense of control. When everything else in my life seemed out of control, the one thing I could control was the food I ate. No one could make me eat. Only I had power over that.
My anorexia also provided an outlet for my anger. On the one hand, I separated me from my body and took out my anger on it, starving it, exercising it mercilessly, depriving it of sleep.
But on the other hand, I starved my body to punish me. I deserved to starve. My father still wrestled with his many addictions and lashed out at us. Exhausted, my mother still fought to protect and to change our family, with no success. My sister and brother still hurt, old wounds and new wounds, and began to rely on destructive coping skills to survive as well. I failed them.
When I painted this piece, I faced the realization that my anorexia no longer worked for me. I understood it too much. A good thing. But not so good because I still felt all the feelings I tried to starve away – shame, emptiness, vulnerable, incomplete, invisible, naked, unworthy, hopeless, desperate, alone. I was still barely alive.
By: Beth S.
Age: 56
Meaning: Shame, emptiness, vulnerable, incomplete, invisible, naked, unworthy, hopeless, desperate, alone, barely alive – with this painting, I wanted to communicate how I felt. Initially, I planned to go back and finish it. It wasn’t done. But then one day, I realized it needed nothing. It was there. Originally, my anorexia provided a sense of control. When everything else in my life seemed out of control, the one thing I could control was the food I ate. No one could make me eat. Only I had power over that.
My anorexia also provided an outlet for my anger. On the one hand, I separated me from my body and took out my anger on it, starving it, exercising it mercilessly, depriving it of sleep.
But on the other hand, I starved my body to punish me. I deserved to starve. My father still wrestled with his many addictions and lashed out at us. Exhausted, my mother still fought to protect and to change our family, with no success. My sister and brother still hurt, old wounds and new wounds, and began to rely on destructive coping skills to survive as well. I failed them.
When I painted this piece, I faced the realization that my anorexia no longer worked for me. I understood it too much. A good thing. But not so good because I still felt all the feelings I tried to starve away – shame, emptiness, vulnerable, incomplete, invisible, naked, unworthy, hopeless, desperate, alone. I was still barely alive.
Title: Family Sculpture
By: Beth S.
Age: 56
Meaning: During my second inpatient stay, the art therapist instructed us to take a piece of clay and create a “family sculpture” – a model of our family. Each individual member was to be represented and positioned according to his or her role in the family.
As I contemplated the forms that each of my family members would take, the most prominent characteristic of my family was my father’s alcoholism, drug addiction, and explosive anger. I visually equate him to an erupting volcano. Yet another aspect of my father was his distance and coldness, so in my sculpture, the volcano with ice at its base is separated from the rest of the family but spews flames and lava that surround and entrap us – my mother, my younger sister, my younger brother and me.
I envisioned my mother as a fire hydrant. She tried her best to fight the fire of my father’s rage and addiction. She searched for the answers, trying to help my father to heal and to transform. But one fire hydrant cannot stop the havoc and destruction of a volcano. As the eldest, I felt tremendous responsibility for the chaos in my family and tried to help my mother with the futile task. I am the hose in the sculpture.
As I created this sculpture, I was overwhelmed by my sense of love and protection for my brother and sister so I made them in the form of two hearts. My sister is positioned on the edge of the sculpture because she has spent her life trying to hide and to separate herself from the pain. I placed my brother in the center because he acted as protector of us all as the “man of the house” and as entertainer to distract us from the chaos.
This sculpture evokes a very sad but realistic picture of my family during my childhood. Creating this concrete symbol of my family and seeing my role in it was the initial step in the long process of breaking the behavior patterns and finding a new identity apart from my role in the family.
By: Beth S.
Age: 56
Meaning: During my second inpatient stay, the art therapist instructed us to take a piece of clay and create a “family sculpture” – a model of our family. Each individual member was to be represented and positioned according to his or her role in the family.
As I contemplated the forms that each of my family members would take, the most prominent characteristic of my family was my father’s alcoholism, drug addiction, and explosive anger. I visually equate him to an erupting volcano. Yet another aspect of my father was his distance and coldness, so in my sculpture, the volcano with ice at its base is separated from the rest of the family but spews flames and lava that surround and entrap us – my mother, my younger sister, my younger brother and me.
I envisioned my mother as a fire hydrant. She tried her best to fight the fire of my father’s rage and addiction. She searched for the answers, trying to help my father to heal and to transform. But one fire hydrant cannot stop the havoc and destruction of a volcano. As the eldest, I felt tremendous responsibility for the chaos in my family and tried to help my mother with the futile task. I am the hose in the sculpture.
As I created this sculpture, I was overwhelmed by my sense of love and protection for my brother and sister so I made them in the form of two hearts. My sister is positioned on the edge of the sculpture because she has spent her life trying to hide and to separate herself from the pain. I placed my brother in the center because he acted as protector of us all as the “man of the house” and as entertainer to distract us from the chaos.
This sculpture evokes a very sad but realistic picture of my family during my childhood. Creating this concrete symbol of my family and seeing my role in it was the initial step in the long process of breaking the behavior patterns and finding a new identity apart from my role in the family.
Title: You gotta be - YOU
By: Mia M.
Age: 40
Meaning: After residential treatment, I found myself listening to the song "You gotta be" by Des'ree. I remember thinking how the lyrics sounded different when I heard them from ED - the eating disorder part of me, versus my authentic, true self.
