Medium: Hand Blown Glass
 
I created this piece amid a raging storm named Cancer. Undoubtedly, those 
tormented by the disease have experienced this inner discord. You are not alone.

This piece is 40 x 40 inches charcoal on stretched linen panel.
 
My Mum was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, a melanoma of the sinuses in December 2015. There was hope that new treatment would help, however she passed in just three months at the end of March 2016. I was on a plane home and did not get to say goodbye. 
 
The piece came as a self portrait of what it felt like to be present yet not through the illness and also the grief. At the time it felt like the cord that tied me to who I was had become untethered. This work was the start along with poetry, writing  to begin the journey through grief of my mother, my best friend and my biggest cheerleader in life. My intent is to create a memoir of art, poetry, writing on the subject as a tribute to her but also to help others on how art can help heal the wounds.
 

Held in Grief

Acrylic paint on board
 
My story isn’t unique but, it is my story and I hope it will help you realize that you can survive this disease and live a normal life.
 
I’ve always been the type of person who sees the glass half-full, but in the face of cancer, the emotional tug of war seems endless.
There is despair, after learning I have cancer.
There is hope, knowing I will fight and do whatever is necessary to defeat this.
There is despair, because so much is unknown, so much is uncertain.
But, there is hope in the embrace of my family and friends, whose love and support gives me strength.
Yet, now there is only hope. No other word encompasses all that I feel today.
 
As in my painting I grabbed my hair with my right hand and the other to my chest. The background in my painting you see a "V" which is symbolic for victorious.
The colors show you the emotional pain I was in and then the hope I had felt after the treatments.
 
I am now a breast cancer survivor. 
And my painting says it all!
 

Storm

By Jeanne Jeanne Marie

October 13th, 2022

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