BENA, Minn. (Video from WCCO, WARNER BROS PICTURES, CNN via CNN) —

Drawing attention like a fish flopping around out of the water, a massive muskie near Lake Winnibigoshish in Cass County, Minnesota, has been reeling in the attention of tourists for more than 65 years.

But put down your tackle box and tuck away your dreams of casting out to catch the 65-foot monster.

"You're not going to catch this with a regular muskie lure? You're going to use a moose or a black bear for bait,” Al Hemme joked as he talked to WCCO. “And, you're going to need a truck with a winch on it to reel it in."

The muskellunge in question is not actually a fish. It’s a large structure — which is also a piece of art.

And it’s big.

In its earlier days, it was used as a drive-up food stop — selling ice cream out of a drive-up window on the side of the fishy structure, according to Hemme, who — along with his wife, Amy —owns the muskie. The fish is located on the property of the Big Fish Supper Club.

It was built in 1957 by Wayne Kumpula, according to WCCO, which reports that burgers and fries, which were cooked in the muskie's tail, were also sold inside the fish when it was a food stand.

The Hemmes haven’t always owned the muskie or the namesake business. They purchased the property, which also houses a resort, in 2010.

Prior to the Hemmes becoming the owners, the fish structure was on the verge of physically collapsing, but It was refurbished thanks to the help of an anonymous donor and others, according to WCCO.

The muskie become somewhat of a pop culture icon over the years — having even taken a bite out of Hollywood. An image of the fish structure appeared as a postcard in “National Lampoon’s Vacation.”

“There are so many people that watch that movie now, and they'll quickly take a picture of it and send it to our phones. 'Did you know?' 'Yes, we did know that,’” Amy Hemme said.

Decades after it was built, the giant work of art continues to draw tourists, movie buffs and selfie-takers to the supper club and resort.

"I love our place. I love our people. I love watching the kids grow through the years, and they become like family. It's very, very nice,” Amy Hemme said.

Those who may get a hankering to cast a line upon seeing the giant fish need not worry. According to the Big Fish Supper Club’s website, the giant fish is located “adjacent to one of Minnesota’s top walleye fishing lakes.”

NEW ROADS, La. (AP) — Authorities are looking for a stolen sign marking a centuries-old tree that inspired Louisiana author Ernest Gaines.

The Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff's Office said the historical marker identifying the "Miss Jane Pittman Oak" was stolen recently and the parish government is offering a $500 reward for information leading to its recovery or the arrest of the thief, news outlets reported.

The tree itself is believed to be about 400 years old and served as partial inspiration for "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman," the book that gained widespread notice for the internationally acclaimed award-winning author. The book describes a first-person narrative of a fictional 110-year-old woman born into slavery.

Historians have said Gaines regularly walked past the oak tree, which sits along Louisiana Highway 16 in Lakeland, a village in the parish, on his way to the grocery store. In 2008, state officials considered cutting down the oak because its low-hanging branches posed a potential threat to passing cars. But the state ultimately relented amid pushback from Gaines and other activists, opting instead to trim the branches.

Tips leading to an arrest or recovery of the marker should be directed to the sheriff's office at 225-694-3737.

Gaines died in November 2019 at age 86.

This dog may only have one ear, but he definitely has an eye for painting.

Van Gogh the dog is named after the artist who cut off his own ear.

The dog was rescued from a dogfighting ring in North Carolina with his ear in such bad shape that it had to be amputated.

But that hasn't gotten in the way of his career as an artist.

To help the dog paint a version of the other Van Gogh pieces, Jaclyn Gartner, the founder of Happily Furever After Rescue in Connecticut, uses gobs of paint on a canvas, then slides it into a plastic bag coated with peanut butter.

"So his painting is him licking peanut butter off and while he's licking peanut butter all the paint is smeared around and makes the design," Gartner told CNN.

But when Van Gogh had a gallery show to raise money and find him a permanent home, only two people showed up.

Nevertheless, sympathy and publicity made Van Gogh a doggie art star. He's sold 30 pieces averaging $40 each, but the 7-year-old, 75-pound boxer-pitbull mix still needs a home.

