By Masiel Bry
I will start by introducing myself. My name is Masiel Bry and I am a mentally ill visual artist from the Bronx, New�York City. Throughout the years creating art has been my therapy. It's given me something to look�forward to. Being mentally ill is a chore of its own. I have to take medications I have to be�on top of on a�daily basis. I have bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, dermatillomania and obsessive compulsive disorder, so I am on A LOT of medications. It is my dream to open up my own art gallery but my journey as an artist hasn't been an easy one.�
� � � Having art in my life has given me something to look forward to, and something I can use to express myself. I love making fun vibrant eclectic art pieces. Making the actual art is awesome but my lack of sales and the fact I don't make any money as an artist has made me question my talent and honestly want to give up. I work so hard every single day and it feels like no matter what I do no one seems to care.
� � �Because I am literally starting from the bottom, I am the artist, the jewelry maker, the promoter, the merch creator, and I made the website from scratch and have to constantly keep it updated. At the moment I promote on tik tok, Youtube, Instagram and Facebook but despite how hard I work I haven't made any sales. It's hard to have such big dreams and work so hard day in and day out and it doesn't seem to be going anywhere.
� � �I hit a point where for my sanity I thought I should just move on and give up on my dreams. But I took a step back and realized how much I love art, and what a positive impact it has had on my mental health. It hasn't led to any profit yet, but it makes me happy. I will never give up!
