At 37, Amanda Koss has had more than her fair share of trauma and struggle. As a child, she suffered sexual and emotional abuse. As a young adult, she was diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer, not long after watching her own mother go through breast cancer. It was the latter event at 33 that compelled her to paint, using art as an emotional outlet that eventually removed her need for anti-depression and anti-anxiety medications.

“Through art I have found my strength, passion and voice,” she said. “I have released something within me that gives me drive to embrace these issues, overcome them and make this life magical.”

Now, Koss and more than 30 other local, female artists will join Saturday for “Out of the Darkness,” a special exhibition showcasing work expressing and celebrating women bocoran slot gacor hari ini overcoming hardship.

“We wanted specifically to celebrate women who shine in dark times,” said Colibri “The Artist” Harris, who organized the event with friend and fellow artist Debbie LaPratt. The two, who share an art-focused radio show on WJZZ and run their own women-supporting nonprofits, came up with the idea after discussing coming over their own periods of darkness through art.

For Harris, that was painting to cope with colon cancer and coming out of an abusive marriage. For LaPratt, it was using ceramics to overcome the grief following the death of her husband.

“We just kind of had this second life,” Harris said. “We wanted to do something to highlight women who were in the same position and celebrate them.”

Harris will showcase a painting featuring a black angel with colorful wings, inspired by a dream of an angel who came to Earth and re-found her colors after loss. LaPratt will exhibit a ceramic displaying a series of white-glazed women’s faces coming out of a black sky.

“The darkness is behind them, and now they’re glowing, now they’re coming out,” she said.

Koss will present paintings from her “Inner Monologue” collection, expressing her childhood trauma through texture, line and color.