"He would love someone who would cuddle him because he's a cuddler," Gartner said. "He's a very go-with-the-flow type of dog."

For more information on Van Gogh, click here.

SEATTLE, Wash. — The studio of visual artist Aramis Hamer is a technicolor universe, where the longer you stare into her muse's eyes, the louder their wordless stories become.

"I definitely draw inspiration from Black girl magic, like pretty much my identity and my experience of being a black woman," she said.

These stories are joyful, powerful, and uninhibited.

"I wanted to create a space for these women so that they felt safe to do that because we also live in a world, especially Black women, where we're not given the space to be confident and powerful and strong because the world is just trying to dim that light," she said.

Art is a powerful medium for any message, and for Black artists, it's been a way to document history and what's needed to go into the future to change it.

"Art inspires us, empowers us to go out and change what needs to be changed," said LaNesha DeBardelaben, the president and CEO of Seattle's Northwest African American Museum (NAAM).

NAAM is exploring the role of resistance—as it is the theme of this year's Black History Month—in the story of Black people in this country. DeBardelaben says there would be no story without it.

"Resistance, to me, is a role call of all of the African Americans everyday folks who chose a different way, a way. One that worked for their humanity and for the humanity of others," she said.

From abolitionists to civil rights icons, resistance through history is how we got to where we are today, but as DeBardelaben tells us, the need for it has not ended with the passing of time.

"There's so many people that are hurting, and resistance is an avenue to bring healing and to bring change to those spaces, those communities, those hearts that need it. And I believe that's all of us," she said.

For Hamer, the word resistance represents the number of people needed to overcome inequities and work that needs to extend way past Black History Month.

"I think what's dangerous about Black History Month is that people can feel like they've checked off a box," she expressed. "At the end of the day, we're all humans, having our own experiences."

As we all embark on journeys this month, LaNesha and Aramis encourage us to seek out art, museums, books, or any medium that can open us up to different perspectives and learn from each other how we can make our country work better for us all.

"Just stay open. Examine your previous beliefs and question them too. It's like, where did this come from? Why do I feel this way?" said Hamer. "When you peel those layers back, your beliefs can crumble."

Brad Stolz cherishes every moment he has with his 92-year-old grandmother, Marion. She’s been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

“Bradley, I love him," Marion said. "The best grandson ever. Well, they're all good.”

Alzheimer's is a type of dementia that affects memory, thinking and behavior. Stolz says he tries to visit his grandmother whenever he gets the chance.

“Dementia gets a lot worse when they don't interact with people," Stolz said. "I saw that with another grandparent of mine where he was very isolated just because of the circumstances and kind of where he ended up being later in life. And he declined very quickly.”

Social isolation among older people was already a problem before the pandemic. COVID-19 has only made the situation worse.

Farhana Ferdous, who is an assistant professor at Howard University, recently released a report that analyzes the impact of COVID-19-related social distancing requirements on older adults living in long-term care facilities.

“There has been a growing body of research about the social isolation and how it is associated with anxiety, depression and faster cognitive decline,” Ferdous said.

She calls social isolation a public health threat that increases a person’s risk for dementia by 40%. Jim Herlihy with the Alzheimer’s Association of Colorado says a person's quality of life is significantly better when those with dementia have social interaction.

“The people who have been isolated, we've heard from their loved ones who said, ‘I've seen my mom or my dad decline faster than I've ever seen them,'" Herlihy said. "And it becomes a spiral.”

That’s one reason why Memories in the Making was created. Herlihy says Memories in the Making is designed to help people with dementia recreate memories through watercolor painting.

“Drawing and art taps into parts of the brain that are still more active than maybe the verbal centers and gives people a chance to tap into memories and express themselves and give them a way to communicate,” Herlihy said.

Kelly Nixon has led the class as an administrator at her facility for six years.

“Once they start that process of painting something, you can generally pull a memory from what they're painting,” Nixon said.

Although the classes were put on hold in the thick of the pandemic, Nixon says she continued with one-on-one sessions.

