Hi friends, I am writing today about a personal as well as community loss. A dear friend and incredibly skilled amigurami artist passed away a few days ago and upon learning of her death today I have surprised myself with how deep a loss I feel in knowing she is gone.
Did I mention that I never actually met her in person?
Chelle, aka @poenut35, was a sharp witted and bright spirited fellow artist/crafter that I met through Instagram in 2016. She had posted some really beautifully worked wearable crochet items, and since that is one art form I have not had the patience to learn, I managed to finagle a trade for a portrait drawing for an absolutely gorgeous pair of white crochet shorts.
Upon which I learned she had recently had her breast removed due to cancer...
I hadn't realized until then that's why she was rockin' (and I genuinely mean rockin'!) that cute ultra short pixie haircut.
Anyway, long story short, Chelle trusted me with a few photos of herself revealing her scar and her remaining breast and allowed me to create one of the most meaningful pieces of artwork I have ever created to this day.
Chelle told me that my portrait made her feel beautiful in a time when she was questioning her own beauty and I will forever be so grateful that I could help someone realize how incredible they already are.
I was feeling so full of emotion and sadness that I felt I wanted to share this loss with others in the artistic community as an example of how much we can touch each other in small and big ways through our artwork. But more importantly, today, I want to make sure we all remember Chelle and the encouragement and joy she brought so many others.
I made a short video just after I had learned the news because I felt compelled to share her story with my artistic family at large. Forgive the vertical orientation, I made it firstly to share on my Instagram Story and then I felt that I wanted to share here on my blog too.
Thank you as always for allowing me to share what's deep in my heart, friends. I know we have all suffered loss so we can all appreciate the need for connection after doing so. xo