Canada's leading women the arts artists and I(X) breast cancer survivors whose intimate sto• treatment, I knew I had to do some• ries Inspired works ranging thing. 1 decided to use my voice and from a sculpture of copper relied on contacts in the industry." w ire to a hooked rug. This Jamieson drew up two lists of show will come to Vancouver women who she hoped would donate once a venue with 5.000 sq. a recorded song to the CD. She never feet can be secured. had to use her second list. "Everyone Survivors is about breast said yes instantly." Everyone includes cancer and about how women Jann Arden, Loreena McKennitt. k.d. work together and are lang. Celine Dion, Sarah McLachlan resources for one another. and the Rankin Family. The show was conceived by In Between Dances went gold on Barbara Amesbury, project the first day of its release last director of the Toronto-based September and went platinum by Woodlawn Arts Foundation, Christmas. The CD sales raised over and her partner. Joan SIM in just three months. Chalmers, the philanthropist who heads the foundation. "It is my hope that those women They paid the artists and are with breast cancer, who are currently Judy Reimer takes the first stitch in the Life Quilt with sup• offering the $500,000 show for free *in between dances.' with flagging spir• porters (l-r) Rosalind MacPhee, Jacki Ralph jamieson, Ivo to any gallery or community in its and energy, may continue to find the Olivotto and Mauren Molaro. Canada (NorthAmerican Van Lines Photo:Janice Drohan. courage to dance", says Jamieson. will transport the When she heard In "She folded exhibit, also free of It was May of '9312 and we had just retired when Between Dances would charge). Joanne found the lump. We travelled to Halifax for a be included with a story needle biopsy. Three days after it came back positive, her arms What does the founda• on Picasso's Woman. Joanne had a lumpectomy. The chemotherapy that fol• tion get? The assurance she was thrilled. "Oh. around my lowed was a disaster. Reacting badly to the drugs, her that the exhibit is used great. Roz is my best while cell count dropped off the charts. In stark con• neck, our to raise money and friend. That's just trast, the radiation was a breeze. After weeks of awareness for groups great." uncertainty, the surgeon, armed with the results of a foreheads fighting breast cancer. Jamieson met baseline lest, pronounced Joanne "clean." "You'll Amesbury wants the MacPhee in 1975 touched, and never have cancer again." he said. We were on top of show to bring activists through Jamieson's sis• the world. With our bags packed and the camper our souls out of the closet and ter who lived in Lion's gassed, we set out lo see Canada. get them to continue to Bay. "The next time 1 made love." help groups and indi• Months later we were sitting in the mountains of saw her was at a breast viduals in fighting this British Columbia sipping champagne when Joanne's cancer conference in disease. "We talk to women and open lower back and shoulder began to ache. Sensing trou• Vancouver." cracks in doors that they can then ble, we turned east and headed for home. Outside of Calgary. Joanne appeared breathless and complained We've been working indepen• walk through." said Amesbury. dently, but conspiring together in our of fatigue. I put my foot to the floor. Slopping in One group working in Vancouver minds not to go down quietly." London, Ontario, I checked Joanne into a hospital. An to get this show to come to X-ray detected the buildup of fluid in and around one of When Jamieson heard the Life Vancouver is the Vancouver Women's her lungs. Given her history, the doctor concluded that Quilt Project would also be part of Health Collective. Call them if you Joanne's cancer was back. By the lime we got to the story she was delighted. would like to work with them on get• Halifax, her breathing was laboured and she was in "Roz and I made a square for the ting the show here. constant pain. Tests revealed the disease had spread to border. In it we sewed "Picasso's When it comes, go to it. And pick her chest wall and lymph nodes. As if that wasn 'i Women " and "In Between Dances." up a copy of the beautiful catalogue enough, small tumors were breaking through the skin The picture is of us rowing leaky in which 13 survivors speak from the and a bone marrow lap brought more bad news. The boats. Roz always said to me that we heart (yours free for a $10 donation bloody cancer had spread to every inch of her body. are rowing leaky boats. So we sewed to the Woodlawn Arts Foundation. ...On our last night together. Joanne sal huddled in ourselves into them." P.O. Box C655. Station Q.. Toronto a chair as I knelt on the floor in from of her. She folded A final piece to this story about M4T 2N5). her arms around my neck, our foreheads lunched, and the arts and breast cancer is the exhi• For the moment, this story has no our souls made love. The next morning Joanne died. bition. Survivors, In Search of a end, just lots of beginnings. The fol• Joanne Kohout died on November 28. 1W4, at the Voice: The Art of Courage. It's a lowing is an excerpt from the age of 51. Joanne's husband Mack told her story.-" unique collaboration between 24 of Survivors Catalogue: .