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Click the titles below to read the artists' stories.
In Loving Hands Winner:Category:Family Members, Friends or Care Providers Medium:Photography
She is an amazing woman, and I am in awe of her. In dealing with cancer, she has shown wisdom beyond her years. She handles her cancer with bravery, honesty and openness. She knows the healing power of a supportive community and has cultivated it. On a very difficult day, the day she had her hair cut off, she welcomed a small group of close friends and relatives to buoy her up. Her mother, aunt, best friend and boyfriend were all with her. I was included in the group as a friend to photographically journal the experience. This photo captures a moment when loving hands reached out to her immediately after her last long lock of hair had been cut.
On that day I became a believer in the benefit of reaching out and accepting support from your loved ones in times of crisis. Strength, I learned, can be marshaled from the love surrounding you.
She is healthy now, a beautiful young woman, married to the wonderful boyfriend who accompanied her that day—the person reaching out to her, the focus of her gaze. Wishes and Kisses Winner:
Best of Family Members, Friends, or Care Providers (Pastel) Category:Family Members, Friends or Care Providers Medium:Pastel
I wonder today, was there a life she wanted instead?
Did she want to stand by my side,
To sit with me on Disney World rides,
To kiss my bald head?
I wonder today, did I really understand?
Why I differed from my peers,
The reasons for the stares,
And how lucky I was to hold her hand?
No one demands a sister love her brother,
Expect her to be endlessly patient,
And never ask for another.
It's no wonder, today, now a proud mother,
Why her baby is attached to her so,
A pouty-face donned whenever she goes,
Because my sister has an incredible spirit,
And the wisdom of kindness and humility,
although she won't hear it.
In small moments, like a hand-in-hand walk,
A pinch of the cheek, or a "sis-to-bro" talk,
She made me feel normal,
Hopeful,
Like an everyday guy.
This picture used to make me cry,
But today, I look at it and nostalgically sigh.
For I will remember forever,
Because of her,
How wonderful life can be. A Journey Into My Soul Winner:Category:Family Members, Friends or Care Providers Medium:Mixed Media
News breaks, my journey begins
Unlike other journeys I can find no map
Confused by networks of roads,
My destination is an unknown
Exhausted by the magnitude of my journey
I enter dark tunnels,
Blinded by the darkness,
The dim light of hope beckons me on.
Supported by those who love me
I feel strength of mind
Held hostage by a weak and trembling body
My eyes open to the essence of life.
My window to life is constrained and small
There is monotony to my view
New landscapes become medical centers
I fear what lies beyond each curve in the road ahead
Crisscrossing roads go in every direction
It is a bumpy road surfaced with many travelers
Stories of mirages, miracles and stark realities
Stories of journeys that end
After many months of unrelenting travel
The road still goes on forever
I recognize that this is an endless journey
This is a journey into my soul. Moons In The Wind Winner:
Best Overall (Tie - 3rd Place)
Best Overall of Persons Diagnosed with Cancer
Best of Persons Diagnosed with Cancer (Mixed Media) Category:Person Diagnosed with Cancer Medium:Mixed Media
They came later — feelings of being fortunate.
Eight years ago, "No, you will not die from it — something else — not it." So sure you are, Mr. Doctor; it's me, not you (silent in my anger). And, for the next several visits of needle pokes, I repeated, "Yes," to his saying again, "No."
Refusal to accept: depressions, withdrawal, six months lost, each 24 hours misplaced, sleep pithy. From him, "People live 10, 20, and many more years; your numbers are moving slowly." Not I. Turmoil like a wind carrying me away faster than time.
Then I said no more, and came the day I decided to research what I had been diagnosed with. Off to information workshops, read everything available, attended support groups, and contacted someone who was diagnosed many years earlier and had, like me, no need for treatment — at this time. My circuits were energized.
I remember seeing a rainbow over Niagara Falls; falls and rainbow, infinite. They preened tomorrow, next year, today.
My painting reflects many moons; a flower grows, and day and night coheres in multi-hued movement…
I cannot harness the wind when it blows my fury. I know it will soon abate and allow quietude. I just finished writing the book I started three years ago. It could have taken another three, but there is poetry to write, pictures to paint, another book to begin — and birthdays to celebrate.
I plan tomorrow, next year, today. Healing Rays Winner:Category:Healthcare Professionals Medium:Mixed Media Visualization techniques are helpful to guide people through their journey of healing from an illness such as cancer. Many people, especially men, use war imagery, of destroying the “bad cells” with bombs or bullets. A more peaceful approach is visualizing the healing rays of the sun, melting away the cancer cells while warming the body, smoothing the mind, restoring the soul. This enhances relaxation which helps to boost the immune system to restore the body back to health. “Healing Rays” is my favorite image for the cancer journey.