“But a one-on-one isn't the same as them being together," Nixon said. "Being with each other is really what it's all about to get those memories and to share those memories with everybody.”

Nixon says she loves seeing friendships build through the class.

“You can really see the anxiety lift off of people by being around people that are of that same mindset,” Nixon said.

"The social aspect, I think, definitely helps to keep her sharp and keep her engaged on a day-to-day basis,” Stolz said.

Because of his past experience with his grandfather, Stolz says his family didn’t let the pandemic keep them from visiting Marion. He says he’s happy to see his grandmother is in good hands.

“I was thrilled when I got here to see that she, not only is she, you know, being a part of it, but she's actually enjoying herself and, you know, enjoying the conversation and sort of putting some of her thoughts and ideas on paper,” Stolz said.

 

CHICAGO — Last summer, Katie Lauffenburger quit her tech job to focus full-time on building houses. But instead of a wood frame, insulation and roofing, she starts with a hunk of clay.

She takes about 12 pounds of it, slicing it into thin sheets before wrapping it in canvas and pressing it multiple times through a slab roller.

“It's compressing the clay kind of evenly,” said Lauffenburger.

Lauffenburger is a ceramic artist, whose pottery work doesn’t involve traditional wheel throwing.

“I start by carving in details like windows and doors first,” she said.

She’s creating extremely detailed 10-inch replicas of existing homes.

“I did a bungalow for a lady, and it was her mother's childhood home. And it was a Christmas gift,” said Lauffenburger.

Together she and her husband, illustrator Phil Thompson, started their company Wonder City Studio a few years ago.

“Wonder City Studio is dedicated to capturing the places worth preserving,” said Thompson, who playfully carries the title of chief illustration officer at Wonder City Studio.

The couple—who shares their studio space with their 7-year-old Maltese poodle Yorkie mix, Vincent—has been focusing their work on the unique architecture of the Second City.

“We make arts that honor the city's history, its architecture, its legacy. And we do that through creating illustration on one side and ceramics on the other,” said Thompson.

“We love focusing on Chicago because it's what we know and what we love,” said Lauffenburger. “But we are always open to working on homes in other cities.”

Commissions for what they call "home and building portraits" have come in from all over the world, including Italy and Australia.

“For both Katie and me, we're all about the detail,” said Thompson.

Each piece is meticulously crafted.

“We really try to make sure that we lovingly capture those details,” said Thompson.

No detail is too small down to the bricks and trim. Each ceramic piece is painted with a clay glaze.

“I work from photographs often that the client has provided, and then, I rely a lot on Google street view because you can go up and down the street, see different angles of the home,” said Lauffenburger.

Thompson completes his ink and paper drawings in about four to six hours. But the three-dimensional ceramic homes can take six to eight weeks. Pricing starts at about $5,000 for the one-of-a-kind home sculptures. Right now, there’s a four-month waiting list.

“If you have a really complicated home or a building, for example, I'm working on a church right now. That price is going to have to be higher because it's just a lot more time and effort,” said Lauffenburger.

But it’s the final assembly that excites Lauffenburger the most.

“I really love the stage when I can assemble it and all these disparate pieces that I've been working on finally come together,” she said. “It almost feels like it comes to life right in front of my eyes.”

But becoming a part of someone’s life through the work, they say, is the most meaningful.

ACADIA NATIONAL PARK, Maine — An artist in Maine is combining two of her passions into one eco-friendly message.

"Usually on beaches, it's like buoys, little chunks of plastic” Mariah Reading said.

Reading scours some of the most spectacular scenery anywhere, including the sand beach at Acadia National Park.

Reading picks up litter in open areas and transforms it into painted landscapes.

She describes it as her canvas.

"Plastic water bottles, rope is always a big thing. But I've also found shoes and PJ pants draped on the side of trees like, where did these come from?" said Reading.

It's all part of what Reading calls her eco-art, often painting the very spot where she picked up a particular piece of trash.

"I call the painting that I do outside in plain air, I call them color studies. Because I'm just trying to grasp the colors that I see around me” says Reading.

While her eco-art can be on the lighter side, Reading does consider herself a serious artist with an even more serious message.