You Gotta Be bad, You Gotta Be bold, You Gotta Be wiser
You Gotta Be hard, You Gotta Be tough, You Gotta Be stronger
You Gotta Be cool, You Gotta Be calm, you gotta stay together
The red heart, and "E" noting "no grade, just you" represents being wiser and smarter than the irrational thoughts that ED told me, that I didn't have to be that perfect A student, or top finisher, rather my authentic self was enough. The Star represents the ability to shine as myself, not having to prove I was tough by placing first in my age group or the insane amount of miles I road on my bike for training. I could shine just by being myself.
Challenge what the future holds
Try to keep your head up to the sky
Lovers, they may cause you tears
Go ahead release your fears
The multicolored flower under the rain cloud and lighting strike, represents the beauty that the future (growth) can be without ED being in charge; even in the face of storms (challenges), it's ok to struggle and have/show emotions, one thing that I struggled with so very much. I learned that eating disorders were emotional and irrational in nature. I didn't have to "hold it together and seek perfection," as much as I thought this would bring me the self worth that I was so very badly craving, as I learned this was not something that could be obtained through compensatory behaviors of over-exercising, restricting, or purging.
Releasing the grips and teathers to my eating disorder was a long, arduous journey, that I often questioned if recovery was even possible. Through support of family, friends, and experiencing all levels of care, I am here to say that I love my unique, weird, authentically amazing self (imperfections and all). I am thankful for the struggle, as I am the person I am today because of that struggle with Ed. I am able to give back to individuals and families who are struggling with fighting the battle. I know ED, and I am here to fight alongside my clients, as I welcome them with warmth, empathy, and an understanding of the complexities that this disorder brings to the table. Facing the fears of letting go of ED, is not only challenging, it's brave and courageous.
By: Mia M.
Age: 40
Meaning: After residential treatment, I found myself listening to the song "You gotta be" by Des'ree. I remember thinking how the lyrics sounded different when I heard them from ED - the eating disorder part of me, versus my authentic, true self.
You Gotta Be bad, You Gotta Be bold, You Gotta Be wiser
You Gotta Be hard, You Gotta Be tough, You Gotta Be stronger
You Gotta Be cool, You Gotta Be calm, you gotta stay together
The red heart, and "E" noting "no grade, just you" represents being wiser and smarter than the irrational thoughts that ED told me, that I didn't have to be that perfect A student, or top finisher, rather my authentic self was enough. The Star represents the ability to shine as myself, not having to prove I was tough by placing first in my age group or the insane amount of miles I road on my bike for training. I could shine just by being myself.
Challenge what the future holds
Try to keep your head up to the sky
Lovers, they may cause you tears
Go ahead release your fears
The multicolored flower under the rain cloud and lighting strike, represents the beauty that the future (growth) can be without ED being in charge; even in the face of storms (challenges), it's ok to struggle and have/show emotions, one thing that I struggled with so very much. I learned that eating disorders were emotional and irrational in nature. I didn't have to "hold it together and seek perfection," as much as I thought this would bring me the self worth that I was so very badly craving, as I learned this was not something that could be obtained through compensatory behaviors of over-exercising, restricting, or purging.
Releasing the grips and teathers to my eating disorder was a long, arduous journey, that I often questioned if recovery was even possible. Through support of family, friends, and experiencing all levels of care, I am here to say that I love my unique, weird, authentically amazing self (imperfections and all). I am thankful for the struggle, as I am the person I am today because of that struggle with Ed. I am able to give back to individuals and families who are struggling with fighting the battle. I know ED, and I am here to fight alongside my clients, as I welcome them with warmth, empathy, and an understanding of the complexities that this disorder brings to the table. Facing the fears of letting go of ED, is not only challenging, it's brave and courageous.
How You Can Support this Cause...
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Special thanks goes to National Eating Disorders Association, Odyssey Eating Disorder Network, and Koru Spring for generously contributing self care items for a wellness bag that is being raffled off for those who submitted art pieces. To learn more about these organizations, be sure to visit their pages and discover how they’re making a difference in our community!
Bloomington, IN Mayor signs Proclamation for Eating Disorder Awareness Week:
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In a powerful step toward advocacy and awareness, Mayor Thompson has officially signed a proclamation recognizing National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. This initiative aims to shed light on the impact of eating disorders, support those affected, and encourage greater community awareness and action in addressing this public health crisis. Together, with Mayor Thompson, several eating disorder specialists came together to discuss the stigma, barriers to accessing treatment, and how our community can better promote education on this growing epidemic. |
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From left to right:
Jess Roman RD, Jan Taylor Schultz LCSW, Kerry Thompson Mayor, Mia Morrison LMHC, Laura Knudson MD, Christy Duffy PhD, Brooke Barada MD
Jess Roman RD, Jan Taylor Schultz LCSW, Kerry Thompson Mayor, Mia Morrison LMHC, Laura Knudson MD, Christy Duffy PhD, Brooke Barada MD
DID YOU KNOW?
EDAW Landmark Lighting Campaign
EDAW Landmark Lighting Campaign
World-renowned landmarks across the nation will be lit in the signature blue and green colors in honor of Eating Disorder Awareness Week. The coast-to-coast effort will unite dozens of U.S. cities in observation of the annual EDAW the week of February 24 – March 2nd, 2025.
For more information on this campaign, and to see buildings by state, click here.