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Sybil Paris Noble Kansas City, MO
I have done art since I was a small child. When I was diagnosed at 15 (although I was ill years before) I either medicated my ills with street drugs or drinking. Today I neither drink nor do drugs. In order to change my life I moved to from California to Missouri where I knew no one, but I wanted to get to know my birth father better.
Art is like a drug and it is better than any drug I could get on the street! I went from a halfway house, to my Fathers home, to a boarding home, then to my own apartment between 1982 and 1985. Once on my own I realized that my art calmed me, other people enjoyed it, and it gave me a way to express myself when I could not verbally communicate, much of this is still the case today.
In 1990 I married my wonderful husband, Jerry Armstrong. In 1998 I applied for a Schizophrenia Reintegration Scholarship that allowed me to study a field that a dear friend of mine inspired me to do if I ever got the chance. I attended Avila University and studied Art Therapy. It took me 8 years part-time and Voc Rehab picked up much of my additional costs. In 2006, I received my degree in Art with a concentration in Pre-Art Therapy. You need a Masters in order to be a licensed Art Therapist, so now I just do art when I want to feel better. If I'm afraid of something, art helps me to deal with it.
Most of the pictures you will see on this site are drawings I completed in sketchbooks during periods of hospitalization. I would have to say that art and music are the ways I deal with life.
I have been a part of the Survivor/Consumer/Ex-patient movement since 1983. I like the movement because it accepts me and encourages me to grow, be inspired, love, and over the years I have met hundreds of friends who are close or far. All of us have a MH diagnosis or have been in the MH system. I have been so inspired by people in the movement and I would like to be an example to the younger or new people in the system and help them anyway I can. Today I work part-time for an organization I began in 1988 as a support group. I am the Founder and Board President and my husband Jerry is the Executive Director.
Thank you so much for visiting my showcase. Whether you enjoy art or enjoy the beauty or experience of viewing I would suggest "Trying it out" for yourself—it can be so rewarding and is so much fun.
Sincerely,
Sybil Paris Noble KCMO
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