Fifth-year guard Madison Greene (0) stands outside the three-point line between free throw attempts during Ohio State’s 87-75 win over Tennessee at the Schottenstein Center Nov. 8, 2022. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Photo Editor

Madison Greene stared at the glass that had shattered to the ground. Her heart was full of sadness.

She was weeks into rehab post-knee surgery after suffering a knee injury Nov. 10, 2021, and was feeling crushed by the sorrow of losing her season and her connection to her team.

She said she looked at the glass and all she could think was, “That’s just like me.”

“When that glass first shattered, that was how I felt about my injury,” Greene, a redshirt-senior guard on the women’s basketball team, said. “I thought, ‘That’s broken and I’m broken.’”

Instead of wallowing in self-pity, Greene instead opted to turn her pain into art. 

She crafted a mixed medium art piece with acrylic and incorporated the broken glass, representing herself amid a colorful background to reflect she was broken but would, once again, come together to be something beautiful.

“Whatever I paint, I want to keep it because it means something to me,” Greene said. “There is always a hidden meaning behind why I’m painting what I’m painting, so I like to keep it for myself.”

Greene’s knee surgery was nearly two years ago and required a 12-month recovery period. She said her experience off the court was an opening to a life outside of basketball, and she discovered a secret passion for art and expressing emotions through painting.

However, the process took weeks to master, Greene said. 

She first started the background of the painting using only her fingers and let it sit until a broken glass gave her the idea to complete the piece of art.

“First I did the background with paints using my fingers,” Greene said. “It took a couple weeks because I was just staring at the background, which had no glass or anything on it. Then, when that glass broke, I came up with the idea.”

Instead of talking or writing to relieve her emotions, Greene said she enjoys her alone time and uses art as an outlet.

“People do different things, they write or they talk to others to let out their emotions, but I like to use art as a way of representing my life and my story,” Greene said. “When I’m painting, I draw whatever I’m feeling and whatever I’m going through in that moment of my life.”

Greene said her knee injury allowed her to spend more time with her art and discover a whole life without basketball, which led to the broken-glass painting.

“While being injured, I spent more time for myself. I like my alone time, so I can just get into my painting and doing things I like to do,” Greene said. “That injury kind of helped me to get my whole life outside basketball and just focusing on that. I opened to do more things.”

Greene said she went through intense emotions after her knee surgery. She experienced weakness, shock and denial, all of which were represented in her painting she said. 

“I was in shock and didn’t want to believe what happened,” Greene said. “As a player, you always think that these things are not going to happen, so I was in denial, but eventually I had to accept what happened.”

Greene said her paintings mean a lot to her, and she keeps them to use as a source of motivation. 

“Every time I look at my self-portrait, it reminds me that I am not broken, I am still holding even though all this happened to me,” Greene said.