When Athena Field of Lilliputi Crochet and Design shared her contribution to Mandalas for Marinke with us, she wrote (in part),
“I’m a woman, a wife, a mother, a sister, a daughter, a mental health peer support worker, an author and a friend. I also live with depression and anxiety, and my life is more brilliant by this diagnosis. I am passionate about mental health, writing, crochet and showing people that it is okay to not be okay.”
I am happy to share that she is able to send this message and showcase her art in a new way because she is one of the artists whose work is featured in the See Me, Hear Me 2016 art exhibit that launches today at Campbelltown Arts Centre in Australia and will run through September 26th. See Me, Hear Me is an art exhibition of works by people living with mental illness.
“See Me, Hear Me provides artists with an opportunity to exhibit their work, for visitors to gain insight into what it’s like to live with mental illness and provides artists with confidence in their art making and to pursue other interests. Almost all the artists are self taught.” The Benevolent Society, which has exhibited works across Sydney for the past five years and has additional exhibits planned in the months to come, “has organised this exhibition in several areas across Sydney, Australia, with support from Partners in Recovery and local service providers.”
“Living with mental illness is as varied as the works in this exhibition, which aims to encourage reflection, challenge stereotypes, create discussion and break down the stigma surrounding mental illness, while also celebrating the joy and satisfaction of making art.”
Athena works for The Benevolent Society as a Mental Health Peer Support Worker and of course is an artist living with mental illness who uses crochet as “a mindfulness strategy, a form of meditation to help manage the symptoms”. She writes on her Facebook page, “Crochet calms the mind, soothes the soul and makes the black dog dance in a pretty little dress”. All of her profits from crochet and designing are donated to The Black Dog Institute Australia.
Athena has received awards for her amigurumi designs from Crochetville’s Doll competition as well as the Sydney Royal Easter show for her amigurumi designs. Recently her work was a sell-out at the World Amigurumi Exhibition in New York. Her patterns have been published in Happily Hooked Magazine. This is her first time in the See Me, Hear Me exhibit.
Athena’s art piece is called Miss Steampunk Bunny. The bunny was crocheted with Moda Vera Bamboo Cotton & Clekheaton Country Wool. Her skirt fabric is Oh-la-la Mechanical Gold by Wilmington Prints and Gears by Spotlight.