Introducing Healing HeART, an art exhibit at Western Reserve Hospital featuring artwork curated from local artists who are currently battling or survived cancer. The goal of this project is to share art among the cancer-affected community as a resource, inspiration and celebration of survivorship.
The art is exhibited in the infusion rooms and New Choice Pharmacy to enhance the treatment environment for current patients and expose them to the healing nature of art. The artist’s story is documented as part of the exhibit to inspire those currently receiving treatment at Western Reserve Hospital.
If you are a survivor or currently battling an illness and are interested in participating in the curated Healing HeART showcase, we will be accepting artists for future installations. For more information, please contact herself@jessicalofthus.com.
Martine Lussier
I was diagnosed with breast cancer in February, 2014. As much as physically possible, I wanted to be out and about enjoying my life and interests. Glassblowing came as a surprise. I actually love working with 2150° F molten glass and transforming it into colorful objects. Thanks to an amazing and enthusiastic glassblowing instructor, and an incredible husband who also fell in love with glassblowing, I have been practicing this art form for 4 years. This hobby helped me cope with painful ups and downs of dealing with chemotherapy treatments and surgeries. I wish to continue learning the intricate techniques of glassblowing, which, unfortunately, will take me at least another 20 years!
In this display, you will find my best pieces. I like their shapes and particularly their vibrant colors. To earn a living, I teach economics at Case Western Reserve University. I wish one day to retire and become a full time glass blower. Hey, a girl can dream!
Pamela Z. Daum
Diagnosed with a late-stage colon cancer in August 1999, I quit my position as an Operations Manager in corporate America to focus on my recovery. Given a 30% survival rate, I knew I was in for an uphill battle, but that didn’t deter me; there were too many things I had not yet accomplished. And, I dangled that carrot in front, reminding myself of the rewards that lay ahead.
As a chemotherapy patient with short odds, I maintained hope and determination. Visual imagery helped to soothe me. Focusing on works of art offered a pleasant escape, and I believe it aided my recovery by giving me a positive mindset in my chemotherapy sessions.
I have been cancer-free for 18 years.
Being a cancer survivor, I find every day is a good day. As an artist, I not only survived but also have thrived. My gratitude is abundant.
My photography has been exhibited across the United States and Europe. It is included in the permanent collections of Florida Gulf Coast University, Orange County Permanent Collection, Orlando, FL, and Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH; and, was on exhibit at the Governor’s Office in Columbus, OH from 2015-2017. Select publications which include my photography are 52 Artists, 52 Weeks; Brevity Magazine; Witness Magazine; Florida Oasis: Harry P. Leu Gardens; and Red Chair Visits Orange County Public Art. I am a Capelli d’Angeli Foundation Artist Grant recipient and was awarded a United Arts of Central Florida Individual Artist Grant, as well as the FLAG Founder’s Prize in 2011. I spent September through December 2012 in Taos, NM, as a Writing Resident at the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation. I was awarded the Grace Paley Fellowship for April 2017 at Vermont Studio Center.
My website is: www.pamelazdaum.com
Ross Bochnek
My near death experience and excision of cancer has positively impacted me as a visionary artist. Feelings of unconditional love, gratitude, oneness with all, temporary suspension of ego identity and its concomitant separation, and stepping outside of time, has helped to cleared away my mortal and other fears; to live in service to others through art and other spiritual exchange. My current visual style utilizes symmetry, translucence, blended layers of bright, subdued and concentric bands of color. I acknowledge pareidolia, or perceptions of faces in non-portraiture, as a natural psychological phenomenon, and so utilizes it to invite viewers to connect and interact with their own soul guidance systems.
This playful approach to sound and performance has reinvigorated a whimsy in my visual expression that I felt had become too critical. While engaging in written and visual art, I enjoy musical styles that have influenced my own approach to soundscapes; which utilize entrancing vocal and synthetic harmonic resonances, infused with incantations. My art sets up a high vibration in the senses, with the intent of providing a point of departure in participants’ subconscious, to a common origin point shared by all beings, thoughts, and potentials; where creation cycles from, through, and back again.
