Contemplating Old Wounds

The fact that my mother - an active tennis player, golfer, and nonsmoker - was touched by cancer deeply affected how I viewed the world. The morning of her mastectomy surgery in 1996, we contemplated her life as an effective educator, her love of bridge, and her promising watercolor art business. After the surgery, months of chemotherapy and radiation scarred her body, but not her soul. This ceramic sculpture represents one woman's journey from loss to acceptance. The glass marbles in one breast symbolize the international radiation symbol; the hair texturing is full of the peaks and valleys of life; and the beaded earring evokes a sense of elegance and style.

"Contemplating Old Wounds" won the Best of Show in the 2004 Valley Sculpture Artists art competition and an Award of Merit at the 2004 State Fair. It was the first in a series of breast cancer sculptures honoring my mother, Mary Marshall. Size: 12W x 16H. Click for more breast cancer art images.