Healing Through Culture, Creativity and Community

By: Jaime Joshi Elder Jose Mendez | http://www.josemendez.art | @r_dot_creativeagency

Alove of art is the combustion engine behind almost everything Jose Mendez does.

From working with children at the Norton Museum of Art to co-founding two festivals in his hometown of Lake Worth Beach - the Day of the Dead Festival and the Taco Fiesta - Jose is committed to shining a light on his artwork as well as increasing accessibility to the arts for Palm Beach County youth.

And the oxygen giving explosive life to Jose’s ventures is the amalgamation between his experiences growing up in South Florida and his Mayan background as his work represents bold imagery of figures like catrinas, Mayan gods, Aztec gods, Taino gods, classic American cars and skulls.

Starting with sharpies and spray paints as a medium for his creativity, Jose began painting as a young child and as he grew older, he found art to be a form of therapy to help him with his depression and anxiety.

Research published in the American Journal of Public Health states that, “creative engagement can decrease anxiety, stress, and mood disturbance. It complements the biomedical view [of mental illness] by focusing on not only sickness and symptoms themselves, but the holistic nature of the person. Through creativity and imagination, we find our identity and our reservoir of healing.”

Jose says that he was able to heal through the arts and that he produced some of the best work of his career during that difficult time.

Since then, he has branched out and embraced different styles of art and uses his ever-evolving talents to serve the community, advocate for more arts programs, and further explore his own humanity and sense of self.

Working extensively with children through both the Norton Museum of Art and various non-profit organizations, Jose uses mixed-media to connect with kids and help illustrate a wider understanding of what art is and what it can be.

Upon realizing that neither his family nor a majority of the families in his community had family portraits, Jose began delving deeper into the art of photography.

“I wanted to help families preserve their history and heritage,” he said, offering portrait sessions on a sliding payment scale to ensure everyone could have access, regardless of their financial status.

Jose continues to serve Palm Beach County residents through his art and he encourages anyone interested in learning more about themselves to explore through artistic means.

Whether it’s through Sharpies, paint, fabric, oils or crayons on construction paper, everyone’s creative journey is deeply personal. By utilizing art as a form of therapy, one can regulate emotions, increase self-esteem, discover a new talent, build community and evolve skills to be carried throughout life.

To see more of Jose Mendez’s art, please visit: http://www.josemendez.art

The Draw is a space for creatives to share their art, poetry, spoken word, etc. and/or how their art helps themselves and others. To contribute, send your article ideas to thewell@ bewellpbc.org with “The Draw” in the subject line.