Jack and the Beanstalk was created by dry needle felting using American sheep wool with a 12 gauge wire armature. The giant represents Cancer or specifically in my case metastatic stage 4 Melanoma. The beanstalk is the immunotherapy with the leaves being the horrendous side effects, the goose with golden eggs is life and of course Jack is me.

Six years ago I was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer. During my first remission I picked up a paint brush for the very first time and found something that I love doing and that allows me to not &quot;think&quot; about cancer while I paint and paint. I am a Stage 4 lifer and feel grateful to feel good and enjoy life. I have too many faces to paint! Breaking Free is all about finding yourself after a struggle, like cancer or anything that leaves you lost and feeling small, and coming out of it stronger and knowing more about yourself. Is she hiding her deepest, darkest feelings behind the shades...or is it that her future is so bright?

Breaking Free

To release my emotions about recovering from triple-negative breast cancer treatment with lots of chemo, my husband photographed me so I could paint this self-portrait. The message is that he still sees me as a whole person.

Jack and the Beanstalk

By Lorraine Wiener

July 17th, 2019

Latest News