“Place Of Strength”
acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36″, 2016, inquire about price, by Ruth Chase
Painted in collaboration with Gloria Omar by Ruth Chase. This is one of 12 paintings from the West of Lincoln Project, completed in late 2016. Gloria and Ruth worked closely to capture her unique point of view while dealing with delicate subject matter.
Gloria Olivas Omar
b. 1967 | Sunset Ave.
My strength comes from remembering who I was as a little girl growing up in Venice. Having lived a less than perfect childhood, I found that my innocence made me brave and strong.
As a child growing up in Venice, home was not a refuge. Most days, my little brothers and sisters and I would walk down Rose Avenue to the beach. The beach was my safe place, my healing place; it was better than being at home. Those years would serve me as an adult and fuel my inner strength, as I would use my childhood memories to empower me when I was diagnosed with Stage Four breast cancer.
I think my best memories were every year when the Festival of Chariots would come. I truly felt my state of mind was being transported to another world; it made me happy and I felt cleansed. The whole family would spend the day at the festival, eating and dancing. Chanting along, not knowing what I was saying, brought me peace.
Over the last year and a half, I have completed treatment, and now I am in remission. Recovering from breast cancer has been living day by day. It takes courage and love. If you have that, you win!
Going through cancer was nothing compared to what I went through as a kid, but it has required the courage of that little girl from the beach. Venice is woven into a part of you. Even when you move away, it is with you. I never thought that the challenges in my childhood would be my source of strength, but it is. There is strength in innocence.
Bio taken from an audio interview by Ruth, edited by Gena Lasko
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