Kara, a young woman, had been battling cancer for several years. To portray her story for ArtPrize 2011, I combined the paintings of Kara in Braving the Wind with an interactive metal Healing Tree. Visitors were invited to write notes, honoring loved ones struggling with cancer and then hanging the notes on the tree. This…
In partnership with the Go Red For Women movement, my 2010 ArtPrize work, called Woman in Red, features Natalie Ruggeri. Natalie, the model portrayed in the paintings, tells her story as a congenital heart survivor. Following heart surgery, Natalie offers this advice: “Listen to your symptoms. Don’t take things for granted. Cherish what you have.”…
ArtPrize ushered my 2010 paintings onto a large stage—with thousands visiting my Woman in Red collection that was created in partnership with the American Heart Association and featured at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel. Through ArtPrize over the following years, my work began transitioning beyond watercolor paintings to interactive healing installations that focused on soul…
For my second year of ArtPrize, the American Heart Association invited me to tell the story of Natalie Ruggeri, a young heart patient survivor. The work called Woman in Red combined two-dimensional and three-dimensional elements with paintings and an elegant red gown displayed on a mannequin. This healing work continues to inspire and challenge viewers…
My definition of being a human who cares about her world began to change in 2011, when I collided with Josephine and other Congolese refugees living in Grand Rapids, Michigan. At the time, my knowledge of Congo didn’t extend beyond a country located on the map. For the next year, I began to research Congo’s…
Told in Josephine’s own words “My husband and I heard a man knock on the door. The door was largely open. Soldiers were emerging inside the house; we made a loud noise and asked rescue to anyone who could hear us. “I started to cry, and my husband cried too. I could not imagine that…