A few years ago, my pain became so unbearable that I was no longer able to contain it and maintain a facade in my personal life or in my work. I attended Lucy’s class on Dreams and Creativity, and during a presentation I made to the class about my work, I began to see that changes in my painting were paralleling my personal life and giving me direct feedback about my emotional state. My calm landscapes became more melancholy, lighting changed from sunny daylit scenes to sunset, dusk, and eventually, night time.

Today one of my best vehicles of self-discovery is my own creative work. Now I realize the importance of giving myself the grace to follow whatever lead comes to mind, not questioning it too much. I’ve allowed myself to explore my feelings about grief and mortality, and it has been very healing and empowering. I believe that my work on death, loss, and resurrection helps others find the courage to confront their own losses and find hope for transcending them.

The cross-disciplinary approach of the Foundation is extremely supportive because there is so much common ground among people doing creative work. At the conferences, you interact with writers, poets, dancers, musicians, and other people involved in the creative movement. You see the similarities in the process, and you feed each other.

Our life’s work is to figure out what our gift is and to keep developing it. Everyone can realize their own potential and make a contribution, and I really believe that is our mission in life. The Foundation supports that mission.

More about Gayle Stott Lowry