Portraits of Healing: Celebrating the Gift of Hospice June 4, 2008

Each day, hospice patients, their caregivers, and their families celebrate lives that are nearing their completion. They do this with the bitter sweet joy that comes with sharing precious moments and knowing they have a limited time together.

It is this richness of life and relationships that Providence Hospice of Seattle's 'Portraits of Healing: Celebrating the Gift of Hospice' photography exhibit captures through hospice patients and their families.

"The affection that we give and receive binds us together. I see my work serving as a lasting reminder of this love and most precious keepsake," says "Portraits of Healing" photographer Nancy Medwell. "Families that accept the end of life and make it meaningful moment by moment help us view their knowledge of death as a gift, helping us all to become more fully alive. These individuals have so much to give and I believe their energy, passion and spirit will ignite those who view the exhibition with enhanced meaning and purpose in their lives."

Medwell is a fine art and portrait photographer who has served as assistant curator of Stanford Art Museum's photography collection. A life-altering experience with illness led her to focus her work to include people who are chronically or terminally ill. She works within an artistic and therapeutic framework to preserve intimate moments between people that promote healing, acceptance, and well-being.

"So many families in our community have no understanding of hospice care," says Providence Hospice of Seattle Foundation Director Gary Crum. "Unfortunately, many will be faced with a terminal illness and may not know what to do. We hope this exhibit will introduce thousands of people in the greater Seattle area to the miracle of hospice and share the message that 'quality of life' at the end of life is possible."

No charge.

Official Website: http://www.providence.org/long_term_care/hospice_of_seattle/e55portraits.htm