Joy Flaman began doing stone art as a way to deal with PTSD after a career in emergency services.
She says that after submitting her piece, she was overjoyed to hear it was selected to be shown in the CMHA calendar.
"I was almost in tears, I was very excited and very honoured. We've been getting that calendar for a few years now and I've won money on it before but I've never submitted a piece because I didn't have my talent yet," said Flaman.
She says the piece was made for a family with rocks, sand, and glass from their favourite beaches in BC.
"It's a big family that loves to fish together and be outside together. The piece was actually made as a mother's birthday gift and the daughter got me pieces of shells, sea glass, and sand from her mother's favourite pieces from BC that she's collected over the years. I put those all together and made them all fishing together."
Flaman says she began doing stone art after her daughter was born when she attempted to add on to a piece that she received from a family member.
She says the art offers her a way to meditate and ground herself.
"My husband's cousin gave us a piece of art in this sort of medium when our son was born. One day I went to go add my daughter to it and as I was looking through the stones I was finding that it was grounding me, it was calming me. I suffer from PTSD from 16 years in EMS and I found it was very grounding with the sound of the rocks, the feel of the rocks, the smell of the rocks. It was peaceful. It makes me happy doing it."
Flaman says the art is not only physical but also spiritual and provides a way for her to cleanse her mind.
She says that she involves smudging in the process of her artistic skills.
"Each piece is smudged. I smudge every morning before I create and when I'm done I smudge again before it leaves my home and goes to its new home," said Flaman.
A photo of her piece will be found in the upcoming 2022 CMHA calendars.
