Cunningham-Ramos AML & Stroke after TBI Journey

Last year, when Daniel & Lauren had their ‘paper’ wedding in Pittsburg with only her parents & sister, Kim & I in attendance, I decided that we would wear our wedding outfits. It felt very special to wear them for such event, given that they reminded me of all the wonderful years of our marriage.

I then realized that Kim’s tie brought many wonderful memories in addition to being beautiful. It was hand-painted by a local artist who was selling it at the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, NY where we got married in 1995; its ocean / coral reef colors & design remind me of all the years we spent sailing; and its flowing silk reminds me of how harmonious our lives were together. I then decided that I was going to create some art form to display the tie.

Not being a painter, I got inspired by watching a demonstration of acrylic pour-over painting. After watching YouTube videos, practicing at the nearby college art studios, I painted the canvas with colors to match the tie. It took me months to finally settle on a design. I tried different ways to adhere the silk tie itself to the canvas or a ripped form of its silk fabric.

With input from artistic friends, I finally decided to hand-stitch it to the canvas, and only use 1 tie as opposed to the 7 ties I had originally planned. Kim was very thrilled to see the end result! It now hangs on a wall in the family room where Kim is.