MACON, Ga. — Macon's art community is coming together to support one of its own.
Gallery West in downtown Macon will host a solo art show featuring work from Rhonda Sunshine Miller, who was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer in January.
Miller was at the doctor for her yearly mammogram when doctors found a lump on her chest. Since then, she's undergone aggressive treatments, including chemotherapy.
“She is the real deal as far as I'm concerned. Macon has a lot of great artists, but Rhonda is right there amongst them,” said Kirsten West.
Funds from the art showcase will give her the funds she needs to pay her bills and focus on healing.
The art show will feature over 20 different works created by Miller, and a collection of pieces made specifically for the show will be raffled off to attendees.
If you happen to not be the lucky winner of any of Miller’s work, you will still have the chance to walk away with a poster of her piece. Miller says she appreciates how the art community has rallied around her.
“I can’t even explain how much support I have from here in Macon, from people that I least expect,” she said.
Miller is a self-taught folk artist and her works often feature bright colors and abstract figures. She finds new and creative ways to use different mediums in her work from sponges to glitter, fabric, and even metal.
“Basically, my feelings are on the canvas. Everybody says to me, ‘Who’s that girl?’ It’s always me, it’s always that girl. No matter the color, the size -- it’s me, I’m that girl and that feeling,” she said.
Miller says treatments have taken a lot of energy out of her, but she is still finding time to paint and be creative.
“A fresh breath of air. It’s an exhale that I completed something that was so easy then, it’s hard now,” she said.
She says her daughter and her community are keeping her spirits high.
“A lot of people keep my spirit up, too. The community... they write me, text me, call me, 'What do you need?' They got me, but that one little spirit that really keeps me up is my daughter,” she said.
Miller says she wants to focus on getting better and then getting back to work.
Her first solo artist showcase is Friday at Gallery West from 5-9 p.m. Raffle tickets are $25 each and postcards of her work will be sold for $2 each. There will be free food and drinks at the opening.
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