Heather Spears - Fear and Hope

FEAR AND HOPE

40 pencil drawings, size 81/2x11" and 9x12", from the children's oncological ward, shown with permission of the parents. Text: poems.
From the book Angst og Håb, (Danish Nursing Association, 1993 ISBN 87-7266-122-4), about nursing children with cancer, with poems by nurse Sanne Nielsen and drawings by Heather Spears.

Exhibited widely in Denmark, now a nursing education textbook. Exhibited with poems (in translation) at the Association of Paediatric Oncology Nursing Conference, Vancouver, 1994. Translated by Heather Spears and available for republication in English. Suggested price for original drawings: $300.

"With this book in their hands, the parents of seriously ill children can be assured that they have been seen, not just professionally, but also compassionately.
"Artist Heather Spears draws children with loving intensity. It would be wrong to describe her as the illustrator of the texts – artistically, her work stands alone as witness to the children's pain and indomitable courage."
Sygeplejersken (The Nurse), Denmark

Poem: from Progression by Sanne Nielsen

You come to me with your child
your eyes are full of fear and uncertainty
your body rigid with anxious care
everything is new, strange and dangerous
we speak a language you don't understand
– blood tests, chemotherapy, catheter,
scanning, radiation, transfusions –
is this the beginning of the end?

NOTE: lightweight, laminated reproductions from this exhibition, of drawings and translated poems, are also available for display at conferences and areas (libraries, etc.) with public access. Cost of laminated copies: $25.