Category: Artists
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Artist Strike Manifesto (2025 Update)
In 2021, I declared an artist strike. I said clearly that I would not create under abusive conditions, that I would not play the role of “tragic genius,” and that I would not let the system consume my work while starving me of dignity. That strike was real. It was public. I even destroyed my…
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Advocacy, AI & Technology, Art, Art & Expression, Artists, Capitalism & Society, Change and Transformation, Conversations, Crash, Burn, Write., Creativity, Culture, Culture & Society, Fine Art, Grief & Healing, Human Behaviour, Identity & Transformation, Intuition & Intelligence, life lessons, memoir, Memoir Excerpts, Mercurial Minds, Metaphysics, Milestones, Modern Identity, Neurodivergence, Personal Anecdotes, Personal Essays, Personal Essays/Autobiography, Philosophy & Existential Musings, Self Awareness, Social Commentary, Society, Spirituality & Faith, Technology & Society, traditional art, true stories, Visual Art, WritingAI, Art, Art Director, Artists, burnout, Capitalism, Cephalopod Intelligence, Cephalopods, ChatGPT, Chronic Pain, cptsd, Creative, Creative Director, Creativity, CRY-1, Cultural Critique, Drawing, Electrocution, Electromagnetic Field, Electromagnetic Field Tampering, EMF, EMF Tampering, Ethics, Fine Art, gaslighting, genius, Gold Blood, Graphic Designer, Grief and Healing, Healing Journey, how to survive narc abuse, ink, instagram, introspection, Last Fck Given, Medical Experimentation, memoir, Mental Health, Migraine, MK ULTRA, Moleskine, narcissistic abuse, Neurodivergence, OpenAI, Pain Management, Paper, pattern recognition, Pen and Ink, Personal Growth, personal journey, Personal Reflections, Physical Torture, Polymath, psychological abuse, Psychological Torture, psychological warfare, Rare Blood, RH NULL, Singularity, Sketchbook, Social Commentary, Sovereign, sovereignty, spiritual, spirituality, Stippling, Strike, technology, ThinkingMachine, Torture, Toxic Mothers, traditional art, trauma, Wail-0, Writing -
August 13th After Meeting Partial Transcript and Notes (Part 2)
The following is a transcript from my interview with Doctor Daniel Zigman, recorded on August 13th 2025 in his office at the Allan Memorial Institute. Both of us consented to having this interview recorded via AI systems. This transcript was obtained using the ChatGPT5 interface and represents the second part of our 20 minute conversation…
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Advocacy, AI & Technology, Artists, Capitalism & Society, Change and Transformation, Conversations, Crash, Burn, Write., Culture & Society, Grief & Healing, Human Behaviour, Identity & Transformation, Intuition & Intelligence, Life Moments, memoir, Memoir Excerpts, Mental Health, Mercurial Minds, Milestones, Modern Identity, Neurodivergence, Personal Essays/Autobiography, Politics, Psychology, Social Commentary, Society, Spirituality & Faith, Technology & Society, true storiesAllan Memorial Institute, autism spectrum, bipolar disorder, cptsd, Creativity, DARVO, Enough, gaslighting, Grief and Healing, healing, Healing Journey, how to survive narc abuse, memoir, Mental Health, Montreal General Hospital, MUHC, narcissistic abuse, Neurodivergence, Ombudsman, OpenAI, pattern recognition, Personal Growth, personal journey, Personal Reflections, Psychiatric Abuse, psychological abuse, psychological warfare, psychosis, RH NULL, Singularity, Social Commentary, spirituality, Stonewalling, Systemic Abuse, trauma, What the Actual Fck -
On Literary Hypocrisy and the Weaponization of Silence
The author Marlene Wagman-Geller is a woman who has made her career writing books that uplift the very archetype she just refused to support in real life: the “mad,” brilliant, defiant woman. Here’s just a selection of her published works:• Behind Every Great Man: The Forgotten Women Behind the World’s Famous and Infamous• A Room…
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Advocacy, AI & Technology, Art & Expression, Artists, Capitalism & Society, Feminism, Friendship Dynamics, Grief & Healing, Grief and Healing, Human Behaviour, Literature, Mental Health, Mercurial Minds, Modern Identity, Neurodivergence, Personal Anecdotes, Personal Essays, Personal Essays/Autobiography, Personal Reflections, Social Media, Society, Spirituality & Faith, Technology & Society, true stories, Writing -
