Feathers for Karkinos, a creative session led by Gina Kirschbaum on 1/23, was recognized in the Quad-City Times. The creative session offered an opportunity for decorated paper feathers to be combined to create a wingspan, displayed in the lobby of Moline's Bartlett Performing Arts Center, where Jacob Bancks' opera "Karkinos" will premiere on Sunday, May 10. 

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Three non-profits each received $10,000. Living Proof Exhibit, founded by Pamela Crouch, of Moline; Foster Hope, founded by Lola Rahn, of Atkinson, Ill.; and Empower House, from Missey Heinrichs, of Davenport, received the grants. The organizations support individuals affected by cancer, help foster families and those who have suffered brain injuries.

Executive Director Pamela Crouch discusses Living Proof Exhibit and the healing power of the arts to help people touched by cancer find hope, support and healing.

Many artist statements in the exhibition, “A Visualization of Hope,” include messages that share personal stories while expressing appreciation for fleeting moments of time. The thirty artists represented in the juried exhibition rely on different media to process complex emotions. All of the artists have stories to tell about battling cancer. 

Executive Director Pamela Crouch talks about Living Proof Exhibit's mission and the importance of art in reducing stress. 

In this video, Dr. Jacob Bancks shares the story of Karkinos, an opera he's creating through QCSO in collaboration with Living Proof Exhibit.

Living Proof Exhibit was recently awarded a $10,000 grant from the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs.

“Iowa is becoming known as a culturally vibrant state with world-class arts and cultural offerings, where engaging experiences revitalize communities with unique characteristics and local charm,” said Chris Kramer, director of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs.

Art can touch our emotions in a lot of different ways. It can make us laugh, feel sad, excited, give us a sense of awe and more. The Figge is one of the greatest assets in the Quad Cities for this. It's constantly trying to expose people to the arts through its outreach programs. Living Proof Exhibit teamed up with the Figge and Genesis Health System to offer virtual tours with a robot, Genie.

The Quad City Symphony Orchestra is commissioning a new opera, which will sing of the struggle, hope and triumph of local cancer survivors, and partnering with Living Proof Exhibit. Titled “Karkinos,” the opera will be written by Jacob Bancks, who's had other works premiered by the QCSO, and performed Sunday, May 10, 2020.

Living Proof Exhibit Artist Kent Broadbent's work is currently on display at the new Westclox ARTworks Center in Peru through Dec. 13. Broadbent mixes oil paints with cold wax to add unique dimension, texture and shading to the colors and structure of each painting.

Deb Ralfs spends five hours a day, three days a week, receiving nutrient infusions at Genesis Health System in Davenport. Ralfs, who has Crohn’s disease, had much of her digestive system surgically removed 15 years ago, so she needs the infusions to survive. Most of the time, she spends the long hours in the center napping or watching television.

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But on Mondays, she gets to virtually leave the hospital with the help of a robot named Genie. Instead of watching TV, she takes in the art at Davenport’s Figge Art Museum.

Pamela Crouch, executive director of Living Proof Exhibit, talks about the BeamPro robot program, which gives patients receiving chemotherapy at Genesis Cancer Center a chance to remotely view artwork at the Figge Art Museum. "Art is healing," she says. “This program gives hope, and we want to do anything we can to ease the heart and soul of these patients going through treatment.”

Kent Broadbent, whose work will be part of the Living Proof Exhibit this fall, was recently featured in the Star Courier. Broadbent paints in an abstract expressionist style, with complex layering, dynamic lines, rich textures and a combination of bold and muted colors. “My paintings have many layers,” he said. “There might be three, four—even 10 or 15 layers. Each has a mix of cold wax, oil paint, texture paste and sometimes sand.” After applying the layers, Broadbent partially removes them. “The final feeling of the painting depends on how I bring each layer out. That’s why this is so much fun—I just don’t know where I’m going to end up."

Living Proof artist, LuAnn Haydon, was recently featured in The Quad-City Times as an Athena nominee. LuAnn worked her way up from a secretarial job at Deere & Co. to manager of Deere Global Visual Services, overseeing the company's photography and video projects worldwide.

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Her advice for women beginning their careers: "Take your knowledge and move in the direction that not only draws your attention but that you might have passion for. Be brave and think beyond yourself. You never know what you can accomplish."

​​Living Proof artist, Karen Austin, was recently featured on The Daily Palette, a site run by The University of Iowa that aims to raise awareness and appreciation of the arts and literature. 

