artma exists because there are kids with cancer who are fighting every day to survive.
For each artma, Patricia Mowry, the Creative Arts Therapist at Children’s Hospital Colorado, coordinates an art project with kids in treatment in the Pediatric Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders.
This year, 20 kids, teens, and young adults participated by creating a drawing of a superhero (or their superhero’s mask) who does something positive for the world, complete with a name and a description of their superpower. Then, an artist from Glass Artists of Colorado transformed the two-dimensional drawing into a three-dimensional glass sculpture.
The kids were incredibly enthusiastic about the project, with many saying it was the best art project they’ve ever done. Similarly, the amazing glass artists loved making the kids’ drawings come alive through glass blowing and sculpting and are grateful to be involved. And, new this year, each glass artist created a special glass piece representing the superhero for each child to keep.
Each of these priceless, one-of-a-kind hand-blown glass art sculptures will be available for purchase at artma 2022. Get your tickets today!
Ray
Created by: Eiry, Age 9
Glass Artist: Mike & Sandi Penfound, Woodland Glass Art Studio
Eiry is a lively and creative third grader. Her favorite school subjects are math and science. She lives with her parents, two brothers, twin sister, two dogs, and two snakes. Eiry loves to make art, play soccer and video games, and bake biscuits. In Celtic, her name means “snow or winter.” Eiry has Leukemia.
About Eiry’s Superhero, Ray: Ray fell to earth from a faraway planet where all the creatures wear protective face masks. Originally, there was a bad virus on the planet, just like Coronavirus on Earth. With Rainbow Monster Magic, Ray created face masks that made the wearer feel happy and be healthy. The masks were pretty and matched each creatures’ style of dressing. Because everyone wore their masks all the time, the planet’s virus disappeared. However, the creatures liked the masks so much that they still wear them. Ray is bringing her superpower to Earth to help us end Coronavirus.
Survivor Girl
Created by: Elsie, Age 11
Glass Artist: Courtney Boyd, Flux Studio
Elsie lives in Elizabeth with her parents, sister, brother, dog, and cat. She has a playful sense of humor and loves anything ART. She likes ballet, jazz, tap, singing, and playing the guitar. She enjoys being outside. Elsie is in treatment for Dysgerminoma of the ovary.
About Elsie’s Superhero, Survivor Girl: I am Survivor Girl and she is me. Before I got sick, I put a lot of stress on myself to be good at everything. For instance, I always felt like I had to get straight As. Now I can prioritize things better. The small things don’t bother me. I just have to get better/healthy. I always tell myself it could be a lot worse. I know many kids have it worse than I do. I would say that I am an Everyday Superhero.
Every Nurse & Doctor
Created by: Roland, Age 13
Glass Artist: Marilee Harvey
Roland lives in Arvada, CO with his mom and brother. He enjoys doing anything outside and playing video games. Roland has been fighting Rhabdomyosarcoma for eight years.
About Roland’s Superhero, Every Nurse & Doctor: My heroes help save lives every day. They help people feel better and make the world a better place.
The Outcommer
Created by: Abraham, Age 15
Glass Artist: Anita Rakestraw
Abraham lives with his parents, two sisters, and three dogs. He loves art and collects vinyl records. For a career, he is considering forensics or becoming a veterinarian. Abraham has Leukemia.
About Abraham’s Superhero, The Outcommer: This superhero represents the many people from other countries who have been brave enough to come to the United States to pursue a better life. My parents came here when they were in their twenties for just that reason. The Outcommer has the power to make peoples’ dreams come true.
Super Rainbow
Created by: Peyton, Age 7
Glass Artist: Zoe Kowalchuk
Peyton was born in China. She now lives in Colorado with her parents, sister, and brother. She has a giant stuffed unicorn named Moo Moo. She LOVES to dance; ballet & tap. Peyton would like to have a puppy.
About Peyton’s Superhero, Super Rainbow: This superhero cheers up people when they are sad, or when something bad happens to them. Super Rainbow magically shines a permanent rainbow over their heads and they feel better.
Gandolf the White
Created by: Leonid, Age 11
Glass Artist: Maya Tsuchiya
Leonid lives in Ft. Collins with his parents, sister, and many animals: an albino hedgehog, two skinny pigs, two white treefrogs, two goats, four chickens, three ducks, two dogs, a Russian tortoise, and an Eastern three-toed box turtle. He likes fantasy and story-building games. Leonid named his mask after one of his goats. He has Autoimmune Encephalitis.
About Leonid’s Superhero, Gandolf the White: Gandolf was the subject of a radioactive experiment that was attempting to determine the cure for baldness. He received a lot of calming medicine and exploded. Now his bleat heals people’s feelings and his cud heals people’s wounds. He is very generous and willing to help anyone. He has one bad habit – stealing chickens.
Super Ralphie
Created by: Charlotte, Age 11
Glass Artist: Jill Knapp Campbell
Charlotte loves to play golf, sing, dance, camp, swim, and hang out with friends and family. She especially loves taking care of her kitties, Chloe, Murphy, Sam, and Bill. Charlotte has Pilocytic Astrocytoma.
