ArtPrize: The Inspiration
A recent acquaintance, whom I’ll call Brenda, explained that she had submitted her paintings to the same local art competition for three decades. Year after year, she received the same customary letter thanking her for her entry, but her artwork wasn’t selected.
This year after persevering for almost thirty years, Brenda received a letter saying one of her paintings finally had been selected. She was ecstatic. With a huge smile, she said, “I’m a famous artist now. I’m famous. I’m famous.”
I marveled. Her picture may never make it on a billboard, like the one I recently saw that said—“Failure, failure, failure, and then…Persistence: Pass it on”—with Abraham Lincoln’s picture. But I find her persistence remarkable.
I met another woman like Brenda with incredible resolve. At 28, Kara was diagnosed with lymphoma. After treatments, she ran in her first half marathon. But hip pain prevented her from running in the next race. Then medical tests revealed a recurrence of cancer. The following summer she received a second diagnosis: breast cancer.
The next time I feel discouraged, disappointed, or face an incredible obstacle, I want to remember extraordinary women like Brenda and Kara and their steel-like determination. Both women have left an indelible mark on my life. Their perseverance and courage against insurmountable odds inspires me.
For ArtPrize 2011, I have depicted Kara in the Braving the Wind series. Get exhibition details on my site.
My WGVU Morning Show interview with Shelley Irwin was aired today, September 9, to discuss a behind the scenes look at my Braving the Wind watercolor series being featured at ArtPrize 2011.
The September 2011 edition of Women’s Lifestyle Magazine features the story behind my ArtPrize 2011 exhibit, entitled Braving the Wind, which portrays the story a young cancer survivor from The Cancer Center at Metro Health. The viewer is also invited to participate in the artistic process by writing his or her own story or the names of loved one—who have bravely fought a cancer battle—on a Hope Card and hanging it on the Healing Tree. In doing this, we celebrate their memories, their continued perseverance, or their renewed health.
Kara, a Metro Health cancer survivor, inspired my Braving the Wind series for ArtPrize 2011. She was only 28 when she was first diagnosed with lymphoma. Resolved to beat her cancer, Kara grasps this famous quote: “The miracle isn’t that I finished; the miracle is that I had the courage to start.”
Throughout the summer, my watercolor paintings are being featured in a solo exhibition at the Coopersville Farm Museum.
Support the American Heart Association by attending West Michigan’s Heart Gala on Friday, May 20, 2011. This year’s silent auction will include Pamela’s 2010 ArtPrize painting, entitled Standing Against the Wind.
