Hello, my name is Mercedes Rose. I am an Army veteran turned artist. I love working with different art mediums to
express myself. From painting to songwriting, I like making art you can feel both emotionally and physically. I usually
create in my home studio. I have art for sale and some that I keep for shows and exhibits.
This mask is an acrylic on paper painting with modeling paste medium for texture. The blue lips
represent lack of oxygen or decreased ability to communicate. The black represents the all consuming
medical anxiety. The red represents physical and emotional pain. The hand over the mouth represents
the oppression you feel with chronic illness. If you look close enough, the paper material can be seen
around the eyes and through the red. It represents the person under the diagnosis.