You can also support the project by attending one of our monthly Deconstruction Coloring Book sessions. These are therapeutic art sessions led by Alex and featured the official Deconstruction Coloring Book (available for free here!). Join as Alex and the Deco team hang out and color, as well as discuss updates on the project, all while making conversations about cancer a little less scary.
I have been guilty of this myself. For years, thinking about my mother’s death terrified me and I repressed it. There was a building sense of dread as I found myself bracing for bad news. Then she told me about the idea for the art show and something clicked.
We started talking more openly about the cancer - not in a scary way, but in a matter-of-fact way. I found that I was able to speak about it freely without being overcome by emotion. We both agreed that this was a much more positive way to engage with the illness, and I felt more involved in her treatment. Instead of worrying about the time we had remaining, we were working together to create something special.
I’ve learned so much about my mother - like how the concept for “Deconstruction” evolved from a mental exercise my mom used to perform where she imagined all the parts of her body doctors have removed, replaced, and modified but marveled at how her sense of self remained unaffected.
When I asked why I hadn’t heard of this mental exercise before, she responded, “Because you didn’t ask the right question.” Apparently, almost no one does. No one was asking her, “What is it like to go through this?” But she wanted them to.
She wanted to tell them that for all the struggles, there has been so much joy too. Because people aren’t asking the right questions, Joyce felt the deep need not just to make the artwork but to share it in the hopes of affecting change.
