Bezerk Productions, a nonprofit organization based in Yucca Valley, is set to reveal a mental health coloring book called “See, See, See, More! Listen With Your Eyes” at a celebration on June 20th from 3-5 p.m. The event will take place at Birdcage Comics Cafe in San Bernardino. The coloring book, created by artists on the emotional behavioral spectrum, is a project sponsored by a California Arts Council/Creative Corps grant. Artists Cathy Dye, Lilian Iskandar, Mia Jette, Erica Mosco, Jeff Pippin, Jeff Pope, and Denise Smith will be present at the event to discuss their work. Free copies of the coloring book will be available to attendees.
Bezerk Productions has been operating since 2001, beginning with the original version of Cracked Eggs, an interdisciplinary group of individuals on the emotional behavioral spectrum. In 2021, Bezerk relaunched Cracked Eggs with funding from the Mental Health Services Act. The organization now offers workshops twice a week to clubhouses and Transitional Age Youth centers in San Bernardino County.
The mental health coloring book project was made possible through a Creative Corps grant from the California Arts Council. The completed book is the culmination of a yearlong program held at Birdcage Comics Cafe in San Bernardino. The project began with training for teachers and teaching of visual art techniques by Linda Sibio, the founder of Bezerk Productions. The teaching artists, including Sibio, Claudia Bucher, Georgeann Deen, Leslie Matamoros, Neil Doshi, Erica Mosco, and Jeff Pippin, led workshops for students from November 1st to March 1st.
During the workshops, 100 drawings were selected out of the 400 produced to be included in the coloring book. The gala event on June 20th will feature performances by Erica Mosco, Jeff Pippin, and his band, along with an award ceremony. For more information about Bezerk Productions, visit their website at bezerkpro.org.