It’s breast cancer awareness month and for those who know me personally, you are already fully aware of the impact this disease has had on me. At the age of only 39 my Mom lost her battle and since the age of 10 I have had to navigate this world without her. Due to this I have been getting mammograms, ultrasounds and MRIs for over 20 years and I am happy to say I got double the good news on this subject today.
One, I got my results back from annual mammogram last week and all is clear. I follow up for my annual MRI aka “double check” in the spring. Second, my ‘Unbreakable’ art piece was selected to be featured in another virtual exhibition curated by Gallerium on the Biafarin platform.
The theme of the exhibition is Cancer 🩷 Never Give Up: Inspire, Honor, Heal: Dedicated to raising cancer awareness, honoring survivors, remembering those lost to cancer, and supporting medical progress and healing through visual storytelling. Every October, the world turns its eyes to cancer awareness, symbolized so often by the pink ribbon. Yet cancer is not one story, but millions—woven through patients, survivors, families, caregivers, friends, and even the animals we love. This exhibition brings those stories to light, not through medical charts or statistics, but through the profound language of art.
When I submitted Unbreakable’ I was not sure if it would get chosen despite knowing how truly aligned the art piece was to the theme. So when the exhibition asked for an artist statement to go along with my piece I summed it up with the following:
‘Unbreakable’ is a pencil and chalk pastel portrait I created as a deeply personal tribute to Shannen Doherty and her mother, Mama Rosa. I chose a warm brown background to bring out her gentle country charm, making the piece feel grounded and full of warmth. This artwork captures a symbol of the unbreakable bond between a mother and daughter.. a connection that nothing, not even cancer, can ever break. As a daughter who lost her own mother to breast cancer, there are so many times I wish I could still share things with her. This piece was my way of giving Shannen something truly special that she could still share with hers. I originally drew this to gift to Shannen in person, but cancer took her just days before we were set to meet. However, the universe found a way to bring this piece home. Thanks to Shannen’s best friend, Holly Marie Combs, I was able to get the original artwork directly to her, and she made sure it was safely given to Mama Rosa in honor of Shannen’s legacy.
You can check out this very special virtual art exhibition taking place this month via the online gallery platform and while you are there please take a moment to give my piece some love via the ❤️ icon next to my art piece and leave some comment feedback on the work via my art piece’s listing page.
Please note that my piece shows up in this exhibition as Not For Sale because as stated above, the original 8×10″ version was framed and gifted to Shannen’s Mom in her memory. Due this being a very personal piece of artwork I will not be offering prints of it out of respect to Mama Rosa and Shannen.
Last but not least, if you are new here, and just happened upon this post, be sure to check out the Creature Features page of my portfolio website. There, you can find this exhibition listed alongside some of the other unique places my art has been featured over the years. And if you’re a gallery, curator, publication, or other outlet that is interested in showcasing my work, let’s connect, chat and make some magic together!
And more then anything, I hope this post popped up for my female art collectors today as a reminder of just how important it is to go get that mammogram scheduled and on your calendar. Blessed be. 💕
Stay Strange & Magical, ✨
LDG Nicole