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Vickie founded Art Impact Project in 2014 as she was faced with the crisis of addiction that one of her children was experiencing while in high school. Vickie's past family history has been plagued by addiction all her life, having lost both her mother and brother to substance abuse.


Driven by fear and the desire to help her child and other teens in this situation, Vickie contemplated meshing art making with recovery to create a healthy method for those struggling to express themselves and potentially discover ways to positively navigate their experiences.


With overall mental and behavioral health concerns as the direct focus, Art Impact Project has successfully delivered the model by partnering with other organizations and serving participants in small group settings to enhance emotional wellness.

Vickie has proudly run the non profit agency for nearly 10 years and is now in the process of transitioning out of her role to allow for new leadership and growth.


This was perfect timing for Vickie to Face the Mask while processing the next steps in her life. She ties this particular mask to the concept of Evolving and what that means to her as she contemplates her place, her worthiness and how she will manage her mixed emotions moving forward.


Vickie hopes to continue to evolve - to keep listening and learning, to be creative, to model compassion and to be inspired by others.

Hell Mask

When I began my cancer journey, I was told that I would receive radiation 37 times over two and half months. Every day I would don a mask, have it screwed to a metal table and lay there while a machine hovered over me delivering what might save my life, but would undoubtably change me forever. The radiation did not save me. Nor did the chemo. I have permanent changes in my neck and throat. My salivary glands will never be the same and every time I take a bite of food it's a little adventure.

Seven years later I reflect on those days, not that long ago. I was scared, helpless yet full of hope. This mask represents the literal hell that those treatments were. Still, it was my job everyday to go there, so I made myself look as good as I could so I could remind myself not to give up. The mask is both ugly and beautiful because it represents my triumph as a person, yet its failure to do its job and its ruthless and torturous beating. I didn't fail it, it failed me. It also reminds me, there is always another path. Don't be afraid to take it. Here I am.

I loved making this mask. It gave me an opportunity to reflect upon my own personality and gave me introspection as to how I truly perceive life.

I went back and forth considering different materials and products to use that might represent the multiple aspects that bring me joy in life. In the end, after some careful consideration (and because I couldn't make the mask out of cake, lol!!) I realize that I view life with a mirrored lens of happiness and joy. I treat people the way, deep down in my soul, I want to be treated. I conduct my morning show in a way I hope to start every day off (with a smile). I portray to my children a mom and woman who is resilient and venerable.

So, in the end I decided tiny fragments of mirrored glass would be best for my mask. Little pieces of glass that reflect back to the world the so many messages I hope they receive and vice versa. I did BOTH sides of my mask to represent what I portray to the outside world and how I TRULY feel on the inside as well. I hope this finished product brings you love, peace, and happiness….and that you see the reflection of the most important person in the word in it….the best version of yourself.

A big part of my personal mental wellness journey is rooted in The Power of Now by Echart Tolles. The Facing the Mask: A project of Self Reflection resonates with me because through studying this book I see the mask we wear as part of the helmet of existence., a helmet that we all wear whether we are athletes or not. Your helmet is your worldly possessions, the external trappings that society often mistakes for who you are.

The logo on the helmet, a symbol of your affiliations, your achievements, or even your status, becomes a proxy for your identity in the eyes of the world. It's what people see, and, over time, it's what you start to believe defines you. This is the essence of ego, and just like in football, it's the mask we wear that completes the helmet and the persona we construct.

The reality is that the helmet, the logo, the external possessions - they are not you. They are transient, and the law of impermanence with the passage of time and the ever-shifting sands of life. They are distractions that can take you out of the present moment and into the realm of ego.

Your mask is your ego. It's the character you've played so well that you've mistaken it for your true self. But the truth is that your inner being, the essence of who you are beyond the mask, is infinitely more profound and timeless. It's the consciousness that exists in the now, beyond labels, beyond possessions, beyond the ego.

I wrote peace on the inside of the mask because peace can only come from within. My goal in life is to live in peace - good and bad, happy and sad, are inevitable. Beyond all those emotions is peace, and that is where I want to reside.

