The Art of Endometriosis

They say that suffering inspires creativity, after all some of the most notable artists from any time period you care to mention have drawn on their own personal tragedy when composing some of the greatest works to grace the halls of our museums and galleries. Of course, if it were true that suffering is indeed the well from which creative genius is drawn, then women with endometriosis would have contributed more to the cultural development of humanity than all the other artists, philosophers, musicians and playwrights combined.

Nevertheless, endometriosis can be a source of inspiration for people of all walks of life; for instance, I can say that personally the disease has inspired me to research and understand it in as greater depth as possible (because the first rule of war is “know your enemy”).

Some have used their experience with endometriosis to generate creative works; for example, poetry like that by Belle Browne and Roberta Speyer, paintings such as those by Adelaide Damoah and even organising events based around art to raise money for endometriosis research and awareness, like the ‘Art for Endometriosis’ event in 2009.

Some have even suggested that art therapy may be of use to women with endometriosis. Mostly as a means of expressing how you feel about the disease or even helping to work through anxiety, fear and even grief associated with the disease. Whatever your feelings may be I would still encourage you to embrace your inner artist, be it through writing down how you feel or expressing it with a pencil, paintbrush or digital media. Even if, like me, you’re not going to be invited to repaint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel anytime soon, you still might surprise yourself (in a good way!).

So in the spirit of joining in I fired up my newly acquired version of Photoshop and did a few bits of official Endometriosis Update artwork. (Click on the thumbnails below for the full version)

Happy creating! And if you do decide to make some endo art (or any other art for that matter) and want to share it, feel free to post a link to it in the comments.