Collage Mania: Fiberarts For A Cause

Art is catharsis.
--Dorothy Preston

When I heard about Collage Mania, a unique way for fiber artists to contribute to the research and prevention of cancer, I knew that all the readers who stop by Valley Fiber Life would want to hear about it too. Fiberarts For A Cure (FFAC), the umbrella organization for Collage Mania, was begun in 1997 by Virginia Spiegel, an accomplished mixed media fiber artist (stay tuned for the upcoming Artist Feature on Virginia, which will follow within the next few posts). She began the Collage Mania auction as a tribute to her father, a fifteen-year survivor of colon cancer.

The fundraising activities have taken on various forms over time, including (amongst many others), a fiber art post card auction, an ebook and Collage Mania, an auction of collages that are donated by artists, in support of the American Cancer Society. The collages are bid on and the winning bidder is sent the collage directly by the artist.

The next Collage Mania auction takes place May 5 – 7, and you can learn all of the details by visiting the Collage Mania site. You will also be able to have a sneak preview of the artwork (all 383 entries!) from April 29, by visiting Collage Mania's artist page.

This project wraps its arms around anyone whose lives are touched by cancer; those fighting cancer, survivors, friends and families. Here is an especially poignant quote by one of the past participants in Collage Mania, Marjorie Lee Jin En DeQuincy: “Collage Mania pulls so many artists with diverse voices together for a common cause and the art is affordable for the emerging patron. Unlike rock stars or comics, fiber artists have not yet taken center stage to play music, sing or tell jokes for a cause. However, Collage Mania has given our art the power to do good through Fiberart For A Cause.”

On an end note, I want to mention that I had a chance to connect personally with one of the FFAC artists, Kara Klein, who was diagnosed with cancer two years ago. For her, the life experience of having cancer and the condition of being an artist dovetailed into the discovery of Collage Mania, resulting in the creation of her most personal work. Kara’s sentiments are representative of all the artists that participate. Sincerity and clarity of purpose. –It occurs to me that in one way or another, that is what we are all looking for.

So whether you are interested in bidding on the auction, or just want to catch a glimpse of sinclarity, go directly to Collage Mania’s artist page. How inspiring!

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