As a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, I have dealt with a myriad of mental health struggles as a result of my service. I have found an invaluable outlet in which to channel my frustrations within artistic and creative endeavors. I strongly believe in the ability of one’s mind to overcome hardship and rewire broken neural pathways when we have an appropriate effective outlet for our negative energy. This can often be generated by a hardwiring of stress responses and defense mechanisms which may no longer be serving the purpose they once were in our lives and instead are a detriment to our societal adjustment.
My goal with the Art of War Project is an organization which focuses on therapeutic engagement through the arts including drawing, painting, photography, sculpture, and other visual art.
This is a layout of the branding that I have done for this project so far, to include the logotype, various paintings, screen printings, and illustrations, colors, inspiration, and some designs for merch and advertising. I wanted to stay true to the theme of military service while steering away from the stereotypical machismo. Not that there is anything wrong with that in and of itself but when one is on a journey of healing from trauma or negative experiences and patterns, it can be difficult to reconcile the differences between the stiff upper lip of typical military culture and the idea that we can give ourselves permission to feel our emotions again.
