082 - It’s About the Paint with Mimi Feldman

Miriam Feldman is an artist, writer, and mental health activist who splits her time between her Los Angeles atelier and her farm in rural Washington state. She is a mother to four adult children, including her 34-year-old son Nick, who has schizophrenia. With an MFA in painting from Otis Art Institute, Miriam founded Demar Feldman Studios, Inc., a wildly successful mural and decorative art company, in 1988. With a clientele of business and entertainment elite in Los Angeles and abroad, her work can be found everywhere from Wolfgang Puck’s Spago Beverly Hills to Jay Leno’s Beverly Hills home. When her son Nick was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2004, Miriam became an activist and a writer. With first-hand knowledge of the woeful state of our mental health system, she decided to be an advocate for those who have no voice. Miriam is active in leadership at NAMI Washington and her story is featured on the cover of their current national newsletter. She is a frequent guest on mental health podcasts and is active on Instagram where she is building a community of family and loved ones dealing with mental illness. She currently resides in Washington with her husband Craig.

In this episode, Jennifer and Mimi talk about Mimi’s journey as a mother and mental health advocate as well as the inspiration behind her book, He Came in With It, a memoir chronicling Mimi’s experience having a child who suffers from schizophrenia. They talk about the stigma surrounding mental illness and ways to eliminate the taboo nature of how society views this crucial issue. Jennifer opens up about her own struggles with depression as well as her son’s ADHD diagnosis. Finally, Mimi talks about her son Nick’s beautiful artistic ability and the ways her family used art as a form of therapy during the most harrowing times in their lives.

Full show notes: https://milfpodcast.com/82