ORMOND BEACH, Fla. – Among the delicate art of the Ocean Art Gallery, a new showcase has taken hold. Colorful dots line framed and painted corkboard, revealing faces and animals created by map pins. Celebrities face outward, eye-catching and peering into the viewer and beckoning them to take a second glance.

John Darovitz is an artist overcoming depression and working so others may find their artistic expression to do the same.

“I knew I wanted to be an artist when I was in grade school,” said Darovitz.

During the artist preview roundtable on Thursday, Darovitz went on to speak about enjoying the art of printing and going to college to study it, later becoming a professional graphic designer. Diagnosed later in life with depression, he worked to find a job which would also help boost his mental health.

Creating art with map pins became a creative and soothing way to put his artistic talents to use.

His celebrity series, including Taylor Swift, Eminem, Prince and Bruno Mars, are made with over forty-two thousand pins. Several of his coastal series, showing off pelicans and cranes are around half of that.

When asked about how he sees art becoming more incorporated into mental health, he was blunt on his feelings, as well as encouraging.

“I think art is a way of therapy, for me especially,” said Darovitz. “Mental health is not talked about enough, even though May is mental health awareness month. There’s still not enough people that will share stories.”

“There are millions of people that have this and suffer, including myself, and so art is a way to kind of take your mind off or to distract from what you’re going through and focus on something positive. That is why there is art as art therapy programs out there, but there’s not enough. There needs to be more, and it needs to be more vocal. We need a lot more of that.”

The works of John Darovitz “Pins, Patterns & Finding Peace” are on display at Ocean Art Gallery in Ormond Beach, Florida and make their opening debut on August 3, 2024 during the First Saturday Art Walk, from 3-7 pm.

Ocean Art Gallery is located at 197 E. Granada Blvd, Ormond Beach, Florida. Visit www.oagart.com for details.