As a physician (board certified in Internal Medicine and Geriatrics), I am in the trenches, the doctor who diagnoses the cancer, then coordinates the care with specialists. As an artist, I believe in the power of visualizing healing and work with individuals to develop their personal healing images.
My first encounter with this power occurred while I was meditating/ praying for a close girlfriend who, at 38, was diagnosed with Stage 4 ovarian cancer. A beautiful image appeared to me of sparkling, clear, cerulean blue water, with different colors of green swirling within and sparks of gold throughout. I interpreted this as healing waters, with the dark greens representing the cancer cells dying and the lighter greens of new, healthy cells taking their place. The glistening gold was the spark of hope.
I quickly made a watercolor painting of this image and gave it to my friend. The watercolor was too dull to me, not matching the vividness of my vision. I later discovered the lusciousness of silk painting which expresses the vivid imagery that I see. Pilgrimage Winner:Category:Person Diagnosed with Cancer Medium:Watercolor
In Oct. 2007, I received the dreaded news that I had tested positive for breast cancer. This started my journey on a trip that no one is prepared for—no one knows what to bring and no one wants to take it. Fearful, anxious, and aware of my own mortality, I was operated on in Dec.
Cancer has forever altered my life and the lives of my family. You have to fight, confront terror, and accept the news. Letting go of fear is very difficult. Before the decision is made, you have to call on your spirituality and as for courage to face what is coming. Trusting in your doctors and nurses is so important.
Although this journey has been taken by countless others, now you will appreciate fully their struggle. Healing is hard work with no guarantees. Chemotherapy was especially difficult for me. Soon I will undergo radiation. Beyond the physical aspects lie beneficial side effects. You become the beneficiary of hope and love, two of the most important things for healing. Kindness and support are given by friends and family.
Emotions surface on a daily basis… concern, being happy in the present, accommodating what time is left and having a positive attitude, learning to say no without guilt, and hoping to be the exception to the statistics.
Cancer has given me memories of the loving support of my family. Opportunities to interact and feel the energy of love carry me through each phase represented by this life test. Meditation, self-healing visualizations, exercise, laughter, and play have been included as I take it step by step. The creative aspect of my life is of great importance. It now has the ability to aid me in a very different way.
I started my painting as a self-portrait. As it progressed, I realized that to achieve my real feelings, I would have to cut apart my original, rearrange the shapes, and make a new painting. Only by doing that could I express the fractured aspects I emotionally feel. The dull, olive brown shape indicated the cancer itself. It is surrounded by pinks and yellows—specifically dominant yellow—expressing joy and love. An angel symbolizes the power of spirituality, and the butterfly shows us hope. Various elements strain to eliminate cancer itself.
“Where those who are not artists are trying to close the book, he opens it and shows there are still more pages possible.” Eternal Summer Winner:Category:Family Members, Friends or Care Providers Medium:Acrylic “You Van Geaux Girl” was the card I opened up from my big sister Deb. It was a card with a little girl coloring in chalk on the sidewalk. It was 2002 and I had just begun painting.
My big sister was not only the bridge to my family, but to my world. Like any good love, we had the whole gamut of life. We had adventures, drama, tragedy, and, most of all, comedy. We fought like cats and dogs, and played like there was no tomorrow.
In August 2003, I received a call. Deb was laughing that I would not believe it, but while building a deck at the cabin in New Mexico, she must have pulled something. Because it looked like she was pregnant over her left hip. It was colon cancer.
Dr. Purdy asked how she wanted to spend her time. She did not hesitate, “At the cabin.” We spent the next 18 months making a garden at the cabin where her ashes would be laid to rest.
The last time I saw her she was in her jeep heading for the cabin. She smiled and said “See ya later alligator.” I wept and said, “After while crocodile.”
This past December, I was talking with Paul. He told me that the cabin had three feet of snow. I began painting the cabin in winter, but when I reached the garden, I could not bring myself to lay down the snow, so I painted the garden as it was the day we buried her: in full bloom in the warmth of summer. Venture Winner:Category:Person Diagnosed with Cancer Medium:Acrylic Last year, I felt shortness of breath. I no longer could walk a mile — my regular exercise.
Like most 82-year-olds, I have had my share of medical issues. Years earlier, I was diagnosed with emphysema, and 10 years before that, I had a quadruple bypass.
