In my picture the word &quot;Hope,&quot; written in graffiti, is difficult to read. Fear and anger are relegated to the trash. Angel wings are on the back of the artist&#39;s T-shirt. The description for this artwork reads, &quot;When we have to dig the deepest to find Hope, it is then that the better angels of our nature emerge.&quot;

I started in the advertising business as an illustrator in 1963 after studying at the Art Center in Los Angeles. In early 2001, at age 62, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer and had a successful prostatectomy soon after.&nbsp;I had always hoped I could someday retire and just paint and with the possibility of a relapse of the cancer, it seemed like I had just been handed a very good opportunity to do so, and my wife Nancy agreed. It has been 17 years, and my representation in several galleries has been successful. This painting is one of a series of people at car shows.&nbsp;

At the Car Show With Dad

Fourteen years ago, my life was in pieces as I had just received that I had Stage 1 clear cell ovarian cancer. I felt broken. This artwork represents the many faces of women with ovarian cancer. On the right side, her face is beautiful, her lips are full, she has flowing hair; but her eyes are empty as she has not heard the words &quot;you have cancer.&quot; The left side represents the survivor that I have become over the years. Just as beautiful, but in a different way just as a broken piece of pottery can be mended and still be beautiful. Her &quot;hair&quot; is made of shards of mirrors on this side so that the viewer may &quot;see herself&quot; when she gazes at this mosaic. This mosaic is formed from broken pieces of glass that were once something beautiful ... put back together, they are again beautiful but in a different way. This is my story as told in glass. This is how I picked up the pieces of my life after my diagnosis.

Hope

By Vicki Friedman

November 17th, 2017

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