August 31, 2007
The season's first snow
Robert's Snow: for Cancer's Cure exhibit in Newburyport
Newburyport, MA — It will be snowing October 3 – 22 at the Child at Heart Gallery in Newburyport, Mass. The gallery is hosting a preview exhibit of creatively designed wood snowflakes that will be auctioned off online to support Robert's Snow: for Cancer's Cure, a benefit for sarcoma research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
More than 200 well-known children's book illustrators from around the world have been given a five-inch wooden snowflake to transform into an original piece of art. Like actual snowflakes, each design is unique. Creating a winter wonderland, the snowflakes will be on display at the Child at Heart Gallery, located on 48 Inn Street, on the walking mall in historic downtown Newburyport.
In addition to the exhibit, there will be a special open house on Saturday, Oct. 6, between noon and 7 p.m. More than a dozen of the artists, including Anna Alter (Francine's Day), Mary Newell DePalma (The Nutcracker Doll), and Diane deGroat (No More Pencils, No More Books, No More Teacher's Dirty Looks), will be at the gallery to discuss the inspiration for their designs. The gallery will sell books for all of the attending artists with profits going directly to the charity. Also on Oct. 6, the illustrators will be at the Newburyport Library from 1:30 - 3 p.m. to talk about their work and Robert's Snow: for Cancer's Cure.
The snowflakes will then be on display in the Children's Gallery at the Danforth Museum of Art in Framingham from Oct. 30 – Dec. 2, with illustrators available to discuss their snowflakes at a special event on Nov. 4. The snowflakes will be auctioned off to benefit Dana-Farber during three online auctions, on Nov. 19 – 23, Nov. 26 – 30 and Dec. 3 – 7. To preview the snowflakes online and to place a bid, go to www.robertssnow.com. The artwork is great for a holiday gift and bidding is open to everyone.
Robert's Snow: for Cancer's Cure was developed by children's book author and illustrator Grace Lin. Just after getting married, her husband Robert Mercer was diagnosed with sarcoma, a cancer of the soft tissue and bone. While Mercer was receiving treatment, Lin told him a bedside story about a mouse that couldn't go outside to play in the snow. The story grew into a children's book, titled "Robert's Snow." When Lin was finishing the artwork for the book, her husband had a relapse, so her colleagues rallied to create Robert's Snow: for Cancer's Cure to increase awareness about sarcoma and to raise research funding. Mercer passed away in August 2007, but Robert's Snow: for Cancer's Cure continues as a legacy to his life.
Robert's Snow is in its third year and has already raised more than $200,000 for Dana-Farber. For more information about Robert's Snow: for Cancer's Cure, information on the Child at Heart Gallery and to view the snowflakes, visit www.robertssnow.com.
Contact:
Elizabeth Chernack
Jimmy Fund
(617) 632-4687
elizabeth_chernack@dfci.harvard.edu
Mary McDonough
Child at Heart Gallery
(978) 462-5554
