Art for Change –by Artist BZTAT (AKA Vicki Boatright) #BtC4A

FROM CAT CHAT: Today  we are once again proud to participate in the annual:

Click here to visit Blog the Change

event that many bloggers around the blog-o-sphere are participating in. We are honored and proud to feature Artist BZTAT aka Vicki Boatright, a gifted artist who acts tirelessly on animals' behalf. We hope you enjoy her guest post!

 Art for Change –by Artist BZTAT

"Juniper"
Artwork by BZTAT

When I graduated with a Master's Degree in Visual Art back in 1985, I was bold with color, but I was pretty timid with life. It did not take me long to realize that, despite my talents, I did not have the business acumen to make a living as an artist. At that time, there were not many ways for artists to survive solely from the sales of their art, so most did other things for a living. I realized fast that making art your top priority in life required significant sacrifice.

Although creating art was very important to me, it did not seem like it served an "essential" purpose in life for me, certainly not enough to justify living in poverty and doing meaningless jobs to support it.

So I went back to school and earned another Master's Degree - this one in Counseling. I spent the next 20 years counseling children and families coping with trauma. I often joke that I went from being a starving artist to being a starving therapist, as counseling was not a very lucrative profession either. But it seemed to serve a more "essential" purpose for me. 

Many years later, things have come full circle for me. My art has become my top priority, and I am no longer working as a counselor. The disarray of the mental health system made it increasingly difficult for me to help people, and it no longer served an "essential" purpose for me. I grew tired of confronting life and death circumstances in people's lives with diminished resources for making a difference. Changes were needed in the system designed to make change for people in distress, and they simply were not happening.

Although it was not my career focus, I continued to create art throughout the years that I worked as a therapist. The art of my young clients had a huge influence on my own work. Three things that children often included in their art were also important to me: bright colors, simplified shapes, and animals.

I now am working as a full time artist, and strangely, it now does serve an "essential" purpose for me.

I paint custom pet portraits  for people who share my love of pets, often providing a healing experience for individuals who have lost a cherished companion. My involvement in a worldwide pet community has led to close connections with rock stars in the animal rescue movement. And I have been able to use my art to advocate for change and promote awareness of important issues.

"Safe Animals Safe Kids" Mural

Artwork by BZTAT

My new passion blends the two "essential" tracks of my life. My Okey's Promise Art for a Change program  uses artwork to raise awareness about the connections between animal abuse, child abuse and domestic violence - issues I often encountered while working as a counselor with children. Research has shown that the connections are deeply intertwined, yet there is not a widespread effort to combine intervention efforts for children or animals.

Through large public art projects, I seek to highlight the need to increase awareness and combine intervention efforts, so that we can better serve people and animals. I have been blessed to have many "Okey's Promise Keepers" who have contributed funding to make the projects possible. I am currently raising funds for my third project , which will be a mural on a building in Barberton, OH.

proposed sketch for Barberton, OH mural
Artwork by BZTAT

Whether we do it in our careers or whether we do it as a side passion, the need to work for change in our world rests in the hearts of many. I am not unique with that. I do feel incredibly thankful for having the knowledge, skills and talent to bring forth works of art that inspire others, even though it does require considerable sacrifice. 

Everyone has something they can do to work towards change. What is your gift, and how will you use it to bring about positive change to your world?

You can learn more about Okey's Promise Art for a Cause and how you can become an Okey's Promise Keeper here . You can see more BZTAT artwork here .