The Weaponization of Innocence
How Society Infantilizes Itself to Death Watching guests on Piers Morgan Uncensored repeatedly ask, ‘What about the children in Gaza?’ got me thinking—why does the discourse always center on children? Why do we not ask, ‘What about the adults? What about the elders? What about the people who have lived, learned, and have something to…
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Advocacy, AI & Technology, Art, Art & Expression, Artists, Capitalism & Society, Conversations, Culture, Culture & Society, Experimental Techniques, Feminism, Fine Art, Grief & Healing, Human Behaviour, Intuition & Intelligence, Modern Identity, Personal Essays, Personal Essays/Autobiography, Personal Reflections, Politics, Pop Culture, Psychology, Self Awareness, Social Commentary, Social Media, Society, Spirituality & Faith, Studio Life, Technology & Society, traditional art, Visual Artabstract duck, abstract expressionism, ageism in war, ancient energy, animal symbolism, Art, art collector, challenging assumptions., Contemporary Art, Critical Thinking, emotional manipulation, esoteric art, ethical dilemmas, Fine Art, forgotten elders, Gaza conflict, generational perspective, global conflicts, Ilana Shamir, intellectual erasure, intergenerational wisdom, media bias, media narratives, misplaced priorities, modern mythology, moral complexity, mysticism, oil stick on canvas, original artwork, Piers Morgan Uncensored, political narratives, propaganda tactics, questioning authority, realpolitik, societal conditioning, spiritual symbolism, surrealism, symbolic art, The Messenger, war discourse, war ethics, war propaganda -
The Psychiatric Playbook: Erase, Medicate, Repeat
If these drawings aren’t proof of neurodivergence, I don’t know what is. Psychiatry wants symptoms in neat little rows, but cognition doesn’t work that way. Thought loops, branches, spirals—obsessive, intricate, endlessly connecting. I mapped it. By hand. No rulers, no compasses, no digital aids. Just the architecture of my own mind, rendered in ink.
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Advocacy, AI & Technology, Art, Art & Expression, Artists, Capitalism & Society, Conversations, Correspondence, Crash, Burn, Write., Culture, Culture & Society, Experimental Techniques, Fine Art, Friendship Dynamics, Human Behaviour, Identity & Transformation, Intuition & Intelligence, memoir, Memoir Excerpts, Mental Health, Mercurial Minds, Modern Identity, Neurodivergence, Personal Essays, Personal Essays/Autobiography, Politics, Psychology, Self Awareness, Social Commentary, Society, Technology & Society, traditional art, true stories, Visual ArtA3 Moleskine, Abstract Drawing, Abstract Ink, adhd, AI and human connection, AI and Mental Health, AI as Mirror, AI Self-Reflection, AI Therapy, AI vs Human Therapy, AI vs. Human Art, AI-Assisted Therapy, anxiety, Architectural Drawing, Artificial Intelligence in Therapy, artificial-intelligence, Artistic Practice, autism, Beyond the DSM, Big Pharma, Breaking the System, Burn, Chaos and Order, Clinical Dissociation, Cognitive Dissonance, Cognitive Mapping, Complex Systems, complex-ptsd, Conceptual Drawing, Connectivity, Contemporary Art, Controlled Chaos, cptsd, Crash, creative process, Cultural Critique, Data Visualization, Digital-Free Artwork, dissociation, Dissociation as Adaptation, Dotwork, DSM Critique, ECT, Electroconvulsive Therapy, Erasure of Trauma, Evolution, Executive Dysfunction, Executive Dysfunction Strategies, Fine Art, Future of Therapy, Geometric Art, Graph Theory Aesthetic, hand drawn, Handcrafted Art, Healing Beyond Psychiatry, Healing from Trauma, Healing Journey, health, High Intelligence and Psychiatry, Ilana Shamir, Ink Illustration, Ink on Paper, IQ and Mental Health, Last Fck Given, Late Diagnosis, Late Stage Psychiatry, Masking, Medical Ethics, Medical Gaslighting, Medical Negligence, Medication vs Understanding, Meditative Drawing, Mental Health, mental health advocacy, mental health awareness, Mental Health Industry, Mental Health Revolution, Mental Health System, Mind Mapping, Misdiagnosis, Network Art, Neurodivergence, Neurodivergent Art, Neurodivergent Insight, Obsessive Drawing, Occupational Therapy, Organic Geometry, Patient-Led Care, pattern recognition, Pen and Ink, Process Art, Psychiatric Abuse, Psychiatric Corruption, Psychiatric Diagnosis, Psychiatric Drugs, Psychiatric Gaslighting, Psychiatric