About Charlotte’s Superhero, Super Ralphie: Super Ralphie’s power is to make sick children feel better AND not scared of the hospital. He gives the best hugs, nose “bops”, and snuggles. Super Ralphie’s superpowers are unmatched by any other superhero out there!
Garruk – Protector of Animals
Created by: Traver, Age 17
Glass Artist: Mike & Sandi Penfound, Woodland Glass Art Studio
Traver will be a high school senior next year in Grand Junction. He has many interests: football, weight-lifting, animals, art, hiking, rock collecting. His mother says he is the one who always stands up for his friends against bullying. Traver says he is getting through his treatment with the help of his family who are always teasing and joking. His photo shows the crazy haircut he got before he lost his hair. Both of his parents also go crazy haircuts to support him. Traver has Leukemia.
About Traver’s Superhero, Garruk: I got the idea of this Superhero from the card game “Magic the Gathering”. Garruk is a big, strong character who controls animals and magic. I identify with him because I’m a big guy who is gentle at heart. I am the center on my high school football team and I protect my teammates during plays.
Telly
Created by: Ellory, Age 15
Glass Artist: Dayle B. Karry, Spectra Art Studio
Ellory is an energetic teen with a great sense of humor. She is artistically creative and likes hanging with her family, reading, and collecting Squishmallows. She has a puppy, a lizard, and a fish. Ellory is in treatment for her third relapse of Leukemia.
About Elllory’s Superhero, Telly: Telly is scary looking but he is actually a good guy. He comes from a planet where technology is more advanced than Earth. He teleports himself to human emergencies and helps people. Beams come from his eyes which heal or fix the situation. I have been called “Four Eyes” because of my glasses. Telly really has four eyes!
Industrious
Created by: Xavier, Age 17
Glass Artist: Jacqueline McKinny
Xavier is a senior in high school. He lives with his mother and her partner, his sister, three dogs, and two cats in Louisville. His interests include art, engineering, woodworking, glass blowing, blacksmithing, poetry, and reading. Xavier has auto-immune hepatitis, ulcerative colitis, Burkitt’s Lymphoma, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis.
About Xavier’s Superhero, Industrious: Anyone can wear this mask. It is the symbol of Industrious. It has no power other than the one the wearer wants it to have. It looks cool.
Princess Heart
Created by: Tiana, Age 8
Glass Artist: Leslie Ann Bitgood
“Princess Tiana” lives with her mother and sister. She loves to create art, cook, clean, and play with her American Girl Doll. When she grows up, she would like to be a doctor or teacher. Tiana has Sickle Cell Anemia.
About Tiana’s Superhero, Princess Heart: This superhero fixes broken hearts by spreading love to people. One side of her heart is sad faces and one side is happy whole hearts. Her love comes out from her eyes which have long pink eyelashes.
The Doctor
Created by: Piper, Age 5
Glass Artist: Deborah Carlson, Shooting Star Glass Studio
Piper was born in Lafayette and lives in Thornton. She is five years old and has a younger brother and a dog name Grecco. Together, they like to play in their miniature kitchen. Piper loves to dress up and always wears colorful clothes. She has Ewing Sarcoma.
About Piper’s Superhero, The Doctor: The Doctor has rosy cheeks, like all doctors. She holds a green stethoscope and carries a purple tool case. Her superpower is a healing touch that saves people’s bodies. Sometimes she brings Ralph The Therapy Dog with her. He makes people feel better just by being himself.
Super Mason
Created by: Raelee, Age 15
Glass Artist: Lois Rentz
Raelee comes from a small, farming town named Mead. She lives there with her two brothers, sisters, and parents. She enjoys Mead because everyone knows one another and has many commonalities. She loves to sew, play cello, and tennis. Her special skill is being observant of people. Raelee has osteosarcoma.
About Raelee’s Superhero, Super Mason: This superhero was modeled on Raelee’s twin brother, Mason, who has special needs. He always has a consistently positive attitude and always has the power to have a great day. Although he has special needs, he understands that Raelee is ill and is sweet to her.
The Fluffy Helper
Created by: Jesse, Age 4
Glass Artist: Nancy Nagel
Jesse is an exuberant four-year-old. He keeps the hospital staff laughing. He has a younger sister. Jesse’s favorite things to do are build Legos and make art. He likes to feed Harold, a stray cat who visits his backyard daily. Jesse has Morphea.
About Jesse’s Superhero, The Fluffy Helper: The Fluffy Helper is made out of fur. He is kind of a mix between the Easter Bunny, The Tooth Fairy, and Batman. He comes to hospitalized kids in the night and puts chocolate and toys under their pillows.
Super Abby
Created by: Abbie, Age 10
Glass Artist: Karen Harrison
Abbie lives in Colorado Springs with her parents, sister, two salamanders, dog, cat, bird, and rabbit. She likes to pretend she is a superhero and has wings she wears around her house. Although Abbie frequently uses a wheelchair, she is going to be in The Special Olympics competing in tennis and swimming. Last year, Abbie took a trip to a sea turtle rescue in FL. She got to play with the turtles and learned how to care for them. Abbie copes with several diagnoses, including neurofibromatosis, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, and Hypo Gama Globulin Anemia.
