you can find more of Em Willis’ art at @imwillzy

This digital collage portrays the act of turning our poison into our gift and protecting that gift. I feel like people who have struggled with addiction are misunderstood, and that correlates with the snake who is often mischaracterized as evil, and in this piece is expressing its authentic self in flowers - associated with beauty and femininity.

You can find more of Emily Tedford’s artwork here and on Instagram at @emmytea

This digital collage is an expression of gratitude for the many magical things that support me as I heal. The moon has been a great ally in my sobriety. The tiger represents a fierce protection of my soft feminine power which is represented by the flowers. The snake has been a symbol of deep wisdom and maternal energy for me, and crystals and plants have also been a support I look forward to everyday.

This piece is a reminder that there’s beauty in the heavy things we carry. Alcohol was great at enabling the perfectionist and harsh critic in me. In sobriety, I’ve gained a new perspective, incredible clarity, a life-giving hobby, and am spending my free time redefining what it means to be "a lush." Through my art, I’m gratefully living a vibrant, authentic life. I see beauty everywhere and try my best to share it whenever possible.

You can follow Mary Broome on Instagram @mabroome and @thisisevelynrose and on Etsy. Mary’s website is thisisevelynrose.com

This is an acrylic pour 10 in x 10 in canvas inspired by my move out on my own - an ode to the independence that sobriety has provided for me. My mom saged my space so I had a clean slate (pun intended) to continue my recovery journey. I began pour painting when I got sober and needed something else to fill the cup. My hope is that my paintings bring your home as much healing as they do for me to create. My art gives me back the opportunity to find the beauty in the small details I took for granted in my previous life. Instagram at @lisamariedesignsco and Etsy.

Mixed media (watercolor and pen) 8" x 10"

This pairing represents the before and after of life without alcohol. At the start of my trek, I couldn't see how flat, colorless, and two dimensional my life had become. I was isolated, insulated, and numb. It wasn't an immediate release into this new creative realm, but almost right away, things started to feel more alive and life looked more colorful. Then it was just a matter of time under my belt before different parts of me started to come alive.

Raw vegan carrot cake made during my baking phase of early quarantine and early sobriety. I still sometimes daydream about opening my own bakery someday. Dessert is one of my favorite things in the whole world. Sometimes I can’t help but tear up while eating really good food.

Original Recipe by Jenné Claiborne of @sweetpotatosoul

Shot in the ghost town of Scenic, South Dakota, this photo serves as a reminder that nature can transform anything, even things that are human-made.

Taken in Milwaukee, this photo is meant to convey the visible transformation a saturated sunset can evoke.

Taken in Sioux Falls, SD, this photo is meant to be a metaphor for the mental battles change can cause within one, and gives hope for the future. You CAN get over the waterfall.

One of the greatest joys of recovery has been learning to eat more nourishing food my body needs as opposed to the greasy hangover food I used to crave. Participating in @theretiredpartygirl and @sober_otter ‘s #BoozelessBootcamp gave me all the warm fuzzies, connecting with other sober folks from around the country. We ended our weekend virtual retreat with a group plant based cooking class. This was my BEAUTIFUL and colorful plate that fueled my heart and belly.

Hi, I'm Amanda Sheeren, an SF-based UX Designer and Freelance Writer. In addition to being the illustrator behind @thesoberillustrator I am also the co-founder of mental health initiative @ifloststarthere.

Exploring nature and looking for the beauty in unexpected places is incredibly important to me. Just like any medicine or treatment plan, I schedule time for this each week because I know how helpful it is for my mental health.

You can find Emerson at @emwhe_18, or emersonwheeler.com

A young woman is covering her face with various colors of balloons. Each balloon represents a perception of herself blocking her growth and transformation. If she can only see “road blocks” (or life-obstacles) she can’t transform her desires vision into a reality. She must let go in order to move forward and become the fulfilled version of herself she wants to be.

You can find more of Laura’s art on Instagram at @thinking_xing

Made with upcycled materials.

This tapestry depicts the drastic shifts we’ve experienced as a global society during the last 15 months of the pandemic. Rows of neat soumak roving melt into drippy hand dyed ribbons set on changing warp colour. A reminder that beauty can be found in both the organized and in the chaotic.

Each one of the tiny DiamondDotz® was placed individually on the surface of a wooden lazy susan. I started in the middle and worked my way out to the edge in a freestyle manner, choosing the colors as I went not knowing what the end result would be. After all the dots were placed, I poured a 1/8” thick epoxy layer over the top and coated the sides to seal and protect the surface. It is a functional lazy susan. This project really helped me stay in my body and helped me to regulate my emotions and my nervous system during my early 12-step recovery. I don’t always know what is coming my way, but I can choose a conscious response instead of using something like food, drugs or alcohol to numb my feelings.

