Healing through art

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Big Island artist Amber DivaDawn Bonnici presents “The Legend of Amber DivaDawn: A Feminine Perspective of Healing and Self Discovery Through Art” through Aug. 31 at the Waimea Arts Council’s Firehouse Gallery. A reception is slated from 3 to 5 p.m. Aug. 17.

Big Island artist Amber DivaDawn Bonnici presents “The Legend of Amber DivaDawn: A Feminine Perspective of Healing and Self Discovery Through Art” through Aug. 31 at the Waimea Arts Council’s Firehouse Gallery. A reception is slated from 3 to 5 p.m. Aug. 17.

“My own healing journey inspired this show,” Bonnici said. “When I first started painting, I thought art was for a selected few, but as I started painting my emotions — the pain of losing my mother, shame from molestation, confusion of my identity as a new mother, fear of not being enough or even being too much — I found art reshaped me. My work shares this reconciliation of the wild and sacred part within myself. … I hope my work inspires others and reminds them of their own healing and heart opening.”

Bonnici’s artwork is part of the contemporary symbolist movement and has been shown at the United Nations as part of the “Soul Fire Collection,” featuring 42 female artists from around the world. Her paintings and poetry have been featured in the Healing Boxes Project, an organization which sends boxes of love and support to people newly diagnosed with chronic and serious illnesses.

For more about the artist, visit amberbonnici.com or amber-bonnici.artistwebsites.com.

The Firehouse Gallery, 67-1201 Mamalahoa Highway, is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, subject to the availability of docents. For more information, call 887-1052 or visit waimeaartscouncil.org.