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This Little Pig Went To Market

By Alison Longley

Pigasus with some of her creators: (left to right) Sharon Hines-Pinion, Alison Longley, Elissa Stern and Irina Kalendarev.

May 29, 2001 -- Question: What is bald with blue eyes, and has wings? Answer: Pigasus!

The call to artists was, shall we say, unique. The "Pork Place" Market Foundation was seeking artists or groups to decorate fiberglass pigs for their fundraiser, "Pigs on Parade." I passed the letter among my artist friends as a joke--and we all laughed. But our art show, Innervisions ("Sharing the Journey through Breast Cancer, an Art Exhibit by Northwest Breast Cancer Survivors and Friends), has never charged admission. The more we thought about the costs of showing our art, the more we thought about the letter. Then looked at each other and said, "Are we crazy enough to do this?"

Evidently we were. We met at Linda's house, munched a while on her wonderful Finnish foods, and came to a consensus. Our Innervisions pig would be child-friendly--shoes with laces to tie, a saddle, wings and "pig poems." Irina rendered our concept in colored pencil, Joanne sent off letter and drawing, and we all crossed our fingers. Would our "Pigasus" be accepted?

Artist Steve Matthias with his pig "Hogwash" in the studio at Sand Point.
Sharon Hines-Pinion photo.

Months later we got the news--Innervisions had a pig, along with studio space to decorate her in! The studio was a fine, high-ceilinged cavern of a building at the Sand Point Naval Station, sans water, but with lots of natural light. When we got our pig, she was roughly the color of moon rocks. We washed her, sanded her, laid her on the floor and painted. She blossomed pleasant pink. Elissa and her husband created wooden wings. Sharon and I fought with wooden blocks and iron rods to find a solid way to attach them, then her husband, William, recommended molly bolts--genius! Jogging shoes, size 16-1/2, became colorful artworks topped by wildly striped socks. The wings sprouted words: "The time has come, the Walrus said...."

It was a boon to share studio space with other pig artists. They gave us technical advice and put us in touch with Scott of CSR Marine, who coated Pigasus' wings without charge. One artist gave us cloth for a saddle; another passed us varnish for the final coat. Those pigs--they were community builders! Pigasus, such a labor, became a labor of love. It has been sad to see her go, but we are glad to get on with our other work.

Innervisions' artwork continues to show around the region--more than 70 pieces by 35 artists, ranging from hand-knit socks to cartoons, paintings, photographs, quilt, sculpture, songs and poetry. In October an Innervisions exhibit will coincide with the Schick XTREME III Tennis Challenge, benefiting the University of Washington's Breast Care and Cancer Research Center.

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Betty Meaders-Lynch	Jan 03, 2003	Seattle	Teacher
A;ison: I have not heard anything lately about the Innervisions meetings and the art pieces. I am wondering if there are meetings which are continuing, and if the art pieces are still being exhibited. I am concerned about the quilt which had been made for my sister Anne Parker, a former patient of Julie Gralow. If you receive this message, would you please contact me. Sincerely, Betty Lynch