STOW, Ohio — Kimmy Henderson is a self-taught artist from Stow and considers herself an art activist. She was diagnosed with bipolar 1 disorder at age 35. During a manic episode years ago she unknowingly painted a butterfly that would change the direction of her art forever. 

What You Need To Know

  • The Bipolar Butterfly Project aims to spark a conversation surrounding mental illness and end the stigma

  • The artist has bipolar 1 disorder and the two sides of the butterflies represent the two sides of bipolar disorder

  • The interactive public art is installed to open a comfortable dialogue and give mental health a visual representation

  • She hopes the project eventually makes it to all 50 states and beyond

“The two sides, you know, the beautiful, exciting, inspiring side. And then the disastrous, chaos depressive side,” said Henderson. 

Henderson said the two sides of the butterfly represent the two sides of her bipolar 1 disorder. 

“I've never painted butterflies before, but it was a butterfly and the one side was dripping and kind of melting away,” said Henderson. “At the time I was experiencing mania, and I had tons of energy and I just, I felt wonderful and super optimistic. But then I started having a little bit of a delusional thoughts and at one point, I wasn't sleeping and my family luckily had an established doctor, so we got to go see him. If I didn't get to go see him, I would have been admitted to the hospital for sure,” said Henderson. 

That accidental butterfly turned into a passion project she says is her calling: The Bipolar Butterfly Project.

“I think it represents all mental illness because on one side, you know, everyone's trying to show their best beautiful self even when they're crumbling on the inside, and you can't see that side, and that's a big part of mental health is, you know, ... it's a silent or it's an invisible illness that people don't necessarily recognize,” said Henderson. 

Henderson is a mother of two. She helps her husband put food on the table through her art company Makiki Art where she makes hand-painted wine glasses, wall art and teaches classes.  

But with the Bipolar Butterfly Project, she uses the power of art to spark conversations and give mental health a visual representation. Most of the butterflies are able to be made because of the generosity of the businesses and organizations that donate their time and money to help provide the materials to make them. The large metal structures are currently donated by Falls Metal Fabricators & Industrial Services. Henderson has goals to eventually make this project her full-time job. 

“It's more of an issue now than ever before — social unrest and pandemic stress and financial stress and political issues and division. Like, there's just tons of stressors on everybody right now. So we're all struggling somewhat,” said Henderson. “It shouldn't be brave to talk about it. That's kind of sad that society has that stigma because a lot of people, if you could talk about it, wouldn't struggle so much.” 

She paints small and large butterflies. They are designed to be interactive public art. Currently some are installed at places like gardens, yoga studios, local businesses and downtown areas. She is working on projects that will be installed at zoos and airports. They all make good photo opportunities, but mean so much more. 

“It's not a big deal to say I'm diabetic, and my body needs my medicine. It shouldn't be a big deal to say I'm bipolar, and my brain needs medicine,” said Henderson. 

The Bipolar Butterfly Project officially started in 2019. Only two years in and Henderson already has goals to spark a worldwide movement. She wants to eventually create an online community where people can support and love each other and talk about mental illness in a safe space. With her butterflies, she not only wants to put more beauty into the world, but save people from leaving it. 

“I want the bipolar butterfly to be a visual representation. I say this a lot, but I want to build community and support as effectively as the pink rainbows or pink ribbons and rainbows do,” said Henderson. “I have stuff all over Northeast Ohio in this little section, you know, Stow, Cuyahoga Falls, Akron, Canton, Fairlawn and Cleveland soon in the summer. And I would love to get one into Columbus and then Pittsburgh. And I just want to grow out. I would love to have one in every state. It would be amazing.”

To learn more about the Bipolar Butterfly Project you can visit Henderson’s Facebook page or her website.