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"Strategy for Surviving the Day" Watercolor and Color Pencil on Paper 22" X 30" 2012

Chess is one of my favorite pastimes. In the right frame of mind I’m at best a mediocre player. The occasional game that I play is usually a lesson in humility.

About a year ago I began to see a correlation between chess and life through medications. As a Creative Arts Therapist at VA Western New York Healthcare System, I’m afforded many opportunities to observe the effects of various prescribed drugs on my patient population. The depths of my observations have been reinforced by comments, regarding the drugs, made by the patients who use them and the staff who administer them.

There is of course another contributing factor that strengthens my understanding of prescribed medications for mental health issues. I have continued to work through the many afflictions of PTSD since my tour in Vietnam. I have encountered both good and bad medicine, one works the other does not. Finding those that work plays an integral role in the recovery process. Over a period of time, the good medicine may no longer be as effective and adjustments must be made to maintain a healthy program of recovery. These adjustments, at times, can create upheaval. What once worked simply does not anymore. However, there is nothing simple about a life or death situation and readjustment of meds may present an individual with exactly that.

Hence came the title, “Strategy for Surviving the Day,” long before the images appeared on paper.

The final piece shows two people engaged in their own strategies for success. Originally they were both Veterans. After its completion, a friend suggested that the perplexed face might belong to the doctor who prescribes the medications. I chose to allow the viewer to entertain both reflections. It is however interesting that working with ones doctor is an across the desk/table experience.

Through interviews with various clinical staff and other forms of research, I had developed a listing of drugs that are used in treating mental health patients. I used the weaker strength pills to represent Pawns. As the power of the med increased so did the effectiveness of the chess pieces, from Knight to Bishop, to Rook and finally Queen and King. Some of these pieces express the horrors of war and the tragedies of the fallen through meds that are not working. Other pieces show a determination to keep persevering and perhaps trying the new prescriptions. One  Queen lies stricken, off of the board, as one who may have given herself so that her King would win; while the other (in the top left corner) displays the protecting instinct of a woman  standing before her King while her security is under attack.

There is no winner or loser in this game. The battle rages on.

"Chi - Man" Acrylics and Color pencil sticks on paper (45" x 95") 2011

Artvoice Article 12/22/2011:

Chi-Stock

A new series of art events debuts

Ralph Sirianni—a friend, artist, veteran, and champion of possibilities in improving one’s good nature—invited me to “Chi-Stock,” a music and art event held in a large downtown loft put together by his son, Gabriel, featuring Ralph painting in situ while the young patrons watched, chatted, and danced. An upright piano served as a bar where drinks were passed over the piano lid from an elevated platform. An atmosphere of family fealty prevailed as Sirianni brushed acrylic on a wall-sized, taped-off canvas.

Chi is the vital life force that stimulates motivation, coming from the original Chinese (qi) for breath. Meant to be a series of future events providing a visually ingratiating gathering place for young people, Chi-Stock will feature artists working on installations specific to themes supporting introspection, contemplation, and joy.

Meanwhile in another part of the loft, Bruce Lee held forth in Enter the Dragon while a fog machine created billowing plumes before a seated Buddha amid a gathering of tea lights.

> j. tim raymond

" The Collector ", Pastel (30" x 36") 2011

The Collector is a self-portrait into an area of my life of which I’m quite fond…collecting.  Vintage sport cards, Classics Illustrated comics and stamps are some of the items that I’m interested in.

"Jimi Revisited...Again", Oil ( 30" x 24" ) 2011

This is a tribute to someone I wish I could say was a friend but he’ll always be close.  I’ll revisit him many times to come.  Jimi was Art.

Artwork for plaque honororing those Corpsman and Marines who died from Hotel Company 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Vietnam. This was the unit that the artist had served with.

“Pineapple Tango”
Mixed media (30″ x 22″)
2009

In over 30 years of employment with the V.A. Healthcare System, working as a Creative Arts Therapist on the inpatient psychiatric care unit has been my most rewarding experience. The various characteristics of illnesses present caregivers with a constant flow of new challenges.

“Fragile Warriors” is a tribute to those who served our country and are now in a delicate situation. It also acknowledges those who serve them. Patients, though in a group, are often isolated in their own worlds, a condition that results from the illness and medications being used to treat them. Hence, the cubes contain individuals who suffer disorders from schizophrenia, depression, PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)  suicide / homicidal ideations, addictions, etc. There is one figure who appears free and content with being in this place, this state of mind. However, a closer look at their wrist betrays any reference to stability.

The camera (enclosed in the mounted glass bubble) represents the ever-present watchful eye of the caregiver, who is again symbolized by the hand reaching out. Other imagery includes some of the more often prescribed medications, floating through the ward setting. There’s the barrel of an M-16 rifle jutting from the window of a patient’s room. This illustrates a military presence and deeper still, the manic sentinel who is ever vigilant.

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