Friday, February 18, 2011

Clay Artists' Outreach to Cancer Patients with Bottles of Hope

   

It seems like cancer has become epidemic in our society these days.  If you haven't had it yourself, you probably know some one who has.  I have had it.  And just before last Thanksgiving, I lost my best friend to cancer.  There is a program that polymer clay artists participate in to reach out to cancer patients, called Bottles of Hope.

The photo above show a bottle of hope that I just made for a fellow clay artist with cancer.  Many of us who have known her online through our clay community at Polymer Clay Central, have gotten together off-line to  send her hats, scarves and bottles of hope. 

The second photo shows cane slices from a polymer clay cane swap that we all did long ago.  They are slices of canes from many clay artists she has known for years through Polymer Clay Central.

The Bottles of Hope project was started in 1999 by a very special person, Diane Gregoire, a cancer survivor and polymer clay artist. Diane found a way to use her special talents as an artist to cheer up the lives of cancer patients going through the ordeal of chemotherapy. She used clay to decoratively cover small glass medicine bottles and gave them to other patients as a symbol of hope.  You can read more about this and see some bottles that were made here:  http://www.bottlesofhope.org/  Please visit the site for this program if you would like to participate or to see many different bottles of hope that others have made. 

Have a great day!
Janie

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