The Recovery Gals Art Exchange

Written By: Sondra Primeaux, ACR Board MemberMy name is Sondra and I am in recovery from alcohol abuse. I’m one of those sober people who is not anonymous and I work hard to help break the shame of addiction that keeps the addicted from accessing recovery. I’ve always been a creative person and I’d never valued my creative practices more than I did in early sobriety. I launched a blog in 2015 called The Unruffled as a place to catalog ideas for others in early recovery looking to fill the void that alcohol left behind. In 2017, I started The Unruffled Podcast with my friend Tammi Salas where through self-inquiry and interviews, we explore all the topics that result from the place creativity and recovery intersect. We opened a secret Facebook group as a space to grow our community (of women and female-identified only) and it has organically grown ever since. Shortly after the podcast launched, Tammi and I came up with an idea to encourage creativity within our online community. We’d noticed that while some of our members had embraced creativity as either a practice, a hobby or a career, others were less confident. We love to say, “Everyone is creative”. Rebuilding a life in recovery is a bold, creative act and the project was especially for the women who needed the nudge. We called it The Recovery Gals Art Exchange and launched the first one eight weeks before the Fall Equinox. We chose the theme of Reflection for the first one, put out a call for participants and drew for partners. It was like a written permission slip. All art was encouraged and in all of the quarterly exchanges we’ve hosted over the years (falling on the Equinoxes and Solstices), we’ve seen everything from song to poetry, from collage to textile art and everything in between. The only rules are that the art has to be either emailed or snail-mailed and that partners keep the lines of communication open. Partners have participated from nearly all fifty states and from all parts of the world. What started as a project to encourage creativity has become a beautiful opportunity to witness the connections forged between the partners, most of whom have never even met in person. As most of the country is still in Covid restrictions for the unforeseeable future, we are forced to rely on our online spaces for community. I wanted to share the art exchange as inspiration for other communities to start their own. My personal exchanges have all been made from reuse, which allows me to incorporate another of my values into the practice. By using reuse, not only are you saying “Everyone is creative” but you’re also saying “Art is accessible to all”. Whether you are in any kind of recovery or not, we could all use some of the healing that only creativity and connection can provide.Artist: Sondra PrimeauxArtist: Sondra Primeaux While I’d love to show you all of the beautiful art created over the years by the Recovery Gals Art Exchange, the Facebook group is secret to protect the anonymity of the members. But you can search the hashtag #recoverygalsartexchange on Instagram to see over a hundred amazing pieces of art from women who are out about their recovery. You can also shop at Austin Creative Reuse’s online store for any supplies you need while the center is closed right now. Most of us are still trying to make the best of our situation and I can’t think of a better way than to exchange art.