Summer Daze

By Alaina Coote

February 7th, 2020

I am a student at the University of Toledo studying graphic and interactive design, and I drew this portrait using colored pencils.

Cancer has the ability to dramatically change a person's life. When I was a child, both my mother and grandmother were affected by breast and ovarian cancer. I saw how cancer had the ability to shape and change a women's self esteem and femininity. Cancer shaped their ideas about themselves and gave me a mature perspective about the psychological impact of the disease. Recently, I was given the opportunity to create artwork for the women’s cancer unit at a hospital near where I had grown up. This piece is hung within the hospital to help those going through chemotherapy to escape the stresses of cancer treatment. This work is to serve as an encouragement to the women as they are battling cancer, portraying the power, beauty, femininity and strength that each woman has within themselves.