You can find Judy’s art on Etsy and Instagram at @judyspringsteenart

I identify as a woman in long-term recovery from alcohol use disorder and work addiction. My alcohol sobriety date is November 1, 2016, and this collage depicts parts of my sobriety journey over the past 4.5 years. Each element here has important metaphor/meaning for me. My starting piece was the alphabet with evolving/transforming fonts; I stained it with coffee to give it an aged look. Then I got lucky that "transformation" was actually one of the headwords in an old dictionary. The robin symbolizes hope and new beginnings. The little girl is me in early recovery, watching the clock and wanting transformation, healing, and "being fixed" to happen faster. In a similar vein, the fortune teller represents how I wanted to know what was going to happen next, re: EVERYTHING. A contrast to that mindset is the piece of calendar page in the bottom right corner, representing "one day at a time," along with the first of the month, reflecting my sobriety date. The Ralph Waldo Emerson quote on courage represents the courage needed to embark on a recovery journey, as well as "courage to change the things I can." The vintage flowers depict the blooming and vitality of recovery, and the healing role that gardening has played for me. Baby chicks represent new beginnings and a return to emotional/spiritual childhood, as well as pecking and scratching away at old beliefs, resentments, traumas a bit at a time. "Yoo hoo" is a nod to my grandmother, Charlotte. Her big old house was always open, and it was a family custom that when anyone would step through the door, they'd holler "Yoo hoo!" to announce their arrival. My grandmother would then holler back "Yoo hoo!" from the basement, kitchen, upstairs, or out back, and come to greet you. But the rest of that quote is me, calling to myself, "where are you?"--Where is the "real you," the "new you" that's emerging and taking shape. Collage has been an important (almost daily) practice for my recovery, self-expression, and accessing my "right brain"--a long-neglected part of myself after years and years of being in academia. You can find Lauren’s artwork on Instagram at @Soraya_and_Daisy

For many of my drawings I participate in drawing challenges to get my brain flowing and as a place to start. I use my art as my "program" meditative time so its always nice to have a place to start! For this drawing the prompt was "CUBE" and I am constantly influenced by art history and immediately thought of creating a cubist portrait. Being pride month in June I thought of the great, late Freddie Mercury, took some images of him into photoshop and go to manipulating and creating a reference image from which to create an illustration. Added my take on some cubist colors and BOOM we have a cubist Freddie!

You can find Jason’s artwork on Instagram at @dorofyink

This image is a part of a "revolutionary women" series, where each woman has their revolutionary quality as their necklace. For this piece I combined one of Frida's most recognizable self portraits of herself with a branch necklace with a crow and instead replaced it with the words create. So much of my art now has more thought and a message and so grateful for my sobriety to allow me to continue to grow and create meaningful pieces of art!!

For many of my drawings I participate in drawing challenges to get my brain flowing and as a place to start. I use my art as my "program" meditative time so its always nice to have a place to start! For this drawing the prompt was "Planet" and I was in a very contemplative and solitary mindset so I thought of a little astronaut flying away with a planet balloon and added the "I need space" as a mirror of my mindset of needing some recharge time. A lot of my art depicts my own headspace with a dash of humor to lighten the mood.

This is a 16x16 mixed media piece.

This piece includes desert landscape, where I often picture myself during meditations.

This is a 16x16 lino cut piece.

Large lino cut print.

This piece is 11x17 and is a multi layer lino cut print.

This is a piece about the bright colorful inviting neon liquor store signs that litter my small southern hometowns skyline.

This is sobriety!

I have always been fairly obsessed with the idea of upcycling. Taking something that has been discarded or on its way to the landfill and transforming it into art? Basically magic.

My current art practice is an intersection of my love for thrifting and my love for upcycling. I'm currently transforming secondhand book pages into unique works of art, like this wall hanging called Pink Sky. Each found paper wall hanging is a true original — created from a unique combination of colors and textures that will never be replicated.

I have found so many hobbies in my almost 5 years of sobriety but I like to create edible art through cake decorating as a way to unleash my creativity & relax!

18" x 24" oil on canvas

For the past 15 years, painting has helped me recenter and come home to myself. Since I started prioritizing my health, both mental and physical, I’ve transitioned from creating one painting a year to finishing two or three in a single month. The longer I travel this path, the more I feel myself transforming into the person I was meant to be. It’s been an incredibly liberating experience, and my creativity and happiness have flourished. As a lifelong animal lover, my work celebrates the amazing creatures that inhabit our natural world.

You can find Amy’s art on Instagram at @wildpaintstudio

18" x 24" oil on canvas

You can find Amy’s art on Instagram at @wildpaintstudio

18" x 24" oil on canvas

You can find Amy’s art on Instagram at @wildpaintstudio

Black felt tip pen drawing on white paper.

Whatever is holding you back from being the person you truly want to be - whether it's alcohol, fear, worry, a toxic relationship or friendship - let that go.

You can find Claire’s artwork on Instagram at @clairebutsober

Black felt tip pen drawing on white paper.