As much as she enjoys collecting junk, she says only helps illustrate the ongoing environmental challenges facing the planet.

"Eco-art is this new form of art that addresses the Anthropocene that we're living in and kind of uses art as a tool to display climate change and pollution” she said.

Since beginning this project, Reading has traveled the country combing dozens of beaches and searching through hundreds of miles of forest.

Her efforts caught the eye of People Magazine, which featured her work on a two-page spread in December 2021.

Reading said "I was just blown away. I had no idea that it was going to be that large and in charge. It was really really exciting."

Exciting, she says not just because more people will see her art, but more people might stop and think about the meaning behind it.

"I hope that when people see my art they are excited to make small steps in their own lives to become more sustainable and can see their habits reflected in either the plastic water bottle or the location it was found."

Reading says her favorite way to showcase her work is to photograph the piece of painted trash in front of the landscape it depicts.

CINCINNATI —

Local artist, educator and owner of Not Your Average "Paint and Sip" mobile unit, James Reynolds, designed and prepared the mural concept for today's event at Court Street Plaza downtown.

"This season, more than any other, is about appreciating and celebrating our community," Reynolds said. "Our mural will be a wonderful expression of Cincinnati's vibrancy, diversity and fraternity."

The event on Saturday afternoon was created to invite and inspire local residents to come together as a community to share and express their inner artist.

Court Street Plaza served as today's canvas, which produced a community-created mural honoring the city of Cincinnati.

Along with the community-wide mural painting, there were also performances by local musicians, coffee stands, and even take-home crafts, inspired by the new mural.

The free event was one of several community-produced holiday events in the FOUND series. FOUND is a collection of creative and engaging holiday events aimed at bringing the community together in Cincinnati's urban core.

You can catch a glimpse of the new mural at the storefront below the Stanley & More Flats located at 11. E. Court Street.

You can find more events produced by FOUND here.

GLOUCESTER, Mass. — After nearly two years of the pandemic, a new art exhibit is hoping to reconnect strangers from behind their masks, at a time when museums are hoping to regain visitors who might have stayed away because of COVID-19.

Oliver Barker is the director of the Cape Ann Museum. Tucked away in the historic fishing town of Gloucester, Massachusetts, it's a place that inspired the works of great artists like Edward Hopper.

"Art has a really central role in all of our lives," Barker said.

Barker is surrounded by a myriad of self-portraits of all shapes and sizes. Looking around the museum it does not take a highly-seasoned art critic to see these portraits were not commissioned by any famous American artist.

Instead, they were created by average, everyday Americans, like Katie Brinkman, who lives in Gloucester with her partner and two stepkids.

"I wanted to play with the materials and the colors, and have fun with the artistic process of it," she said.

The installation is called “Quilted Together: An Exhibit of Community." People from all walks of life were given an 8-by-8 inch sheet of paper, a mirror and some pastels.

Nearly 600 self-portraits were eventually returned and have now been put up as part of the exhibit. Each one is a powerful images of self-expression.

The goal of the exhibit is to bring strangers face back to life. At a time when so many of us are often still hidden behind masks because of COVID-19.

"To me, what is particularly powerful about this is we’ve all gotten use to seeing one another wearing our masks, and we are now having this opportunity to see ourselves fresh," Barker said.

It comes at a time when museums are trying to draw new visitors in. Because of the pandemic, the world’s 100 most-visited art museums saw attendance drop by 77% in 2020. The numbers are rebounding but museums are having to reinvent themselves with new exhibits like this one to excite visitors into returning.

"I look around here and I see a lot of joy around the room and a lot of hope," Barker said.

This exhibit is only temporary. Eventually, these self-portraits will all be returned to the people who painted them. However, Oliver Barker hopes that the lasting impact of this art will be permanent.

CHICAGO — Art can be beautiful and inspirational. But for some artists, creating works that stir the soul and the mind goes beyond just the brush and canvas.

Socio-political activist and artist Pritika Chowdhry focuses her work on reframing traumatic geopolitical events like 9/11. She sees art as a way to ask difficult questions.

