Maria Bjork (age 8)- Spelling Out Hope with Heart
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A Hundred Hearts for Hope - My Mission…Your Help
by Shannon Reinbold-Gee
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In 2005 my mother was diagnosed with cancer. She had noticed a heat
and stiffness in her leg one night, and realized it was unlike anything
she had experienced before. She struggled to get her family physician to
send her for testing to see what the mass was. It was finally a chiropractor,
Dr. Donna Kulp of Reading, Pennsylvania who got the ball rolling for Mom.
We wound up at Hershey’s Hospital because they could do the non-tracking
biopsy (which our local hospital didn’t have a reputation for).
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Cathy Falkner - Cupid at the Ready
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Naomi Hordes
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That first trip to Hershey Hospital was mindblowing for me. We wound up
with the wrong specialist first, but he knew Mom was a teacher and he recognized
her tumor seemed to fit his friend’s specialty. So he walked us from his office
to the office of his friend and personally introduced us to the specialist who
would become deeply involved in my Mom’s case over the next 6 months. Even
though the place was packed, the doctor insisted that he wouldn’t leave until
he had met with my mother. I think I sighed then, because I knew there were at
least two young heroes doing their best for people at Hershey Hospital.
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We learned that a huge tumor had developed in Mom’s right leg and was growing
so fast that it was dying in small parts because it couldn’t get enough blood
flow to feed its hungry progress. It was going to be a real battle, my mother’s
father had died of stomach cancer at close to her current age, which was also
when she was close to my age, with me (as a child) being almost the same age as
my son in 2005. It was eerie, the coincidences, and I knew my mother was facing
down mortality.
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Edie Johnstone - Doves
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Edie Johnstone - Duck Family
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Although the idea of losing my mom was more than I could imagine, still harder
for me to fathom was the feelings of the parents sitting with their little children
in the pediatric waiting room. I had to pass it to get crackers from the vending
machine during our long wait, and we had already been inside it that day, looking
for the right doctor. My mother would surely agree with me, that although she was
far from being done with her life, cancer was even crueler to choose children as
its victims.
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Walking back out of the hospital that day, we passed through a hallway with art
for sale decorating the walls. Over the next six long months of my mother’s treatment,
I would pass through the same hallway close to a dozen times. There were paintings,
pen and ink, photos and pastels, but never papercuttings. And a thought occurred to
me as I took my 2 year old son (so lively and healthy) to visit his grandmother in
the hospital last Christmas – That life was simply not fair and more people should
step up to try and even the odds.
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Edie Johnstone - Hummingbird Heart
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Edie Johnstone - Red Rose
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So I developed the idea for “A Hundred Hearts for Hope.” Here’s a summary:
On February 1, 2007 I will be putting the first of a hundred papercut hearts on eBay.
Some will be matted, some will be framed, some will be simple and some ornate.
All will be signed by their artist and include a blurb about their artist. All pieces
will start at 99 cents American. The reason for this is that I want this to become an
annual event, and in order to do that, people have to talk about it and bid in the online
auctions. Auctions will be set for 3 days each, so the early pieces can be shipped to
people before Valentine’s Day. Auctions will be staggered, so they will continue
throughout February and March. Approximately 74% of the sale price of each heart
will go to helping a Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee because they specialize
in cancer research and helping treat children struck by this devastating disease.
Approximately 10% of the sale of each heart will be donated to the Guild of American
Papercutters because they strive to educate people about this art form and embrace
children as new cutters. The remaining percent will be used to handle eBay’s insertion
and sales fees and for flyers and postcards to encourage participating and bidding next year.
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The only problem with all of this is that I’m the mom of a nearly three year old and a
recently adopted puppy. I work multiple jobs and volunteer. In short, there is no way I
can cut all one hundred hearts for this event (and who would want to see one hundred variations
on a single theme from me, anyhow?). Therefore, I am asking for your help. You will not
receive payment for your hearts (neither will I) unless you consider my quiet gratitude
payment enough. You will need to send them to me at:
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Edie Johnstone - White Horse
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Patty Kile - Hens Under Inverted Tree
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Shannon Reinbold-Gee
1188 County Highway 5
Otego, NY. 13825
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You will need to send them (postmarked) by January 12. You will need for the finished hearts
to be either 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches (unmated, unframed), 5 inches by 7 inches, or 8 inches
by 10 inches. Matted art is preferred to framed in this instance. If you want to do something
of different proportions, consider a bookmark, a suncatcher, ornament or wearable art.
You must include a short typed biography about yourself and your art. If you a GAP member,
please mention that fact. If you’ve won any awards or been published, please list those things.
If you are a public servant, a professional artist or illustrator or a volunteer in any capacity,
please mention that, too. Often, in selling something like this, the story behind the art is as
valuable as the art itself. If you have been touched by cancer, consider telling your story.
If you have a website or as business, include contact information. I will e-mail you or drop
a postcard in the mail as soon as I receive your art. Your blurb will be used to create the
information accompanying your Heart.
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Ursula Kirchner - Angel Heart
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Ursula Kirchner - Birds and Heart Bush
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If you do not wish to create a heart to support this mission, please get online and tell others
to get online to view and bid on eBay starting February 1st. The more, the merrier! I appreciate
your assistance in standing beside me in the battle against cancer. My mother may have lost her
leg to the disease, but she’s still around to watch her grandson grow.
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Just try this--Imagine a world without cancer… Now, help me work towards it by doing what we can as artists
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Ursula Kirchner - Starburst Heart
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B Klausmeier - Double Hearts
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Note: The valentines shown were in response to this letter Shannon sent out. |
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