My pulmonologist performed an X-ray and noticed a spot on my lung. A biopsy confirmed it — cancer. A thoracic specialist removed a “wedge” from my lung. The biggest problem during recovery was getting my damaged lung to reinflate properly.
Post-operation treatments included daily radiation — 36 sessions, one a day, five days a week. In time, I only required supplemental oxygen at night — and during strenuous activity. I resumed exercising to my cardiovascular tape.
In March 2008, another spot appeared on the same lung. “Do you have any goals you want to accomplish?” my oncologist asked. I understood the implication. My first thought: seeing my two youngest grandsons, 10-year-old twins, graduate from high school.
Doctors prescribed more radiation and, this time, chemotherapy. So it was back to the radiation center, twice a day, five days a week, for a total of 24 sessions, plus, three chemo sessions. Wow, fighting cancer is a lot of work.
We are hopeful this latest treatment works. Having already witnessed 12 grandchildren — not to mention each of my own nine children — graduate from high school (and some from college), I aim to be in the audience when my grandsons accept their diplomas. I will be so proud. The Strength Within Winner:Best of Person Diagnosed with Cancer (Acrylic) Category:Person Diagnosed with Cancer Medium:Acrylic In my painting I chose to depict a strong, confident woman looking towards the future, in spite of her mastectomy. The mastectomy is shown as a void to emphasize the sense of loss that is felt.
My breast cancer journey started 2 years ago and 7 surgeries later, I feel that I am also like this strong confident woman. During my journey, I was surrounded by many strong women, like the breast cancer survivor nurse that sat with me during pre-op, the women I met in chemotherapy, and especially those in my support group. All of these women nurtured strength of spirit in me that I didn’t know I had.
With the help of women who have made the same journey, no task is too difficult. I want to thank those lovely strong women who are helping others on the same path. SEARCHING: The Answer Is Out There Winner:Best of Person Diagnosed with Cancer (Watercolor) Category:Person Diagnosed with Cancer Medium:Watercolor These origami cranes represent hope to me. They are spiritual guides/guardian angels searching the universe for answers to a cancer cure.
After initial diagnosis of cancer in 2001, my journey seemed to develop in stages. It began with a frantic search for the right doctor, medical facility, treatment options, etc. After recovery from surgery, I wanted to try and better the odds for success and researched a healthier diet, exercise, yoga, etc.
There came a point where I knew I needed help to relieve stress and sought professional help. I wanted to learn to use visualization and meditation techniques. I also learned to make positive attitude changes and it improved my outlook on life.
Having taken care of body and mind, things evolved to the point of the spiritual. Looking for answers brought me toward a deeper self-understanding and learning to let go and accept life as it is. I am always with hope and live each day with appreciation. Prayer and meditation bring much comfort to me.
Also, finding a passion (I highly recommend it) such as watercolor painting helps relieve stress and puts me in a joyful state. This positive effect seems to last a long time after painting. It helps me to see the world with “rose-colored glasses” – I choose it rather than the alternative. My Healing Exercise Winner:Best of Family Members, Friends, or Care Providers (Watercolor) Category:Family Members, Friends or Care Providers Medium:Watercolor In 2003, at the age of thirty-seven, our daughter, Jeanette, died of breast cancer. While fighting her battle, Jeanette found she could express her feelings by painting. The creative activity relieved her stress and anxiety. She referred to the experience as mental and spiritual healing. Not to be confused with a physical cure.
I miss Jeanette more than I can express here. However, she taught me that by painting I could stay in spiritual contact with her. I can also diminish some of the hurt I personally feel from having lost a beautiful, loving daughter.
The art I have submitted is a three-step exercise done on a single sheet of paper. I do it whenever I think about Jeanette’s struggle and suffering. I show three separate panels here for the purpose of explanation. Actually when doing this healing exercise, everything is done on a single sheet. The result is what you see on the third panel. I’ll take you through the process.
Begin with a single sheet of watercolor paper. Thoroughly wet the sheet. Select colors that reflect your mental or physical pain. Then touch them to the wet surface. The intensity of colors and free form they create symbolize your uncontrolled hurt.
On the same sheet I then apply what I feel are my healing colors. Do the same. Select colors that to you represent spring, growth and happiness. The healing colors will surround your hurt and diminish your pain. Finally, where the hurt once was, paint a flower that symbolizes hope, happiness and life.
For illustrative purposes, so that you might try this healing art for yourself, I am showing the three steps on three separate panels. The first two are steps leading to the final expression. I call it “My Healing Art” because it has helped me cope with many painful situations.