“This is the artist asking, 'God are you there? Do you see what's happening? Are you still there?'”

She studies seismic geopolitical events in depth and channels that into her artwork.

“And then, I try to excavate things from those events that have been not spoken about as much as they probably should have been,” she explained.

Chowdhry calls these the counter-memories of trauma. Sept. 11, for example, she says became about never forgetting the nearly 3,000 lives lost that day. But she says the lives lost went far beyond that in countries half a world away.

“In the context of 9/11, it's almost unpatriotic to say, ‘Hey, but what about all these other lives that are now in the millions that were lost?'”

Chowdhry has channeled that notion in what she calls the Counter Memory Project, an effort to memorialize the "unbearable memories."

“This is a...this is a scale of justice," she said.

In one of her works "Ungrievable Lives: Ghosts of 9/11," she examines what she calls the "differential values placed on human life."

“The heavier side has this gold bullion bar, and it says, ‘One life 9/11, 2001.’ And then if you turn it over, it says. ‘One of 2,983. Made in America.’”

It’s a commentary on what lives are worth shedding tears over and which ones are not.

“What is this gold standard? Clearly, an American life,” said Chowdhry.

On the other side of the scale rests a piece of meat, hair, and nail clippings.

“This is representative, as I was saying earlier of the non-American lives that we do not grieve for,” said Chowdhry.

It’s undoubtedly provocative, something Chowdhry knows all too well.

“I'm an American citizen. I love this country despite all its flaws. I do. I call this home,” she said. “It's OK for us to let our guard down once in a while to introspect and see we, even as a powerful moral nation get it wrong.”

Getting it wrong was punctuated in recent weeks as the last known missile fired in Afghanistan by the U.S. military last turned out to be a grave error.

The botched American drone strike killed 10 civilians including seven children. The youngest child Sumaya was just 2 years old. On September 17, weeks after the strike, General Frank McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, acknowledged the civilian causalities.

“I offer my profound condolences to the family and friends of those who were killed,” said McKenzie. “But it was a mistake, and I offer my sincere apology.”

It was a stunning admission coming at the end of the United States’ longest-running war. But Chowdhry says she is optimistic that it was a signal of change.

“Maybe there is a there is a shift,” she said. “We're finally witnessing a shift after 20 years where I think finally people even in America are realizing that maybe what we're doing is wrong and maybe the people over there are human, are grievable.”

And while she knows some may be angered by her anti-memorial work, she hopes to tilt the scale to the center, valuing each life lost as equally tragic and worthy of remembrance.

NORWOOD, Ohio —

For most, Wasson Way is a trail for walking or running. Today, it was a Cincinnati Public School Teacher's canvas for art.

Aimee Costandi began leaving encouraging messages on the trail at the beginning of the pandemic. This week, she made her way to Norwood aiming to do more. “I know that there’s a lot of really good people that like to walk this trail and a lot of health care workers," she said, "this was a good place to start.”

With chalk, paint and brushes in hand, Costandi offered walkers and runners the chance to leave a heart, message or name of a health care worker. “I know the kind of stress that health care professionals are under right now and I see them crying on TikTok videos and it breaks my heart and I wanted to just give them a message that we really appreciate what you’re doing,” Costandi said.

Though these hearts and names will wash away with the rain, Costandi hopes the kind words won’t. She also created a Twitter account where people can leave their messages permanently. “So I'm hoping that it turns into a place where health care workers can hop on to a Twitter feed." said Costandi, "Wouldn’t it be nice to have a place where there are lots of positive messages of encouragement before you drift off to sleep from a really hard day?”

For Costandi, this project is a form of therapy. She explained further, “...doing this type of project really helps me cope with my feelings because I feel for them. Because we’re all part of this world, we’re all Americans and you know, we should care about one another.”

The mural also serves as a reminder of togetherness for the community. “I wanted to spend my time doing something that makes me feel good and let other people know that we’re all in this together,” Costandi said.

Costandi shared that she would be having more pop-up events around the Greater Cincinnati Area in the future.

