Drive Through Art Show Virtual Tour

"Winter Room" by Isabelle Sutton
Guitar, Vocals

Artist Statement

Hi! I’m Izzy Sutton, and I am a Junior at Apollo High School. I was part of Portable Audio, and my mentors were my dad, Aaron Sutton, and Maria Hamilton. I wrote my song for a school project originally and refined it during this session. I was originally going to do the project on disabilities, but I switched the focus to doing the song about mental health and the stigma surrounding the subject of mental health.

I have several family members and friends who have mental health disorders, and I wanted to write something from the perspective of someone who was struggling with differentiating between reality, and what their brain was telling them. Throughout the song, the person is saying how they need someone to help them, but nobody listens, or they are afraid of what the response will be if they share their burden with someone else. The idea of not being able to trust what our brains are telling us is a scary one, because we rely on our senses, and stimuli, and instincts, to tell us information about our environment, so I decided to write a song from this perspective, because so often, the media portrays people with mental health disorders, especially those dealing with psychosis, as being scary, or dangerous. This perception is harmful to those with mental disorders, because then there is a self-stigma that is developed, in which they begin to view themselves in a negative way, or become afraid of seeking treatment because of how they think they’ll be received. I wanted to show another side of the story surrounding mental health, and offer an opportunity for greater understanding and empathy for those with mental health disorders.

Throughout the session, I spent a lot of time doing photography, and just enjoying creating for the fun of it. One super cool realization I’ve had throughout the time of Quarantine, is that I’ve been given the opportunity to slow down. A few weeks before our community went into “lockdown” I prayed that God would give me opportunities to rest, because I had been working hard nonstop and never slowed down, and opportunities to trust, because I’ve dealt with anxiety and wanting to control my situation for many years. I realized that I was given both of these opportunities in a very unique way. I’ve been so grateful for Portable Audio/Portable Vision throughout this time, because it allowed me to connect with other artists, and to have some sort of support through this group, and it gave all of us a bigger focus, because we were indeed having an art show! To conclude this rather lengthy artist statement, I am so thankful to God for getting me out of my hustle mindset and allowing me to slow down. I am thankful for my dad, who encourages me to create, and helps me figure out the techy side of the recording process, and I’m thankful for everyone at PA/PV; all of their stories are incredible, and every single person in this art show is a strong, beautiful, force of creative nature, and I have cherished my time with them.

Oral Statement