NOTECARDS FEATURE WORKS FROM MDA ART COLLECTION

TUCSON, Ariz., April, 2002 — Selected works from the nationally renowned Muscular Dystrophy Association Art Collection are now available for sale as notecards.

A total of 10 artworks from the Collection — five by adults and five by young artists — have been reproduced on notecards, which are blank on the inside to allow for personalized messages. Each of the 10 artists whose work was selected is affected by one of the more than 40 neuromuscular diseases in MDA’s program.

The MDA Art Collection, now in its 11th year, comprises more than 270 works by artists from ages 2 to 82 and represents all 50 states. It’s displayed at MDA national headquarters in Tucson, Ariz. Selected pieces from the Collection have also appeared in exhibits across the nation.

“The MDA Art Collection has been both a joy to behold and a source of inspiration to everyone who’s seen it for more than a decade now,” MDA President & CEO Robert Ross said. “We’re delighted to share the Collection with the American public through these beautiful notecards.”

Adult contributors to the notecard set include Lee Baker of Roanoke, Va., who created “At the Barre,” an acrylic which was featured on the cover of MDA’s bimonthly magazine, Quest, in December, 2001.

Other works by adult artists on the notecards are “Silent Thoughts,” a pastel by Brent Gauthier of Harwinton, Conn.; “Cape May Boat Yard,” an oil painting by George Johnson of Gay, W.Va.; “Columbines, Shenandoah National Park,” a watercolor by MaryAnn Miller of Clinton, N.J.; and “Balloon Vendor,” an oil painting by Las Vegas resident Adele Feigenbaum.

The young artists’ contributions to the card set include a finger painting by Aubrey Olson of Pine City, Minn., titled “Flower Power.” Olson and her brother, Nicholas, served as MDA’s National Goodwill Ambassadors in 1998 and 1999.

Other youth art featured in the notecard set includes “Free to Fly,” an acrylic by Julia Sanders of Boston; “Hornet,” a pen-and-ink sketch by Christian Cowie of Helena, Mont.; and “The Clown,” a marker drawing by Samuel Williams of Matthews, N.C. Also in the set is “Fishing at Camp,” an acrylic created at an MDA-sponsored children’s art workshop by Nick Gerstler of Houston.

The 5-by-7-inch notecards are available in packages of 20, with envelopes, for $12, plus shipping and handling. Buyers can specify card sets that feature only adult artists or only young artists, or sets featuring all the artists.

MDA has announced that $9 from each package goes directly to MDA’s research and health care services programs.

The notecards may be ordered by mail from: Community Programs Department, MDA, 3300 E. Sunrise Drive, Tucson, AZ 85718-3208; by phone, (800) 223-6011; or online at MDA’s Web site, www.mda.org/commprog/art/, where the cards may be viewed.

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

For more information about MDA, call (800) 572-1717, or visit www.mda.org.