Recovery Mural Project
The ODMHSAS hopes to spread the message of recovery through the Recovery Mural Project.
The Recovery Mural Project is a community beautification plan aimed at both highlighting various recovery providers statewide as well as celebrating the beauty and growth of the recovery process itself.
Each Recovery Mural is painted by an Oklahoma artist who is on their own recovery journey. The murals promote recovery, bring awareness to mental health and substance abuse services, reduce stigma, and provide a medium/and or sounding board for the public to enjoy and be inspired by. The murals are created and supported in partnership with Arts Council OKC, ODMHSAS and participating agencies. We hope to make Oklahoma more aware of recovery and its incredible possibilities through this project.
Recovery Mural #1: "And Yet We Rise" by Ashley Showalter
Artist Spotlight - Ashley Showalter
"I wanted this mural to be a realistic depiction of having hope in recovery. Throughout my healing journey, I have had many difficult seasons where emotions were not fun to feel that were followed by periods of joy. I think we can all relate to having different seasons of experiences in life. We have seasons where we feel productive with energy followed by times of much needed rest. We also have moments of despair or grief that lead to times of happiness and celebration. In order to enjoy and appreciate the moments of sunshine we must sometimes experience moments of darkness or stormy weather. I drew rain leading to the growth of flowers to represent how living through our rainy times can prepare us to embrace our periods of growth and joy!
I also have learned the challenge of living in the grey area throughout my recovery. It’s been a difficult journey to learn that not all things in life are all negative or all positive. The clouds represent clouded thinking and how our perspective can be out of balance sometimes. There are always multiple perspectives to consider and life is found in the grey. The black and white stripes remind us to consider a mindset encouraging balance and compassion.
Lastly, the sun in the middle represents people in recovery when they embrace themselves and are confident in expressing who they are despite their challenges. I view the sun as the moment in healing when you recognize your value, worth and importance!
Recovery isn’t linear, and everyone goes through many seasons. My goal is for this mural to serve as a reminder that hope is always present, even when we don’t think it’s possible in the present moment."