If you'd like to leave a message of encouragement for local health care workers, you can visit the Twitter Costandi created. Just search: @suppcincyhc

A partially shredded piece of artwork from Banksy is going up for auction.

"Girl With Balloon" began self-shredding after it was initially sold at auction for $1.4 million in 2018.

The work features a girl reaching for a red balloon.

According to NBC News, the buyer proceeded with the purchase.

It was renamed "Love is in the Bin," and will be offered for a price between $5.54 million - $8.31 million.

The artwork will go on display in London, Hong Kong, Taipei and New York prior to the Oct. 14 auction, The Associated Press reports.

CHICAGO, Ill. — After a year of being disconnected from one another, live music is returning.

In a highly polarized time when even mask-wearing divides, an eclectic group of musicians is focused on unity. The Surabhi Ensemble is forging cross-cultural connections with each note they play.

“I'm a passionate practitioner of the southern Indian ancient acoustic instrument called ‘Sarasvati veena,’” said Saraswathi Ranganathan, who founded the Surabhi Ensemble ten years ago.

“'Surabhi' means an unending source of spiritual treasure. So, it's a Sanskrit word,” said Ranganathan.

The spiritual treasure of Surabhi melds together Indian, Middle Eastern, and Spanish flamenco influences.

“I play the instrument known as 'al oud.'”

With his Palestinian roots, Ronnie Malley says the sounds and instruments they play together are all interconnected as well.

“Today, anybody who makes a guitar or a violin or anything like that is called a luthier. Well, that European lute eventually becomes the guitar. And so, this instrument is ultimately the great, great grandfather of the guitar,” said Malley.

Carlo Basile plays Spanish guitar with the ensemble.

“Essentially on stage, let the music speak for itself. And we find commonalities in the music, and we find commonalities and the rhythms in it and in the melodies. And so, when we put them together, it just feels right,” said Basile.

“The idea is not to just lose ourselves completely, but also retain our originality, our tradition where we are from today and spread your wings,” said Ranganathan.

In a time of increased polarization and amplified division, the group hopes to represent unity and fellowship through their common language of music and art.

“We're very specific about the traditions that we present on the stage,” said Malley. “And we explain that to the audience so that they may have come to watch a flamenco show. But at the same time, they're going to walk away seeing something African, something Arab, something Indian, and learn about instruments and the journeys that they take to travel to create this dialog.”

In the wake of the pandemic and calls for social justice, they performed a song about breathing. It was one of their first for an indoor audience and incorporated both Indian and Spanish dance.

“We wrote 'Un Respiro Libre' about a free breath because of the masks, because of the George Floyd situation,” said Basile. “And the dances come together and they're almost like breathing as one. To watch it happen in real-time and to have an audience for the first time respond to it the way they did, the response was just amazing.”

The ensemble is now on a global peace tour to promote cross-cultural connections through their world music collective.

“In music, we try to find this dialog,” said Malley. “We try to represent something that we can get along and celebrate our differences.”

“I call it less fear. And then when there is less fear there is obviously less pain,” said Ranganathan. “So, those go hand in hand too, less fear, less hate, and hopefully more love.”

“We have to have to really do our best to realize that we're all in this together,” said Basile. “I mean, if this last year doesn't prove it, I don't know what does.”

HAMILTON, Ohio — A 9-year-old has gone viral for her Leibovitz-level portraits of a dead cicada depicted in various everyday and not-so-everyday settings.

Millie Staudt arranged impressive scenes for the cicada carcass using Legos and other small model toys.

"Recently discovered that my kid (age 9) has been staging mini photo shoots with deceased cicadas from our yard, and I thought y’all would appreciate her artistic expression," Millie's mom, Miranda Staudt, wrote in a June 4 Facebook post.

By Friday afternoon, that post had been shared more than 32,000 times.

"You’re welcome," Miranda Staudt jokingly wrote in the post.

The 9-year-old gives the lifeless cicada the Weekend at Bernie's treatment in a recreation of an ice cream shop, a tea party, working from home and more in more than 20 photos:

DETROIT — A picture can speak a thousand words. You can learn so much from a photograph. However, we can discover even more about one another if we talk and get to know each other. And from that true understanding, even friendships can blossom.