About Abbie’s Superhero, Super Abby: Super Abby and Abbie are, surprisingly enough, quite a bit alike. Obviously, they have the same name but they spell it differently. Super Abby is an environmental superhero. Her superpower is to make people happy by taking care of the earth. Abbie is very interested in the environment too. She has a special interest in protecting sea turtles. Super Abby accesses her powers in two ways. First, she controls the weather to create frequent rainbows. Everyone loves rainbows. Second, she flies about on gold-flecked wings. When light shines through her wings, it is beautiful. People who look at it are happy. Super Abby has lightning bolts coming out of her head. When she gets angry, these bolts shoot out lightning. Things that make her angry are human-caused forest fires, litter, polluted water, and air.
Uni Girl
Created by: Shelby, Age 11
Glass Artist: Laura Sue Bissell
Shelby is eleven years old and is in the fifth grade. She was born in Colorado Springs and has an older brother. Shelby likes hockey, swimming, tennis, making art, and unicorns. She has Juvenile Dermo Myocytosis.
About Shelby’s Superhero, Uni Girl: Uni Girl is a playful healer. She is a unicorn/girl. Uni has rainbow-colored hair and blows out magic rainbow sparkles. She visits The Children’s Hospital and blows sparkles on the patients to heal them.
Butterflina
Created by: Ricardo, Age 16
Glass Artist: Lois Rentz
Ricky is from Leadville, where he is a junior in high school. His favorite subject is Art. He comes from a big loving family who have supported him through hard times. He loves to do make-up and cooking. Ricky hopes to be a make-up artist one day. He has Leukemia.
About Ricardo’s Superhero, Butterflina: When she was in her cocoon, she was kissed by a magic butterfly! She grew into a gorgeous butterfly. The pollen she carries heals people and plants. Butterflina has a blue pet butterfly named Chrysalis.
Daughter of the Sea
Created by: Kitara, Age 21
Glass Artist: Elizabeth D. Page
Kitara comes from a military family in Bailey, CO. She always wanted to serve the country and she loved everything about the sea. She particularly enjoyed pirate lore and mythology. She was an intern in the Merchant Marine Academy when she was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma of the eye. She left the academy for treatment. She regained her health and fought many barriers to make her way back into the academy. Soon she was diagnosed with mylo displastia syndrome which destroyed her seventh chromosome. Again, she had to leave the academy for treatment. Eventually, her diagnosis became leukemia. She is again fighting for her health with a positive, humorous, matter-of-fact attitude. Kitara says, “Having cancer somehow made me a better person. I got my priorities straightened out and know what is really important.”
About Kitara’s Superhero, Daughter of the Sea: In the beginning, one had to beware of The Daughter of the Sea. Her Father, Neptune, caused a storm that killed her sailor boyfriend. She became vindictive. She felt that if she could not be and killed them. Then she realized how much pain she was causing, and she changed her ways. She began to protect and save sailors. She taught them to navigate using the elements: i.e. Red at night, sailors’ delight/Red in the morning, sailors take warning. The Daughter of the Sea has a coral crown, Neptune’s Trident birthmark on her forehead, bubble eyebrows, and waves for cheek bones. She does not have eyes because she navigates by sonar.
The Dripper
Created by: Ryleigh, Age 9
Glass Artist: Dayle B. Karry, Spectra Art Studio
Ryleigh is an only child. She keeps herself busy doing needlepoint with her Grandmother. Ryleigh used to do cheerleading and likes video games and Netflix. Wolves have been important figures in Ryleigh’s family and she loves them. She has two dogs named Sasha and Remington. Someday Ryleigh would like to work in an animal shelter.
About Ryleigh’s Superhero, The Dripper: Ryleigh named her broviac ‘The Dripper’ because it drips medicine into her body to fight Severe Aplastic Anemia. The superhero, The Dripper, fights crime by shooting firehose strength water out of his hands to combat criminals! Even though he looks evil, he is nice. He is a fierce fighter. The Dripper can breathe underwater.
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- Dale Karry
Lightning and Fire Flori
Created by: Poppy, Age 7
Glass Artist: Donna Gordon
Poppy lives with her parents and older brother, Grayson. She likes to play football, the computer game Prodigy, watch movies, ride her bike, do Math, make art, and build with Legos. She LOVES Hawaii. Poppy has a Wilms Tumor.
About Poppy’s Superhero, Lightning and Fire Flori: This superhero was named after my nurse, Flori Legette. She is not a quiet, shy person/hero. She uses lightning and fire to cure her patients! In other words, she is energetic, straightforward, funny, kind, and loud. The first time I met her after my diagnosis she said, “This is what we are going to do…” Then she named each step in my upcoming treatment. She said, “You are going to kick cancer’s butt!” This made my whole family feel better.
