Paint the Void

by Tumay Aslay

Artist @christinaxu_ Photo by Lisa Vortman

In these unprecedented times, we turn to beauty and creativity to ground ourselves. Paint the Void, a fiscally sponsored not-for-profit organization, has set out to fill the void with community centered art in the Bay Area. Paint the Void helps keep artists engaged and paid as guardians of hope and beauty in a time of fear and uncertainty. Since April 2020, they have facilitated and supported the creation of over 100 murals in San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland by funding over 95 artists. These grants for artists to paint murals on boarded-up businesses is their activist response to the community effects of COVID-19.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Paint the Void is committed to continue its momentum in full force. Their goal is to turn the Bay Area into a public art powerhouse by distributing grants to artists in need of funding. Their support is moving mountains, as they are currently working on 30 murals in San Francisco in partnership with Mayor London Breed and YBCA to support artists and promote public health through art. 

Check out Paint the Void and learn how you can support the artist community in these challenging times.

Follow them on IG @paintthevoidproject

Holistic healing with hyperbarics

by Polina Smith

Holistic Hyperbarics is an Oakland-based, female-founded business, purposely walking away from traditional medical care settings and providing another option in a patient-first restorative spa environment. 

Their co-founder, Alex Williams, has a career that has been distinguished by merging medical practices and a nurturing environment, creating space for optimal healing. Her interest and experience in body work and healing techniques came from her work as an EMT, in-home birth doula, and post-surgery masseuse.

In her days as a triathlete, Williams learned of athletes who used hyperbarics to recover more quickly from workouts and training sessions. This method of recovery helped her heal from a wrestling injury of a badly torn shoulder.

With that, Holistic Hyperbarics was born in 2017, offering clients hyperbaric oxygen therapy in a spa-like healing setting in Oakland, California.

Photo: Alex Williams, Co-Founder of Holistic Hyperbarics

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is a treatment that involves breathing 100% oxygen in a pressurized chamber, which in the U.S. must be prescribed by a physician. Being in the pressurization of the chamber allows the body to absorb more oxygen, hyper oxygenating the blood plasma in a way that other treatments cannot. As the hyper oxygenated blood pumps through the body, it may help reduce inflammation and promote healing of tissues.

HBOT has been used successfully in medical settings for treating decompression sickness, serious infections, and wounds that haven’t healed. It may also help improve recovery for a wide range of conditions, from athletic injuries and Lyme disease to diabetic wounds and head trauma, although every situation is unique and no outcome is certain. Again, HBOT treatment must be prescribed by a physician.

Holistic Hyperbarics combines the use of medical-grade technology with a spa’s comfort, care, and hospitality to offer potential for more rapid recovery in a soothing environment. With her emphasis on whole person healing, trailblazer and entrepreneur Alex Williams is re-envisioning health care in northern California.

The views, practices, information and opinions expressed in this article are those of the individuals involved in the article and do not necessarily represent those of Seismic Sisters. The information provided does not constitute medical advice. It is intended for informational and educational purposes only, and no recommendations or claims, either real or implied, are being made.