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Gallery 1

Selections from the Connection Series.

Keep Going -Mixed media painting by RAKKAUS Crystal Koskinen. Image using her hip x-rays

keep going

In the Connection series I use images of my body, bones and pieces I no longer have, or what has been put in its place.

As a young child, one form of treatment for my JRA was to inject gold into my body weekly (this had to be injected in my hip area .. I did not have JRA in my hips) the drug worked and then it didn’t. Doctors would always stop my treatment when I was showing signs of remission, but I would flare up soon after and each time worse than before …and we would have to start treatment all over again… this went on for many years even into high school. Instead of growing out of the condition it took over my body.

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with a gold mixture. I like to think that is what they were trying to do for me. In this series I have used gold for this reason.

She

Our bodies are amazing vessels, and our minds are so powerful.  Facing challenges with movement, pain, or normalcy can sometimes leave us feeling so exposed and vulnerable. Sometimes we even get used to the discomfort, so much so that we forget what it feels like to live without it. We are so brave when we face these vulnerabilities. We are even braver when we allow ourselves the opportunity to be thankful for what we do have in those moments and to focus on trying to change our mindset. I love my body. I'm imperfectly, perfectly me.

She - mixed media painting by RAKKAUS Crystal Koskinen from her Connection series
Nail Biter - mixed media painting by RAKKAUS Crystal Koskinen.

nail biter

I have come to realize that I truly am a mixed media soul in so many ways. I love colour, texture, layers, experimentation and making marks - not just in my art! I am constantly trying to find balance in the chaos of life, and always find beauty in the little things. Painting is an intuitive and meditative practise which I love.

Discovering how one piece can transform is so magical.

over my shoulder

This mixed media digital painting is a reminder to us that we all have a past and it's ok to remember it - but be grateful in the present moment. What have you learned? How have you grown? What can you look forward to? 

Over My Shoulder - mixed media painting by RAKKAUS Crystal Koskinen
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