Deena Reyes had a lifting injury to her back in the early 1980’s, which began her art journey. She writes "I tried describing what I was feeling to my doctor, but never could quite get it right, so I decided to try drawing a picture of what I “felt” my back looked like inside. The result was a mangled mess that was shown to be quite accurate following tests that were done as a result of this drawing. This image became the first of a series that I called “Picture of My Pain,” similar drawings done in pen and ink, and colored pencil. The therapeutic effect of working through pain with expressive art lies in the concept of flow, a physiological state of joy where one is in a world of their own, where distractions are minimized and time loses meaning, and we are doing something we truly like to do just for the pleasure of it. This occurs as endorphins, the brain’s natural “feel good” neurochemicals, are released. This is a very healing state to be in. I found that I was in a healing state every time I did any kind of art, but especially when I was drawing what I came to call “Backstracts,” abstracts of my back. Basically, I have turned pain into an art form, but I also feel that I have harnessed a positive outlet for expressing my feelings both physically and emotionally."
