This gorgeous work was illustrated by Victoria Decembert, a fourth-year illustration student.
This illustration depicts the “Tree of Life,” a visualization of the idea of giving to something, or someone, at the expense of your own mental well-being. Decembert conveys this successfully through the roots of the tree growing from the body and having hands pick at the fruits that have grown from it.
Decembert describes this piece as one of her favorite ones to this day. She put a lot of personal meaning into it, including an anecdote she wrote to describe her connection to the tree. In the anecdote, Decembert details the struggle of having an addiction to sugar. Decembert starts her story by speaking about the restriction of sugar in her childhood. During this time, she was not on this sugar, but her mental state was starting to deteriorate.
Once Decembert gained her freedom in college, she overindulged on the sugar all around her. She writes, “Because with college, comes freedom, and with freedom comes $0.99 gummy worms at the gas station at 1 a.m.” Decembert describes herself as someone who lost control.
Her bliss was shattered by the revelation of a cavity when she spent time at a dentist’s office. Decembert writes about the shame she felt overwhelming her, causing her to have a difficult time facing her mother, who tried to act like it was not a big deal. Decembert calls this her wake-up call, which caused her to start getting better until Christmas when she discovered a new candy: peppermint.
Her addiction grew with the start of quarantine. She was constantly inside and without distractions from her minty, sugary temptations. She became dependent on the sugar to the point where if she did not have sugar, or have enough, she would not be able to focus or complete tasks successfully. She tried to compensate by eating candy she was not particularly fond of, but she would still end up with a large sugar intake by proceeding to drink sweet drinks like sweet tea.
Decembert tried to target her sugar addiction towards a healthier source: fruit. She loved fruit, not just for the taste, but for the artistic appreciation of them. Today, her art features many beautiful fruits.
Decembert tried to replace her candy with fruits, but she realized she just changed the appearance of the substances for her addiction. She would get irritated when there were no more fruit in the house. She describes it as “trading artificial sugars with natural but still problematic” ones.
Decembert details her battle with a sugar addiction to show how she used it to make up for areas in her life she was not satisfied with. She urges those who struggle with situations like this to recognize their problem, as recognizing it will allow them to take the steps toward fixing it. To this day, Decembert is working on her addiction, but she is not alone. She has family and friends by her side and a strong personal commitment. She admits there are days when she slips up and indulges, but that is a part of the bump in the long road to healing.
This illustration depicts the fruits that are at the heart of Decembert’s story. They represent a deep part of her personal struggle and create a deeply beautiful and personal feel to her piece that is visible to those who look at it. To see more of Decembert’s lovely art, her Instagram is @vickidecemart.
