Cancer does not define me, it motivates me. I view my cancer journey a blessing (maybe not the treatment segment, so much) because it afforded me the countless opportunities in enriching my life.  

Through perseverance and determination it has strengthened my mind, body, and spirit. And now I have returned to the roster of life and my lifelong interest in team sports. I am a COMPETITOR! 

Mixed media on watercolor paper

These small cards offer antidotes to the negative, lonely feelings that typically follow a cancer diagnosis and the unsure path that lies ahead.

I’m a survivor of stage 2B amelanotic melanoma.

InspoCards (2022)

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.
 

Competitors

By Donna Litman

October 13th, 2022

Latest News