Having spent a significant portion of my career in the arts, I have been able to regularly benefit from the transformative nature of both experiencing awe-inspiring art and creating art for myself and others. I have also witnessed firsthand the barriers many people-particularly children- face on the path to developing meaningful connections with works of art. Recognizing the importance of creativity, inspiration, and connection for everyone, I am committed to doing whatever I can to remove those barriers and make art accessible to all.

In making this mask, I thought about my own journey over the past few years. I've struggled with loss, disconnection, and the effects of a global pandemic and social upheaval on my comfortable life. One of my coping strategies during this period of time has been to dress up in my wildly elaborate wardrobe and stage vignettes. This provided a release, and like a peacock with its feathers, helped me attract the right people into my orbit and scare away people who didn't have my best interest at heart! Inspired by this experience, I'm incorporating peacock feathers and motifs into my mask.

My mask is representative of the monster that lived within me throughout years of addiction and substance abuse. Buried deep within, when using, my monster would come out full force as a complete misrepresentation of who I am as a person. The monster, though appears scary on the outside was simply looking to cause havoc to feel empowered through acting out.

In March of 2022 I got sober and learned to live harmoniously with the beast I have inside me. Through rehab, therapy and working a program I was able to use my monster as a tool to enrich my life and others and create as an artist. I am now 18+ months sober. My mask serves as reminder that the monster may be tamed for now but I must continue doing the work to keep him in check.

The size of this mask reference the African masks of my childhood. Here, the Hindu god Shiva, Destroyer of Things, rests peacefully, her eyes closed to facilitate the opening of the Third Eye (visible at the back of the mask). She is depicted in her private Garden of Eden, reminiscent of the delicate flowers my mother, a fashion designer, made in her atelier when I was young. Shiva was chosen as it aptly represents the destruction of my old life as a Neuropsychologist to pursue art full time. We arrived in the USA 6 weeks before lockdown. I started painting after a 30-year hiatus to cope with the isolation.

The back of the mask depicts what is hidden from view - or the inner world. Embarking on my artistic journey, I literally had to face myself - my choices, losses, and past decisions, especially giving up art during my 20s to become a Neuropsychologist, a response to my mother's diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease.

The snake is my personal symbol of transformation and here serves as a guide through the inner realm. She is adorned in pearls and jewels, and a fun fact (I did not know when making this mask) is that Shiva wears a serpent around her neck, also adorned with jewels, which represents fearlessness and power.

Both the snake and the butterflies are transformation symbols. The snake sheds it skin; the butterfly emerges from its cocoon. The Third Eye of Shiva represents awakening of intuition and the deep subconscious. The opening of the eye is considered Shiva's source of untamed power. This mask represents my own story of loss, rebirth, and transformation through the healing power of art.

There is a great line from Ted Lasso in an episode where he explains how people have underestimated him his entire life. One day he sees a quote from Walt Whitman, painted on a wall. It says, "Be curious, not judgmental." I hope this is reflected in the mask I created with my very rusty artistic ability.

Curiosity is the most important quality of a journalist, and I expressed this on the inside of the mask. With the help of my daughter Kaylin, I designed a montage of books that have been important to me. The exterior features a landscape, as I have become fond of biking through the forest preserves to experience the beauty and tranquility. It inspires my creativity. These are two activities that help me regulate my mental health. It is a phrase that has carried a stigma for generations, and I feel only now are we truly starting to understand that we all experience mental issues from time to time, both directly and indirectly.

Instead of judging someone's behavior, we might want to take a step back, and ask ourselves a few questions about what this person's backstory is. This is the great lesson from one of the books featured inside my mask - A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. If this mask could talk, it would say, "Be curious, not judgmental." I was curious about that Walt Whitman quote. It turns out, he did not write it. However, I am happy Ted Lasso brought it to life for so many viewers. I hope this mask brings it to life for you.

Our new Tribute Cards contain four new images created by adolescents in an after-school program in North Chicago. These high-quality cards are blank inside, for your custom message, and contain our logo and a brief story about the art, along with a message to the receiver that a donation to Art Impact Project was made in their honor. These beautiful cards come in packs of eight, two of each image, for $50.