Drawing By Fargo Teen Accepted By MDA Art Collection

TUCSON, Ariz., Jan. 29, 2002 — A drawing by Sarah Brodshaug of Fargo, N.D., has been accepted by the Muscular Dystrophy Association's Art Collection. Now in its 11th year, the Collection features artwork by people from across the country with neuromuscular diseases.

"Itchy Ear" by Sarah Brodshaug

Brodshaug's "Itchy Ear" is drawn in bright colors to create a whimsical effect. The piece depicts a soulful-faced dog crouching in anticipation of the chance to pounce on an unsuspecting playmate. A ladybug on the dog's left ear suggests a solution to two questions that may be puzzling the canine: "Where is my new friend, and why does my ear itch?"

Brodshaug, 14, is affected by myotonic muscular dystrophy, a disorder that causes weakness and wasting in the face, neck, and lower arms and legs.

Brodshaug, an eighth-grade student at West Fargo Middle School, has enjoyed drawing since age 4. She serves as MDA's 2002 Goodwill Ambassador for North Dakota.

"We're honored to have such a colorful and humorous drawing by Sarah Brodshaug in the permanent MDA Art Collection," MDA President Robert Ross said. "Her contribution to our Collection will undoubtedly delight all who see it as it travels to galleries and museums as part of special exhibits of the Collection."

The new addition by Brodshaug will be exhibited at MDA's national headquarters in Tucson, Ariz., and will be included in MDA Art Collection traveling exhibits. The Collection was established in 1992 to focus attention on the achievements of artists with disabilities, and to emphasize that physical disability is no barrier to creativity.

The permanent Collection currently comprises more than 270 works by artists aged 2 to 82 and represents all 50 states. Each artist is affected by one of the neuromuscular diseases in the MDA program.

Selected art from the Collection has been exhibited at the Dallas Museum of Art; Cork Gallery at Lincoln Center and Forbes Magazine Galleries in New York; Tucson Museum of Art; Bishop Museum in Honolulu; Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center; Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art; Los Angeles Children's Museum; JFK Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn.; Fresno Metropolitan Museum; Duluth Art Institute; Capital Children's Museum, Washington, D.C.; and the Henry Ford Centennial Library in Dearborn, Mich.

MDA is a voluntary health agency working to defeat neuromuscular diseases through programs of worldwide research, comprehensive services, and far-reaching professional and public health education. MDA maintains clinics for area adults and children affected by neuromuscular diseases at MeritCare Hospital in Fargo and Medcenter One Health Systems in Bismarck.

The Association's programs are funded almost entirely by individual private contributors.