Arts & Entertainment

e Art Of Healing

Breast cancer survivor exhibits
paintings at Providence Center
for the Healing Arts in Novi.

Suzanne Chessler

Special to the Jewish News

Top: "I respond to natural beauty so that's what I paint," says

Mimi Prussack of her acrylic and oil paintings.

Bottom: "My intention is to use nature as a springboard for the

exploration of space," says artist Mimi Prussack.

imi Prussack was painting a self-portrait at the Birmingham
Bloomfield Art Center when she got the dreaded call con-
firming she had breast cancer. Prussack, 34 at the time, faced
the diagnosis boldly through surgery and treatments, and ultimately
communicated a positive attitude toward life by continuing with her
artwork.
Landscapes, still lifes and abstractions became Prussack's artistic
focus, and she went on to earn a bachelor of fine arts degree from the
College for Creative Studies in Detroit. Early group shows at the college
prepared her for exhibits at many places, includ-
ing the Janice Charach Epstein Gallery in West
Bloomfield, Biddle Gallery in Wyandotte and
Gaslight Gallery in Petoskey.
Prussack combines her commitment to other
cancer patients and her passion for art with a
one-person show running through Nov. 30 at
the Nancy A. Fox Art Gallery on the Providence
campus in Novi. Located in the Assarian
Cancer Center, the exhibit space is part of the
Art Providence Center for the Healing Arts, which
imi
has been a therapy
helps patients with activities and atmosphere to .
chat has giver: me
ease their stress.
hope,"
"I use the exhibit title 'Into the Light' because I
want patients to think of the light of the future,'
says Prussack, 51, whose 30 oil and acrylic paintings will be on sale,
with the center receiving a portion of the proceeds. "I respond to natural
beauty so that's what I paint. A natural environment gives me joy"
Prussack, married and the mother of two sons, always enjoyed artis-
tic projects, but for practical reasons became a dental hygienist with a
degree from the University of Michigan. Her bout with cancer motivated
her to pursue important interests, which include hiking and boating at a
vacation home in Montana.
The idea for the current exhibit came from reading about the gallery
on the Web.
"My intention is to use nature as a springboard for the exploration of
space,' says Prussack, who has studios at both her West Bloomfield and
Montana residences. "In order to study the complexities of the shapes
found in nature, I experiment with cropping photographs of the land-
scape and working on images at the computer. I am concerned with the
direction, brightness and angle of the light:'
Prussack, a Congregation Shaarey Zedek of Oakland County member
who has made challah covers and tallit bags, sometimes includes pas-
sages from Hebrew prayers in her renderings. She likes texture and often
adds wax to her colors.
"Art has been a therapy that has given me hope,' Prussack says. "I
encourage other cancer patients to focus on the interests that give them
the same kind of hope!' E

"Into the Light" will be on view through Nov. 30 at the Nancy A. Fox Art Gallery in the Assarian
Cancer Center on the Providence campus in Novi. Gallery hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays.
The opening reception is 5:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct.10. (248) 465-4300.

October- 5 2006

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