Artist and breast cancer survivor Dawn Hamm knows how to grow new wings.

Hamm came full circle in life, ironically returning to the same place her mother found herself at the same age.

She sites her mother, 72 and an accomplished painter, among her chief influences. “My mother Freida Hamm is a wonderful artist and painter who influenced me greatly. And I have a great artist friend, Linda Disney who encourages me to paint and never give up.”

“When mother’s first painting sold, she gave me some money to help me start my faux finishing business,” Hamm remembers.

Hamm herself went to Lambuth College and didn’t have a clue about what to study.  She got involved in art and found herself drawn to printmaking and design.  After college, she taught and really enjoyed it.  However, and she didn’t pursue a career in art until 1991.  “I had worked at this horrible job before. I knew I always had this inside of me, but it wasn’t until I changed careers and met an interior designer who encouraged me.”

Hamm liked to paint, especially on a large scale. Huge walls became her canvas as she built a successful faux finishing business that she would manage for the next 19 years.  She traveled to Italy to learn the techniques and science behind Venetian plaster.  “I did a lot of really wonderful projects for clients.” By 2005, her business began to slow.  Hamm felt further removed from the creative side of her work, and more importantly, the fast pace had taken a toll on her health. “This all  contributed to my not taking care of myself.  In 2005, business was going downhill and projects stopped coming in.  By June of that year, I was just dragging.”

She missed doctor’s appointments and didn’t have a mammogram for four years.  “I had always given myself self-exams and was dedicated to that.”

Hamm said that her education about breast cancer was also faulty.  She had no idea that breast cancer ran in her family on her father’s side.  “I thought I only had to worry about my mother’s side of the family,” Hamm said.

By the end of 2005, Hamm felt burned out due to work and personal reasons.  Around Thanksgiving, she gave herself a breast exam and found a lump in her left breast.  Even then, she waited.  “I didn’t have a doctor and I thought if it was something bad, I couldn’t have my family and friends deal with it before the holidays.”  When she did see her doctor, the results came days after her 50th birthday.  In denial, Hamm said after hearing the news about her cancer, she just went and got something to eat, feeling nothing. She didn’t cry for a long time, and still continued to believe it was not a big deal.

Looking back, Hamm now knows that it took breast cancer to awaken her to a healthier life and return her to painting.  In February 2006, Hamm had a lumpectomy followed by chemotherapy and radiation.  Her life became about loss.  “I didn’t realize then how many losses there were at that time.  I was closing my studio and losing my hair at the same time.”

By September 2007, she felt drained and in personal turmoil. Through the latter part of her treatment, she stopped working and took time off to regroup and think about her work.  During this time, she began to notice the wide reaching effects of her cancer.

“That is the miracle of this sickness.  I had a hard time recognizing that there are so many people that care about me, even people I didn’t know.  I had friends help coordinate my needs - they became this incredible support system. They would mow my yard and help with home repairs. I had over 200 cards sent to me – one friend even sent me a card each week.”

Hamm attended the Wings Cancer Foundation support groups and witnessed women in all stages of recovery, which filled her with both hope and sadness.

Hamm took inventory of her life and made changes.  She began swimming, walking, and even napping. She learned how to fly fish and began painting again.  In two months, she painted seven pieces.  “I took them to Lusk Gallery where my mother got her start and showed them to David [Lusk].  He really liked them and gave me a small show.”

She continued to regain her strength, and by 2008, she received a clean bill of health.

“I promise you emotionally and physically I’ve never felt as good as I do now at 52”.
She has returned to her faux finishing on a smaller scale and is more excited than ever.  Hamm is one of 40 artists who was chosen to participate in the Wings Cancer Foundation art auction by working on a winged heart.   Her piece, “One is Silver and the Other Gold” (on the cover) will be part of an auction held on November 1.

Through the last few years, Hamm has learned invaluable lessons.

“There was a lot of healing in my family - I work on living in the present, and it is not easy.  I finally came to believe in a loving God that is greater than myself, people and material things. That was one of the greatest blessings. And I even began to see losses as though they were lessons. Now, at a soul level, I really know who I am and I like and love myself.”

“This cancer could come back tomorrow and today, I’m OK, but tomorrow I could be under the bed,” she added with a laugh.

Learn more about Wings Cancer Foundation at www.wingscancerfoundation.org, or call 901.322.2984.