ON THE COVER

Continued from previous page omy that exists among homeless folks in Eureka. She provides a kind of storehouse of useful objects for this often ignored and/or maligned segment of Humboldt society. Hanging on to things people need, she gives items away to people who come looking for them. The informal operation benefits the community outside Miller’s door and, likewise, benefits Miller in her own recovery and well-being.

Confidence is one of the key benefits Miller says she has gained through her participation in Field Guide for a Crisis, describing her work with the program as something she “can be proud of.” She expresses her gratitude for the opportunity to invite family to the public events and show them she’s “past the stumbling block.”

While Maxon is quick to note sobriety is not a requirement for participation in Field Guide, Miller and other speakers at the MGMA event discussed the art-making and mentorship project as an alternative to other substance-use recovery methods.

“There are alternatives to the standard approaches to recovery,” Miller says. “This one is more adventurous.”

However, the skills taught by the participant-educators at the MGMA event are largely drawn from the AA program. Getting out of self-centered obsession through acts of service, taking personal inventory of resentments and looking for meaning in everyday coincidences are all articulated in the book Alcoholics Anonymous as effective components in a structured program of personality transformation to bring about freedom from addiction. These strategies are core aspects of contemporary AA and its derivative, Narcotics Anonymous. AA notes explicitly in its literature, though, that it does not have a monopoly on recovery from addiction and the program of AA definitely did not originate in a vacuum.

Glimmers of sobriety occurred in the 1920s for members of the Oxford Group, a then-popular Christian organization that believed fear and selfishness were the root of human troubles. The sobriety of one member named Ebby led to the adaptation of some of the Oxford Group’s tenets for the specific purpose of achieving freedom from addiction and to the formation of AA by two other alcoholics, Bill W. and Dr. Bob. The philosophies and practices of AA, which is not affiliated with any organized religion or outside entity, are also heavily influenced by the work of psychologist Carl Jung, who, among other contributions, developed the term synchronicity.

The idea that humans can be healed by healing others is not a new one. The notion that one’s injuries can imbue an ability to heal has a similarly deep history. Jung created the term “wounded healer” to name a variety of conditions that can develop out of the relationships between the psychological wounds of psychoanalysts and their patients. In this view, it is the wound of the analyzer — the wound of the healer — that, when properly managed, can enable them to heal others. While Jung was working specifically within psychology, the basic notion goes back further and has a broader span. In ancient Greek mythology, which Jung studied and referenced, a character named Chiron was struck by a poisoned arrow and possessed the power to heal others. Like Jung’s psychology and Chiron’s medicine, storytelling and art can be healing disciplines through which a wounded healer may be able to heal others.

Field Guide has roots in an artistic traditions, too. Socially engaged art practice — a collaborative process where people can be the medium, rather than just its creators and viewers — has a long lineage and, like activist art, frequently addresses social and political issues. It’s related also to new genre public art, which entails direct engagement with a public audience, in this case an art talk and the show’s upcoming workshops, with roots in the much older tradition of community art, which involves dialogue, usually occurs in a community setting with individuals who may not otherwise make art, typically guided by a professional artist.

Field Guide to a Crisis educators in resiliency will conduct four additional free, hands-on workshops at Old Town Ink Lab, in Eureka. (See details below.) By attending one or more of these workshops, Humboldt County residents and visitors can learn how some members of the recovery community apply practical and spiritual skills, and discover how to cultivate greater resiliency in their own lives.

Miller will lead the first workshop July 8 and address random acts of kindness in-depth. She will articulate through her experience about how small acts of selfless generosity benefit the giver and lead participants to develop a practical plan for the application of this skill. Working collaboratively, the group will brainstorm specific acts of kindness that could aid the community immediately outside the Ink Lab, work together to create a map of kindness, and finally to execute some random acts of kindness.

“Helping others helps me in recovery,” Miller says.

For Maxon, supporting recovery communities allows him to pass on what he received from his mentor. For viewers and audience participants, Field Guide to a Crisis may offer a reflexive and personally enriching experience. According to Maxon, Field Guide to a Crisis and socially engaged art in general, constitute art that lives in “the realm of the real, not just the symbolic.”

Field Guide to a Crisis survival skill workshops will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. July 8, 15 and 22 at Old Town Ink Lab 212 G St,. No. 103, in Eureka, with the fourth session to be determined. The events are free and open to the public. Registration is available at eventbrite.com.

The Field Guide for a Crisis art exhibition is on view in MGMA’s Knight Gallery (636 F. St. in Eureka) through June 4, from noon to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. Admission is $5 for adults and $2 for seniors and students with ID. Museum members and children under 17 are free. The guide can also be explored online at fieldguidetoacrisis.com.

L.L. Kessner is an Arcatabased artist and writer.