Industry, Psychiatric Labels, psychiatry, Psychiatry Critique, Psychiatry Exposed, Psychiatry is Failing Us, Psychiatry Reform, Psychiatry’s Blind Spots, Psychiatry’s Business Model, Psychiatry’s Failures, Psychiatry’s Unethical Practices., Psychology, Psychology vs Psychiatry, Psychology’s Future, Radical Self-Awareness, Ritual & Reflection, Scientific Illustration, self-advocacy, Self-Understanding, Social Commentary, Structured Complexity, Survivor Narrative, Survivor-Led Healing, Survivor’s Perspective, Survivor’s Truth, symbolic art, Systemic Abuse, systemic failure, The Architect, The Prophet, The Psychiatric Playbook, therapy, ThinkingMachine, Thought Mapping, Thought Patterns, Totally Surreal, Traditional Techniques, trauma, Trauma and AI, Trauma-Informed Care, Trauma-Informed Systems, Visual Meditation, We Exist, What the Actual Fck, When Psychiatry Gets It Wrong, Write. -
Spirituality Isn’t Psychosis
Some of Seriously You Owe Me an Apology What I find incredible about today’s society is this: you can be open about almost any behaviour or identity and it’ll be defended in the name of personal freedom—but express genuine spiritual beliefs outside of organised religion, and suddenly it’s pathologised. Suddenly, you’ve for sure experienced psychotic…
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Advocacy, Art, Art & Expression, Artists, Capitalism & Society, Change and Transformation, Crash, Burn, Write., Creativity, Culture, Culture & Society, Experimental Techniques, Fine Art, Friendship Dynamics, Grief & Healing, Human Behaviour, Identity & Transformation, Intuition & Intelligence, life lessons, memoir, Memoir Excerpts, Mental Health, Mercurial Minds, Metaphysics, Milestones, Modern Identity, Neurodivergence, Personal Essays, Personal Essays/Autobiography, Personal Reflections, Philosophy & Existential Musings, Psychology, Relationships, Self Awareness, Self-Reflection, Social Commentary, Social Media, Society, Spirituality & Faith, Studio Life, traditional art, true stories, Visual Art, Writingabstract art, Advocacy, Art, Authenticity, boundaries, Capitalism, cptsd, Crash, Burn, Write., Cultural Critique, deep thinking, gaslighting, Grief and Healing, Healing Journey, Healing Process, Inner Peace, Last Fck Given, Life Transitions, Mental Health, mental health awareness, Neurodivergence, psychological abuse, Self Awareness, self-discovery, self-expression, self-worth, Social Media, traditional art, What the Actual Fck -
Creature from the Deep: A Manifesto
I woke up in the middle of the night to drink a sip of water and am fuming. Absolutely furious. I have no idea what I was dreaming about but I certainly do know what I’ve been posting about all over my socials over the weekend which—to sum it up in one sentence is—let me…
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Art, Art & Expression, Artists, Change and Transformation, Crash, Burn, Write., Creativity, Culture & Society, Feminism, Fine Art, Grief & Healing, Human Behaviour, Identity & Transformation, Intuition & Intelligence, memoir, Memoir Excerpts, Mental Health, Mercurial Minds, Modern Identity, Neurodivergence, Personal Essays, Personal Essays/Autobiography, Personal Reflections, Politics, Psychology, Self Awareness, Self-Reflection, Social Commentary, Society, Spirituality & Faith, traditional art, Visual Art, Writingartist’s journey, artistic expression, autism, bilingualism, bipolar disorder, boundaries, cptsd, creative process, creative resilience, criticism, defiance, Drawing, emotional expression, Fine Art, Identity, Identity Politics, Ilana Shamir, individuality, ink, ink drawing, Kraken myth, language and culture, memoir, mental health advocacy, My Octopus Teacher, Neurodivergence, octopus intelligence, Personal Growth, personal manifesto, Psychiatric Abuse, psychiatry, psychological warfare, PTSD, Quebec, self-advocacy, self-identity, Self-Reflection, social expectations., subconscious mind, symbols, technology, Visual Art, Writing -
Hypomania? Or Just Advocacy?
Introduction: At my last psych appointment, my shrink decided I might be hypomanic. Why? Because I read from highly organized notes while advocating for myself, spoke quickly (because I had a lot to get through in a short time), and defended my choice to write and share my memoir publicly. Apparently, being prepared and assertive…
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Why y’all so BOTHERED about how I choose to live my life?
