Date: Sunday, October 20
Address: Intersect Arts Center, 3636 Texas Ave, Studio 316, St. Louis, MO 63118
Media: Fiber, Graphic Design / Illustration, Painting
Studio Features: ADA Accessible, Restroom, Work For Sale
April Parviz, Cognitive Distortions, 2018. Died sheeps wool, duct tape, and acrylic on recycled pillow cover. Courtesy the artist. 
April Parviz, Defense, 2019. Acrylic on canvas. Courtesy the artist. 
April Parviz, Failure, 1015. Acrylic and duct tape on canvas. Courtesy Courtney Opheim. 
April Parviz, Faithfulness, 2016. Recycled piano pieces, acrylic, and yarn. Courtesy the artist. 
April Parviz, Totally Diabetic, 2014. Acrylic, duct tape, colored pencil, fabric, thread stitching, and crayon on canvas. Courtesy the artist. My view of reality is often warped by false thoughts that are usually created by anxiety. I don’t notice when they appear and sometimes it takes me many years to find that they have been there, fermenting my sense of what is real. This creates difficulty in all of my relationships, even with people who I may interact with for only a few moments.
Several years ago, I started going to counseling. I learned about the concept of cognitive distortions. Just being able to put a definition to the types of thoughts that I was having was helpful for me at the time. I am a visual person, however, and I have now found that putting visuals to the distortions, has helped me even more. I can even visualize them as they are occurring and decide not to have them. I have discovered that while I’m focusing on these pieces, or working on them, I am generally more mentally stable and my anxiety goes down a great deal. This frees up the rest of me to be able to love everyone I meet to the best of my ability.
