Saint Plantago
Mike McManus
Chalk, House Paint & Masking Tape on Muslin, Mounted on Wood in Artist Made Steel Frame | 30” x 35.5” | 2023
After nearly a decade of sobriety I relapsed into a dangerous cycle of drugs and alcohol shortly after being awarded the Urban Studio Unbound residency. Staying relentlessly committed to the studio through the darkness of addiction, and mental illness, I laid bare my spirit through intuitive mark making; furiously grinding chalk to dust and melting into the smooth flow of the oil stick. My creations became odes to my city’s rough and raw weather beaten surfaces, splashed with graffiti. Commemorative drawings of resilient weeds thriving through brick and asphalt. It’s here I find a special type of beauty: layers exposed, cracks and rust revealing an enduring life.
This residency offered me a refuge of creation and was truly God’s saving grace.
Instead of drinking myself to death (which became the title of a piece in this collection) I found therapeutic healing in orchestrating markers and paint, satisfying a desperate groan within. As I worked out my wounds and inadequacies in the studio through drawing and painting I also began to grid, cut and sew, simple geometric shapes. The process's precision became a beneficial practice for calming and ordering mental deficiencies.
Quilting to me was a way to literally wrap myself in this art making which has been a healing vehicle for me, and to offer this to others. This same mantra drove my sculptural metal work into design. Aiming for the power of transformation and spiritual growth alive in my vessels, made to use, to feel, touch, experience in everyday life. These plasma-cut, welded, brazed and enameled objects aesthetically bearing an urban decay rawness similar to my paintings.
As I healed and sought help from God and people I managed to work my way back to sobriety. My art is now a vital support in my progress of recovery.
As in the past, drawing flowers and plants began to sprout through my practice again as I yearned for hopefulness and joy.
I’m grateful for the gift of art making and to Urban Studio Unbound for the space to practice my God given Mode of Survival.
Mike McManus
Chalk, House Paint & Masking Tape on Muslin, Mounted on Wood in Artist Made Steel Frame | 30” x 35.5” | 2023
After nearly a decade of sobriety I relapsed into a dangerous cycle of drugs and alcohol shortly after being awarded the Urban Studio Unbound residency. Staying relentlessly committed to the studio through the darkness of addiction, and mental illness, I laid bare my spirit through intuitive mark making; furiously grinding chalk to dust and melting into the smooth flow of the oil stick. My creations became odes to my city’s rough and raw weather beaten surfaces, splashed with graffiti. Commemorative drawings of resilient weeds thriving through brick and asphalt. It’s here I find a special type of beauty: layers exposed, cracks and rust revealing an enduring life.
This residency offered me a refuge of creation and was truly God’s saving grace.
Instead of drinking myself to death (which became the title of a piece in this collection) I found therapeutic healing in orchestrating markers and paint, satisfying a desperate groan within. As I worked out my wounds and inadequacies in the studio through drawing and painting I also began to grid, cut and sew, simple geometric shapes. The process's precision became a beneficial practice for calming and ordering mental deficiencies.
Quilting to me was a way to literally wrap myself in this art making which has been a healing vehicle for me, and to offer this to others. This same mantra drove my sculptural metal work into design. Aiming for the power of transformation and spiritual growth alive in my vessels, made to use, to feel, touch, experience in everyday life. These plasma-cut, welded, brazed and enameled objects aesthetically bearing an urban decay rawness similar to my paintings.
As I healed and sought help from God and people I managed to work my way back to sobriety. My art is now a vital support in my progress of recovery.
As in the past, drawing flowers and plants began to sprout through my practice again as I yearned for hopefulness and joy.
I’m grateful for the gift of art making and to Urban Studio Unbound for the space to practice my God given Mode of Survival.
Mike McManus
Chalk, House Paint & Masking Tape on Muslin, Mounted on Wood in Artist Made Steel Frame | 30” x 35.5” | 2023
After nearly a decade of sobriety I relapsed into a dangerous cycle of drugs and alcohol shortly after being awarded the Urban Studio Unbound residency. Staying relentlessly committed to the studio through the darkness of addiction, and mental illness, I laid bare my spirit through intuitive mark making; furiously grinding chalk to dust and melting into the smooth flow of the oil stick. My creations became odes to my city’s rough and raw weather beaten surfaces, splashed with graffiti. Commemorative drawings of resilient weeds thriving through brick and asphalt. It’s here I find a special type of beauty: layers exposed, cracks and rust revealing an enduring life.
This residency offered me a refuge of creation and was truly God’s saving grace.
Instead of drinking myself to death (which became the title of a piece in this collection) I found therapeutic healing in orchestrating markers and paint, satisfying a desperate groan within. As I worked out my wounds and inadequacies in the studio through drawing and painting I also began to grid, cut and sew, simple geometric shapes. The process's precision became a beneficial practice for calming and ordering mental deficiencies.
Quilting to me was a way to literally wrap myself in this art making which has been a healing vehicle for me, and to offer this to others. This same mantra drove my sculptural metal work into design. Aiming for the power of transformation and spiritual growth alive in my vessels, made to use, to feel, touch, experience in everyday life. These plasma-cut, welded, brazed and enameled objects aesthetically bearing an urban decay rawness similar to my paintings.
As I healed and sought help from God and people I managed to work my way back to sobriety. My art is now a vital support in my progress of recovery.
As in the past, drawing flowers and plants began to sprout through my practice again as I yearned for hopefulness and joy.
I’m grateful for the gift of art making and to Urban Studio Unbound for the space to practice my God given Mode of Survival.
Mode of Survival