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In her own words: "I have always loved photography and looked for something beautiful or interesting to photograph. After being diagnosed with cancer and going through treatment, I became a new version of myself. The same yet different, looking at life in a new way. I approach my photography and my life with this thought in mind. It is really not what we see but rather how we see it. I look for beauty, even in unexpected places."

​Living Proof artist, Gina Kirschbaum, was recently featured on The Daily Palette, a site run by The University of Iowa that aims to raise awareness and appreciation of the arts and literature. 

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In her own words: "I decided that my life was missing my art and creativity. I now paint every day and it brings me such happiness. I have found that it is also bringing other people happiness. I love bright, colorful art, so I think most people smile when they see it. I have now been cancer-free for five years. I do not take a single day for granted."

Living Proof artist, Barbara Untiedt, was recently featured on The Daily Palette, a site run by The University of Iowa that aims to raise awareness and appreciation of the arts and literature. 

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In Barbara's words: "Painting relaxes and keeps me positive. I joined a decorative painting group, SMRDA, in 2007 and joined a painting class in 2012. The teacher is a dear friend. I also paint with my grandchildren and other family members, which provides quality time with each other."

IF YOU GO

What: “Living Proof: Visualization of Hope”

Where: Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, 410 Third Ave. SE, second-floor gallery

Features: 23 works of art by cancer survivors living within 200 miles of the Quad Cities

When: Saturday, Sep. 9 - Dec. 31, 2017

Hours: Noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday; noon to 8 p.m. Thursday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday

Admission: $7 adults, $6 college students and ages 62 and older, $3 ages 6 to 18, free ages 5 and under and museum members

Information: Crma.org

We met many potential LPE artists on a perfect Saturday at the "Art in the Garden" event at the Quad City Botanical Center.

• Call for entry for the 2017 exhibit in Cedar Rapids

• Benefits of art therapy​

• Highlights of LPE programs

Three Iowa-based Susan G. Komen affiliates, including Komen Quad-Cities, plan to merge into a new united affiliate known as Komen Greater Iowa.

Diane Allen turned losing her hair to chemotherapy into something beautiful.

Diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer in 2012, Diane knew she would lose her hair from the chemotherapy treatment. "Painting silk was fascinating, something I wanted to do," she says. "When I knew I was going to lose my hair, I thought maybe I can make scarves for my head."

The first time Sherri Burritt had a cancer diagnosis she was just 38 years old.  Burritt had three small children, ages 5, 3, and 18 months. The second time she was diagnosed, 12 years later, Burritt’s children were mostly grown. Even though the diagnosis was a bit more dire — and the response appropriately harsher — the months of treatment seemed easier than before.

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Read more about how Sherri relied on art during her cancer treatment.

Cancer survival art at the Figge: 'I was an artist, not a cancer patient'

If you get diagnosed with breast cancer and you're treated with radiation therapy, you'll get used to the "radiation pose." You lay down on your back in a hospital gown with your hands above your head. You keep your arms still and turn your head to the side. You do this every day for six weeks or so.

"You get used to it, but you're terrified by it," said Gail Chavenelle, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005. "It's scary, and it's frightening."

During her treatments, Chavenelle, a sheet metal artist, went to her studio to express those frightened feelings. She cut out a sculpture matching her 5-foot-tall frame on that hospital bed. She wasn't sure what she was looking for.  And then she lifted the sculpture over on its feet."It was like, bang, it looked like a warrior," she said. "It looked like a power figure, not a helpless figure."

Living Proof Exhibit honored for art therapy efforts

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Gina Kirschbaum, of Bettendorf, is a three-time survivor of melanoma and loves to paint to ease her stress.

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"For me, it's very relaxing. When I paint, I tend to lose all sense of time," the 51-year-old mother of three said recently. "Oftentimes, even if you've gotten through the cancer and are supposedly OK, you think about it all the time. It gives me something to do. Then I'm not thinking about that stuff when I'm painting."

Co-Founder of the Living Proof Exhibit Pamela Crouch explains the purpose of the exhibit and calls for entries.

Pamela Crouch (left) and Mary Ellen Cunningham are breast cancer survivors who found therapeutic power in art during their treatment and now run the nonprofit Living Proof Exhibit, which offers art therapy classes in the Quad Cities and an annual art exhibit featuring the works of cancer survivors that will be on display at the Peoria Public Library throughout June.