I have demonstrated this healing art technique to many care receivers and caregivers. It doesn’t require special artistic talent and no two paintings ever look alike. The final piece is always a personal expression of the three steps…pain, diminishing the pain, and finally replacing the pain. Sharing the technique is my way of continuing our daughter, Jeannette’s, mission. Traces Winner:
Best Overall (Tie - 3rd Place)
Best of Family Members, Friends, or Care Providers (Photography) Category:Family Members, Friends or Care Providers Medium:Photography
So many people I know - relatives, friends and business associates have been diagnosed with cancer. All of these people have inspired me with their courage, hope, strength and desire for life. But of all these people, the one who inspired and enabled me the most is my late husband, a photographer, who lost his battle with lung cancer. As his friend, wife and caregiver, words cannot adequately express what we experienced; those who have been there know.
Sometimes we need a different form of expression, a different way to communicate, a different voice. I began a new journey to have a different voice, a visual voice because of him and my own need to share aspects of our experience with others.
I created this photomontage, “Traces,” in what was his studio but is now also mine. It is my self portrait, alone in a room, the torn edges symbolic of what can happen in life. But I have been given wings, formed from his body to propel me forward, to help me start on this new journey that will be without him in body but with him in memory - to help me see things in a new way, express them visually and create art that is about life. As I go forward on this journey I never forget who gave me that start and why. Memorialized Winner:Best Overall by a Health Care Provider
Best Oil by a Health Care Professional Category:Healthcare Professionals Medium:Oil I am naked as I was born.
I come before you, revealing my vulnerability. I am human.
My body holds my soul and the cancer that takes advantage of what this life had offered me.
“It really hurts.”
“I feel betrayed, how my own body had turned against me.” “I want to shout to the world, I have cancer. Why me? I want to hide from it, but it is still growing inside of my body.” “I am frightened…”
I will turn around this fear that engulfs me and my future dreams.
I have courage as I look to my destiny.
Hold onto me in my sojourn,
Hold my hands as tight as you can,
I will fight as long as you let me.
In this painting, I have memorialized this 21-year old college student who relinquished his life to cancer. As his nurse, I was honored with his confidence and was impressed with his courage and resilience. Through him, I learned the art of self-discovery and recovery of hope, and was moved to create this painting in his image. The Tree of Life  Winner:Best of Health Care Professionals (Mixed Media) Category:Healthcare Professionals Medium:Mixed Media Life begins with a blank page — the start to our journey. The roots are made up of chances and decisions. It is these choices that come and go with the passing of people, young and old. They add or change the direction of the path through obstacles or through gifts.
The beauty is the struggle here or a hand out there. It is all people touching people everywhere, and within it all is the heart of the matter: the changing of you for the better.
Do not leave the tree of life to die. Keep struggling to ultimately reach the sky. Reflection Winner:
Best of Person Diagnosed with Cancer (Photography) Category:Person Diagnosed with Cancer Medium:Photography
I am an artist by nature, and a nature photographer by inclination. I have been shooting pictures of flowers, birds, animals, trees and scenery ever since I could hold a camera in my hands. There was always another place for me to go, another picture to take. When I was first diagnosed with Cancer, it all stopped; it seemed like I will never be able to go to all the places that needed me to have their pictures taken; find all the subjects that begged me to snap their photos. Furthermore, it all seemed so pointless — I didn’t even want to shoot any more pictures — what good can they be for me?
But one day my husband managed to drag me on a nature walk with my almost-discarded camera. When I saw the puddle on the road, exhibiting so much life and vibrancy, I snapped this picture and my world turned about. I became hopeful again, realizing there was so much photography I wanted to do; I couldn’t let down all these beautiful birds and flowers, those puddles that display such vitality! That is what helped me get through the treatments, and this picture reflects (pun intended...) my struggle: the road was hard, but even in a dreary surface one can see reflections of life, ever hopeful and renewing. C. in Bedroom Winner:Best Overall (2nd place)
Best of Family Members, Friends, or Care Providers (Oil) Category:Family Members, Friends or Care Providers Medium:Oil This woman represents a struggle that many females have felt to a certain degree — encountering a changing body that they cannot control. Although some of us experience it through puberty, aging, or pregnancy, breast cancer and the resulting surgery changes the landscape of the body in a way that forces us to either redefine who we are as women or transcend our own bodies. How do you reconstruct a sense of the self without reconstructing the body?