The biggest thing holding me back from sobriety was change. The thought that this would be too big of a change. The thought that with change came discomfort, sadness, uneasiness, and difficulty. The thought that this change wouldn't be understood or accepted by the people who knew me. The thought that this change is just too hard & I wouldn't be capable of it. The truth is that with big change comes big freedom. We are allowed to change and then change some more. We are allowed to change our minds, change our ideas, change our thoughts, change our beliefs, and change our lives. We are allowed to change and become whoever we want to be. Period.

You can find Claire’s artwork on Instagram at @clairebutsober

Black felt tip pen drawing on white paper.

"No thanks, I don't drink." Teetotaler. Non-drinker. Booze free. In recovery. Alcohol free. Clean. Dry. Sober AF.

You can find Claire’s artwork on Instagram at @clairebutsober

Leah Giammarva is a ceramic artist living in Atlanta, GA. Leah makes small batches of hand-built ceramic art and mostly functional pieces.

I began re-evaluating my relationship with alcohol in February of 2020, before the pandemic hit, and found myself eager and ready to commit to a sober path. With my new found sense of self I have been able to give more energy to my passions!

This was the first piece where I felt inspired to draw from the biological world to create the forms and glazes.

A large and in charge coil-pot turned into a low bowl sporting some weirdo horns and texture.

You can find more of Lily Rose’s art on Instagram at @liquily

I don't think I properly hydrated for years, and now I'm very focused remembering to care for my body in that small, important way. This piece is a little celebration of water in its many forms.

You can find more of Quincy’s art on Instagram @quincymakingart

Re-evaluating my relationship with alcohol has allowed me to have time and energy to devote to my creativity. I've always loved visual art, but I barely made time to focus on doing the work. I'm so excited to be painting again.

You can find more of Quincy’s art on Instagram @quincymakingart

This basket is handmade from my mothers nightgown and bedsheet. After her death, I didn’t want to throw out all her belongings, so I found this to be a very therapeutic way to repurpose her clothing, giving it new meaning and purpose.

You can find more of suzanne’s artwork here.

This piece was made in journal form, thinking of the long process of transformation my life has taken over the years. I have always worked toward having a happy, peaceful, and fulfilling life but have often times found myself buried under layers of darkness, reliving traumas, feeling worthless, and numbing it all with alcohol. Learning to sit with the painful, skin-crawling anxiety without turning to booze to numb, learning to love and trust myself in the knowing that alcohol does not serve me, even in the face of so much cultural pressure to drink, and learning to forgive myself for the many years of self-abuse has allowed me to see the beautiful transformation that I have always seen for myself AND to know that this entire lifetime has been a part of the transformation, I do not have the light without the dark, and I know that I have been doing this work all along. What you see in this piece is the light, bright colors of paint, a layer of shimmer, positive words, and perhaps you can see a glimpse of the darkness below.

After quitting alcohol cold turkey, I needed to find an outlet for my stress and emotions.
After visiting the ranch that I grew up on as a child for the first time in years, I tried to put the emotion and love that I have for that place into a mural. It is made of 9 canvases, each capturing a part of my childhood that I loved and missed.
It was an amazing journey in my sobriety to make this piece. I’ve never painted before but I have a great sense of pride in this piece that is related to my pride in my 3 months of sobriety.

After years of self-medicating with alcohol I finally decided to quit drinking in June 2020. What a time to quit when emotions were higher than ever during the pandemic. I struggled like most trying to figure out who I was without alcohol. I realized that there was so much healing ahead of me. Thankfully I found joy again in my garden. It was so therapeutic. I think it saved me. 2020 was definitely a year of transformation. In more ways than I can count. Darkness doesn't last forever. This year after an 8 month creative block I finally got the courage to start making clay jewelry.

I love mixing this new medium with crystals. Each time I make a new clay crystal creation I learn a little more about the process. I'm definitely a learn-by-doing creature. I'm feeling inspired, I'm feeling excited, I'm feeling hopeful.

The Summer Solstice marks a time of celebration, of honoring the light, our connection to the Sun and the Earth. Because the Summer Solstice marks the beginning of Cancer Season I wanted to incorporate labradorite crystals. A stone of transformation, Labradorite is a useful companion through change, imparting strength and perseverance. Labradorite also utilizes Water energy, the energy of stillness, quiet strength, and purification. These creations embody that and more.

You can find more of Jessica’s art on Instagram at @lostflowerdesigns

Watercolor and Gouache 16"x20"

This piece is a diptych representing before and after recovery. They work as one piece together yet can stand alone separately. Both pieces are set in the tropical jungle of life. The horizonal left piece represents active addiction with the chaotic vines, murky colors and carnivorous pitcher plants. The right represents sobriety with brighter colors and a vertical view. I am one year sober, and the work I have done makes the jungle less scary. I have finally found oasis.

Watercolor and Gouache 16"x20"

Closeup of chaos - left side.

Watercolor and Gouache 16"x20"

Closeup of serenity - right side.

Watercolor and Gouache 16”x20”

This painting represents waking up fresh and clean- like waking up sober every morning. Or the just getting sober feeling represented by the light shining through the deep woods.