A metro Detroit man is using his voice and his gift of artistry to help those experiencing homelessness.

“I really felt like God was pushing me to go out and meet the neighbors in my area that were in need and I wanted to use my gift for something more,” said Scott Schaible, founder of "Faces of Mankind." It's a nonprofit organization and the purpose behind it is twofold.

First, to take the time to show love to your neighbors through creativity and art. They do this by painting portraits of people experiencing homelessness. Secondly, the portraits are put up for sale and once they are sold, the proceeds are used to assist those in need.

“I hope people are inspired to use the gifts that they have to help those that are in their community,” Schaible said.

To learn more about the art and the mission click HERE.

Andrea Isom at WXYZ first reported this story.

William Stoehr is a world-renowned artist. His technique involves spilling paint and water onto a canvas.

“I like to say that the drip that’s created may be random or an accident, but what I do with it is not,” Stoehr said.

The subjects in his giant paintings are victims, witnesses and survivors. His artwork has a purpose.

“Somehow, I had to cause people to not just respond, but to maybe take some action or to feel differently about a subject,” Stoehr explained.

He wants to end the stigma that comes with addiction.

“My exposure to it really was through my sister. And this is my sister here. This painting," said Stoehr of one of his paintings. "And she overdosed. She had been suffering from alcoholism and addiction for probably 30 or more years. She succumbed and it was tragic.”

His own life experience with his sister, who he calls ‘Emma’ in his artwork, is what drives him to make a difference in this world.

“I learned that it was very difficult," Stoehr said. "One, for our family to talk about this, but two, for my sister to seek help. And it was because of the stigma. In fact, one day, she said she was evil. She’s not evil. She had a disease.”

Neuroscientist Nora Volkow has been instrumental in demonstrating that drug addiction is a disease of the human brain. She’s the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

“People still think that people are doing this to themselves,” Dr. Volkow said.

Dr. Volkow uses imaging to understand the changes in the brain that addiction causes. She compares it to the way our bodies memorize a pleasurable response every time we eat or drink water. It motivates our bodies to continue doing those things without thinking about it because it’s necessary for survival.

“But drugs have the capacity to generate and stimulate artificially those same systems creating this strong memory that leads you to want to take the drug the next time you are in the same environment,” Dr. Volkow said.

Dr. Volkow and Stoehr are working alongside each other to change people’s perceptions of those struggling with addiction. They say art communicates emotion and a way to see things differently. Stoehr uses specific methods in his artwork to make people connect.

“It just grabs you as an emotion. I mean, these large faces,” Dr. Volkow said about Stoehr's artwork.

Stoehr says neuroscience taught him that people react strongly to a face with prominent eyes. Moreover, the ambiguity in his paintings forces people to fill in the blanks, allowing us to see ourselves in the paintings, too.

“They are no different from us," Dr. Volkow said. "They feel like us and reach out to you to sort of feel that empathy, to generate that emotional reaction to them as opposed to what we do in society, which basically just rejects them and stigmatizes them and sort of looks the other way.”

Stoehr's art also connects with survivors of addiction and encourages them to seek help. His art is what led his sister to rehab.

“I had tried everything," Stoehr said. "I was at wit's end, and you know, just trying to remain calm and tell her I loved her. And I went up to her door and I said, ‘I’ll paint you a portrait if you go into rehab’. The door opened just a crack and she said yes."

When survivors look at his art, he says they can relate.

“A woman looked at one of my pieces and she said that I knew exactly how she felt and that she wanted to die," he recalled.

Even though his art may seem dark and solemn at first glance, they also portray hope.

“She said that she looked at the very same piece the next morning and saw hope in the woman’s eyes. And then she said, ‘you saved my life.' Now, if that only happens once, I’m a success as an artist.”

Stoehr says he plans to continue his quest to normalize the conversation surrounding drug abuse.

"I don’t want people to feel bad," Stoehr said. "I want them to respond, to understand, to understand that they’re not alone and then to seek help. To take action.”