“If you hear a voice within you say,
‘You cannot paint,’
Then by all means, paint,
And that voice will be silenced.”
-Vincent Van Gogh
TCC & Riley Children’s Foundation recently collaborated, Our Culture of Good to promote and celebrate the creativity of the children at the Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health. The resulting microfiber cloths spotlight the inspirational artwork of nine child artists with ties to Riley. In this Riley blog series, we’ll burrow deeper into each artist’s story and how that might inspire their artwork. Here is Braden Tamosaitis’ story:
Braden’s story
Braden suffered complications from spina bifida, hydrocephalus, and Arnold Chiari II malformation when he was born. Just five hours after he was born, Braden went into his first surgery. He and his family are familiar with the halls of the Riley Children’s Hospital, since that is where Braden spends much of his time. Since he was a newborn, Braden has undergone 15 more surgeries to make life a little easier for the boy who is always ready with a smile. Because Braden is always leading other children with the courage in the face of his own adversity, he was selected as the 2013 Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Champion for Indiana.
Braden’s artwork
Eager to bring joy to another child’s face, Braden is probably one of the most motivated kids you’ll ever meet. And you can see the exuberance in his artwork. Not only are his color choices bright, but the art subject is an abstracted jellyfish, with plenty of blues and sea greens incorporated. The yellow of the jelly’s body reflects the excitement that Braden likely felt when he painted this artwork. You can’t help but feel buoyed up by this art creation.
Check back on the TCC Talk blog for stories about each Riley child and the artwork they created. 100% of all microfiber cloth sales goes back to Riley Hospital. So don’t forget to go to your neighborhood TCC store to choose your favorite microfiber cloth.