“Courage”, Bronze Memorial Sculpture to Cancer Victims, Donated to OHSU Knight Cancer Institute

On November 9, 2012 in Portland, Oregon, “Courage” a bronze sculpture standing in tribute to those who have, who are, and who will fight Cancer was donated by artist Michael Tieman and his wife Nancy to the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute - Oregon Health Science University, in Portland, Oregon.

“Courage is dedicated to the women in my family who have battled breast cancer; my mother-in-law Janet Ormandy Marshall (Muzzy), my aunt Pat Wetzel, my sister Beverly Starr, and my younger sister Connie Sue Drotos, who after a courageous six year battle with breast cancer died on July 29, 2008.

Always a positive attitude and a smile Muzzy and Connie were an inspiration to those battling breast Cancer, and they will be sorely missed.” – Michael Tieman

A 36” bronze sculpture of “Courage” was donated in memory of Nancy’s mother Janet Ormandy Marshall “Muzzy”. Nancy and Michael unveiled the sculpture “Courage” at the dedication ceremonies in the Kohler Pavilion at Oregon Health Science University and gave them a $1000 donation to Patient & Family Services.

The Dream - “In July of 2008, after a courageous six year battle with breast cancer, my younger sister died, one week shy of her 50^th birthday and the day before her 25^th wedding anniversary,” says Tieman. “Since then I have had the same re-occurring dream. I am on a scaffold built around a piece of white marble 15’ tall, and I am carving a figure titled “Courage” – she has a bald head wrapped in cloth, piercing eyes, a firm jaw, taunt body and feet apart yet firmly planted. The people battling cancer have an inner strength and courage as they not only face an uncertain future, but they also have to take their treatments knowing it will make them feel worse. Week after week they look forward to this pain in the hope that eventually it will be gone. There is a look of courage in their eyes I cannot describe with words, it's not entirely defiant (Cancer will not win), but with grace with a quiet determination. That is the courage I need to capture.

In the dream I can only sense the figure; all I can really see is the head. I am carving with a chisel and hammer, no power tools, and I can see my scarred swollen hands and feel the pain in them as I continuously strike the chisel.”

January of 2009 the 36” maquette “Courage” was completed and cast in a limited edition bronze.

“It has been a journey of healing for not only me as I have worked on her, but for all of those who have seen and touched her. The number of tears shed as people shared with me their stories and experiences with Cancer is an expression of the power and approachability of “Courage”. Art heals.”

Up to half of the sale price of the sculpture is donated directly to a local hospital or Cancer center’s Cancer Support Services, the daily support and comfort services for those who come to these facilities to battle Cancer. Copies of the book The Building of ''Courage'' are also available. It chronicles the making of the sculpture, beginning with the dream Tieman kept having, and is loaded with color photos throughout.

About Michael Tieman

As Michael Tieman sees it, “The role of an artist from the dawn of time has been as a visual storyteller. The stories my paintings and sculptures tell are ones of confidence, strength, passion, playful sophistication and the celebration of life.”

Tieman has sketched and painted since childhood and has spent almost four decades as a working artist, both as a graphic designer and a fine artist. Following the encouragement of a friend and gallery owner, Michael recently expanded his talents into sculptures cast in bronze. Tieman’s sculptures are unique in that they are a combination of traditional figurative sculpture and his Impressionistic painting style. “I create my bronze sculpture as a three dimensional painting; texture is the impasto brushstroke, color is the play of light and shadows across the surfaces, and detail is the free style movement of the impressionist style. My ladies have a face with a chiseled jaw and high cheekbones, producing great shadows, and the athletic body and proud confidence of an Amazon warrior. ”

For more information contact Michael Tieman, PO Box 1326, Cannon Beach, OR 97110. Phone: 503-717-3071; Email: mt@courageforcancer.net. Please check in on the web site: www.courageforcancer.net for updates on “Courage”.

About OHSU Knight Cancer Institute - Oregon Health & Science University

The OHSU Knight Cancer Institute became Oregon’s only NCI-designated cancer center in 1997. The institute is known internationally for its leadership in fighting cancer at the molecular level. The most celebrated cancer discovery in a generation—the targeted drug Gleevec—was developed at OHSU by Brian J. Druker, M.D., the director of the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute and JELD-WEN Chair of Leukemia Research. Druker also is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a Howard Hughes Medical Investigator.

We’ve made a promise to the people of Oregon to make the state’s death rate from cancer the lowest in the U.S. Our commitment to fulfilling this goal powers all we do - pushing us to learn more about what causes cancer and how it can be stopped. With over 200 clinical trials in progress, we are searching for new cures, standards of care, treatments and therapies for cancer.

www.ohsu.edu/cancer.