Gallery 14 was aglow with a pink hue last Friday evening at the opening reception of the Think Pink Art Show, which runs through the end of October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The show was a benefit for Indian River County residents assisted through Friends in Pink, which supports uninsured and underinsured breast cancer patients.
Friends in Pink President Cheryl Caldwell said that the nonprofit, founded by the late Nancy O’Neill in 2005, defrays the cost of medical bills associated with breast cancer, including diagnosis, surgery, treatment and reconstruction. Before the Affordable Care Act was enacted, insurance companies could, and generally did, refuse coverage to anyone with cancer. Companies are no longer allowed to turn down people with pre-existing conditions, but co-payments and deductibles are often prohibitively high.
“It costs $350,000 to survive breast cancer on the Treasure Coast,” said Caldwell. “We help people with inadequate health insurance, which means the uninsured or people who have health insurance but have a high deductible. We negotiate with the healthcare provider because, honestly, they have to be paid. Otherwise they won’t be able to help people.”
Their funding comes from grants, donations and fundraisers, with Caldwell stressing, “We are not publicly funded. On purpose.”
Friends in Pink originally began in Martin County and has since expanded into St. Lucie and Indian River counties. Caldwell credits Deborah Segal, a Friends in Pink volunteer, with bringing their services into this county. Segal was also instrumental in connecting the organization to Gallery 14.
“Deb came to the gallery and found me and I came up with the idea of having a Think Pink show,” said Dorothy Napp Schindel, who chaired the event. “I had been involved with a Think Pink show in Massachusetts and thought it would work well in our gallery.”
She explained that the Think Pink artwork had been created by Gallery 14 artist/owners as well as artists they represent and several breast cancer survivor artists. Pictures of the survivors and a story of their battle with the disease were posted alongside their artwork.
The color pink was emphasized, and Schindel noted of the pieces, “Some take a serious approach and some are light-hearted or humorous; that’s in the tradition of Think Pink shows.”
“We were inspired to create things specifically for the show, which is very special,” said artist/owner Lila Blakeslee.
The event also featured the raffle of a lovely Riding the Pink Wave sculpture by artist Mia Lindberg, whose work the gallery represents, and a silent auction of a watercolor painting created by tattoo artist Phil Sommers, whose mother is a breast cancer survivor.
Survivor Camille Work said the stained-glass piece she created was made in honor of her sister, who is now receiving treatment for breast cancer.
“So with her in mind, I created this; it’s called ‘Sister,’” said Work of the graceful girl twirling a pink ribbon atop a lotus flower. The girl has a butterfly on her hand, which Work said is a symbol of hope and change. “As I was working on it I started thinking all of these women are sisters; it’s not just my sister.”