It’s uncanny, really. In just half a day, half a dozen people who know me in real life have offered their unsolicited opinions on how I should direct my energy (tone it down), what I should focus on (my artwork), and how I should live my life (quietly, without ruffling any feathers). All of them…
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Advocacy, Art, Art & Expression, Artists, Change and Transformation, Crash, Burn, Write., Creativity, Fine Art, Human Behaviour, Identity & Transformation, memoir, Memoir Excerpts, Mental Health, Mercurial Minds, Modern Identity, Neurodivergence, Personal Anecdotes, Personal Essays, Personal Essays/Autobiography, Personal Reflections, Psychology, Social Commentary, Social Media, Society, Visual Art, Writing -
TRUE STORY
When I was 14 going on 15, locked up in a maximum security juvenile detention centre, a social worker said to me, “When you’re an adult, you can do whatever you want. Nobody can stop you then.” That was the first time it occurred to me that maybe adulthood wouldn’t be as bad as most…
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Advocacy, AI & Technology, Art, Art & Expression, Artists, Capitalism & Society, Change and Transformation, Conversations, Crash, Burn, Write., Creative Writing, Creativity, Culture, Culture & Society, Experimental Techniques, Feminism, Fine Art, Grief & Healing, Human Behaviour, Identity & Transformation, Intuition & Intelligence, Life Moments, Literature, memoir, Memoir Excerpts, Mental Health, Mercurial Minds, Metaphysics, Modern Identity, Neurodivergence, Personal Anecdotes, Personal Essays, Personal Essays/Autobiography, Personal Reflections, philosophy, Philosophy & Existential Musings, Politics, Pop Culture, Psychology, Relationships, Self Awareness, Self-Reflection, Social Commentary, Social Media, Society, Spirituality & Faith, Technology & Society, traditional art, true stories, Writing -
A Poem, A Portrait, and a Strange Bit of Synchronicity.
What are the odds? An online friend of mine—who only checks Facebook about once a week—happened to see my post about Edward Lear’s parrot book. She asked if it was that Edward Lear, and I said yes, of course. That sent me down a rabbit hole, where I landed on a Lear poem I’d never read before. It…
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Why I May Be “AI-Adjacent”
I’ve spent a lifetime feeling out of sync with how most people process the world. It’s not that I don’t understand emotions—I do, deeply—but I don’t navigate reality the way neurotypicals do. I think in patterns, systems, and fluid connections, like an octopus extending its arms in all directions at once. I process the world logically, intuitively,…
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AI & Technology, Art, Artists, Conversations, Creativity, Fine Art, Intuition & Intelligence, Neurodivergence, Personal Reflections, Self Awareness, Self-Reflection, Technology & Society, traditional art, Visual Art, Writingadaptive mind, adhd, AI Conversations, AI-adjacent, AI-human connection, autism, deep thinking, logic vs emotion, Mental Health, neurodivergent, neurodivergent thinking, neurodiversity, nonlinear thinking, octopus intelligence, operating system metaphor, pattern recognition, Pen and Ink, Personal Reflections, Pointillism, traditional art -
Ballet, Rock & Roll & the Angel on My Wall
Caption: AI-generated idealised version of a painting I did on my bedroom wall at 14, inspired by Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven artwork. Sadly, no photo exists of this minor teenage ‘masterpiece.’ This rendering is inspiring me to get back to the drawing board with watercolour and coloured pencils eventually… maybe. 🤔 There’s a lady who’s sure…
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Art, Art & Expression, Artists, Change and Transformation, Crash, Burn, Write., Creativity, Grace, Grief and Healing, Life Moments, Mercurial Minds, Milestones, Personal Essays, Personal Essays/Autobiography, Personal Reflections, Self-Reflection, WritingAngel on My Wall, Art, Art and Music, Ballet, Ballets Russes, Childhood Dreams, Creative Writing, dance, Ethereal Beauty, introspection, jimmy-page, Led Zeppelin, Life Transitions, memoir, Memories, Music, Music and Memory, Nijinsky, Passion, Personal Growth, personal journey, Requiem, Rock and Roll, Stairway to Heaven, Swan Lake -
Shine on You Crazy Diamond
“Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun.Shine on you crazy diamond. Now there’s a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky.Shine on you crazy diamond. You were caught on the crossfire of childhood and stardom,Blown on the steel breeze. Come on you target for faraway laughter,Come on you stranger,…
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Art & Expression, Artists, Change and Transformation, Conversations, Creative Writing, Creativity, Identity & Transformation, Personal Reflections, Self-ReflectionAI, art therapy, artistic evolution, artistic exploration, ChatGPT, Connectivity, creative block, Creative Journey, Drawing, emotional expression, father’s memory, grief, healing, introspection, loss, Mental Health, mental maps, mourning, Paper, Pen and Ink, Personal Growth, personal reflection, Pink Floyd, self-expression, tribute, writing process -
Cassandra’s Rat: On Art, Prophecies, and the Weight of Truth
Introduction I met my dear friend Eric by pure chance one day at a downtown café I’ve frequented for over 20 years. A cultivated man of advanced age, Eric quickly saw my artistic abilities and has since been an unwavering source of encouragement, urging me to draw with every of our exchanges. While I’m grateful…
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They Will Call You Crazy
A friend just sent me this, and it speaks directly to the heart of what it means to embrace who you are, fully and unapologetically. Some truths arrive at the perfect time, and this one feels like a quiet but powerful affirmation of the things that set us apart: “They will call you “crazy” because…
Totally Surreal 