This woman opened her home and life to me; I recorded her stories and photographed her vulnerabilities, and she trusted me with the rest. She truly touched me; not only did she change how I painted, she changed how I thought of being a woman. This small, intimate series of paintings reflects the intimacy that I was allowed to observe — bedroom rituals we all participate in but somehow made more vulnerable by the cosmetic adaptations that a woman, post-mastectomy, goes through as she transitions between a private and public physical self.
I am honored and grateful to have met this woman and I hope that these images help demystify a situation that we avoid exploring because of fear, as well as broaden the range of how a “real” woman looks. Daisey And I Winner:Best of Person Diagnosed with Cancer (Pastel) Category:Person Diagnosed with Cancer Medium:Pastel I begin this story with a dog named Daisey. What a sweet, mischievous, wonderful joy she was in my life. We were the best of friends for eleven years. She was always there for me, waiting along with me, for all of this to be over.
It all happened so fast I was stunned. Before I knew it, I was having surgery, then a schedule being mapped out for my chemotherapy treatment.
And there was Daisey, waiting for me.
While watching the chemo drip, I looked around and realized how really fortunate I was. Some of my fellow cancer patients were so very sick, they were losing their hair, weight and hope. I felt a need to reach out in whatever way I could.
HATS, I would dig out my knitting needles and fluffy yam and I will knit HATS. I must have knit dozens of hats during my treatment time. Having an artist’s eye, I love beautiful colors. Vibrant hats started appearing on people who had lost their hair - teal, and pink, royal blue, fuchsia and on and on. By creating a rainbow of hats, smiles and vivid colors came out of the darkness.
My little Daisey crossed the “Rainbow Bridge” the day before my last treatment. She was there for me right up to the end.
I now have a spot on my lung; maybe I will have to get out my knitting needles and fluffy yarn again! The Challenge Winner:Best of Health Care Professionals (Photography) Category:Healthcare Professionals Medium:Photography As a doctor who has cared for people with cancer for 35 years, this photograph represents to me the challenge of beginning and ending a personal journey involving each patient and loved ones and myself. At the outset I must provide the key of knowledge and compassion to guide the patient in making a choice of how they will deal with their cancer – and the patient will bring their life’s experience, beliefs and personal circumstances as a key to the second lock. Then, together we can finalize a plan with its ultimate goals, potential pitfalls, and prepare to open those locks. Before we turn those keys together, I must be optimistic, but truthful, in dispelling fears and anxieties so that my patient can turn the key and start on the path to that goal, reassured that they have the personal and material strength to take on this challenge. Along the way, together we will share our strengths and shore up each other’s weaknesses, encouraging the completion of our journey to its ultimate goal.
At the end, we can reflect on the courage and strength and beauty of the human spirit that allowed completion of that journey. Then we can turn the key and close the door on this monumental episode in our life together. As a cancer doctor, it has been a huge intellectual and personal challenge, but a great privilege and most enriching experience to have been able to take this journey with so many wonderful people. Journey To Ring The Bell Winner:Best of Health Care Professionals (Pastel) Category:Healthcare Professionals Medium:Pastel Day after day, in my small drab office, I transcribe the cancer patient’s pertinent medical data. I usually do not have direct contact with the patients, though what I hear and type links me to them, giving my work meaning. I listen to how difficult the quest for recovery can be for some patients.
Commemorating the feat accomplished by completing chemotherapy, our patients “ring” the massive bell in our cancer center, a symbol of light and survivorship. Occasionally, I am privileged to witness their moment of glory, their faces gleaming with pride. The hearty peal of the bell with its reverberating sound ripples throughout the cancer center; the vibration penetrates my chest, quickens my heart, and reminds me that I too participate in their journey. This seems to resonate with a new vigor in the patient and me.
Soon, the bell is quiet, and we are back to our usual daily activities, awaiting another journeyer. There will again be tolling of the big bell to inspire and celebrate life.
For me, the voice of the cancer center bell ignites hope and a healing prayer for our cancer patients and all who help them on their path. As I Am, Beautiful and Whole Winner:Best Overall (1st place)
Best Overall of Family Members, Friends, or Care Providers
Best of Family Members, Friends, or Care Providers (Acrylic) Category:Family Members, Friends or Care Providers Medium:Acrylic Cancer. Prevalent. Ubiquitous. With the battle, the struggle of my family members and friends who survive and thrive. With the loss of loved ones. Deep in my subconscious, and without abandon, I painted the live model as she held her pose in workshop, using only my painter’s knife.
I stood back and felt my painting from deep within. An observer in the room said, “She doesn’t need her other breast. I love her.” I agreed without hesitation. The woman in my painting was complete. I thought to myself, “As you are: beautiful and whole.” She said to me, “As I am.” |
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