They say good things come in small packages. That’s certainly true of Vicki Friedman, a petite powerhouse brimming with vibrancy, energy and can-do positivity. A two-time cancer survivor, Friedman, 63, runs the Arts as Healing Foundation, which champions free art classes and other creative programs that work with people battling cancer and extreme chronic illnesses. 

Last week, Friedman greeted dozens of people on the seventh floor of the Siteman Cancer Center. Some were waiting to receive chemotherapy; others were accompanying friends and relatives undergoing treatment. Regardless, Friedman invited everyone she approached to meet “Buddy,” which happens to be a 6-foot-tall wooden mannequin, and leave an indelible mark on him. 

“People who are here for treatment are here for hope. They are here for beating and fighting a disease, and they are here for a while in the process,” said Friedman, who was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 31 and then again at 61, with a sarcoma between her knee and hip. 

“When we do a massive art project like a mannequin and I explain that it will be a permanent installation, not a little arts and crafts project, it takes on meaning,” she continued, explaining that the finished mannequin will be displayed at Siteman. 

“I think its permanency resonates and many here want to be apart of it.” 

That certainly seemed to be the case as person after person gathered around Friedman’s Buddy – she hasn’t yet landed on another name – and painted designs on one of more than 150 small squares delineated on the mannequin. Many of the messages expressed hope: “Live in the moment,” “L’chaim, to life,” and “There is always tomorrow.”

Sharon Shapiro of Hazelwood, whose husband Joe has kidney cancer, chose bright red and green acrylic paint to construct tiny flowers around the letters “L.O.L.” Under the letters she wrote: “Love of life.”

“It’s amazing to provide us with such a creative outlet,” said Yulia Nevskaya, who moved here from Moscow 10 years ago. She pondered what else to add to the square where she had painted her husband’s name, Eugene, a colon cancer patient. He was there to see his doctor.

Friedman explained that Arts as Healing was begun in 2005 when Barnes-Jewish Foundation officials approached her about teaching art to cancer patients at Siteman. Research shows that making art and other forms of creative expression can play an integral part in the healing process. 

At the time, Friedman was director of medical photography, illustration and the computer graphics division (Med PIC) at Washington University School of Medicine. She went on to organize an art therapy program, develop the curriculum and raise money for its operation. She also taught all the classes.

One of her first large-scale projects was a mosaic tile installation. She hoped to get 100 cancer patients to create a tile for a 4-foot by 4-foot display. The project was so successful that patients are still creating tiles.  

Today, more than 2,500 colorful, hand-designed tiles adorn the wall facing the main elevator bank on Siteman’s seventh floor. It’s the first thing patients see when the elevator doors open. Another 2,500 tiles have been installed in other areas of the floor.

“I think we started with about eight patients and then the whole thing just grew,” said Friedman. 

Grew? More like exploded. 

Over the next 10 years or so, Friedman and her Med PIC staff built the program to reach thousands of patients and caregivers.

In 2013, when Friedman decided to retire, the folks at Wash. U. School of Medicine asked if she wanted to take over the program as her own. Later that year, she and her husband, Gary, established Arts as Healing as an independent, nonprofit foundation, with Friedman as its fulltime executive director, albeit a volunteer one. Suffice it to say, hers was a short retirement.

Today, Arts as Healing is not only in area hospitals but at five other locations. It seemed many hospital cancer patients were benefitting from Friedman’s art classes so much they wanted additional ones. Art Mart was the first to donate supplies and studio space for weekly classes, and then Art Unleashed, Washington University and the Cancer Support Center followed. Today, more than 15 classes in painting, drawing, pottery and mixed media are offered every month, all gratis. Friedman also recruited working artists to assist with the classes on a volunteer basis.

When I asked Friedman what her organization needs most, she smiled that electric smile of hers before getting serious. “We are fighting for sustainability,” said the Olivette resident who belongs to Congregation Shaare Emeth. 

 “Our goal is to continue to expand the program and reach a greater number of people and organizations.”

To do that requires money, of course. As such, the Arts as Healing Foundation is hosting a gala from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19 at the Duane Reed Gallery in the Central West End. Tickets, at $35 in advance, $45 at the door, include dinner by Café Napoli, dessert, wine and beer and complimentary valet parking. Several pieces from Arts as Healing students will be on display, as well as some collaborative work for sale.

“Money and volunteers are always needed,” said Friedman, who said the nonprofit relies on private donations as well as whatever grants it can go after. 

“Arts as Healing is something really worth supporting,” she added. “It attracts a very strong, diverse community that doesn’t judge.”

To donate, or for more information about the gala or the organization, call 314-640-5363 or go to artsashealing.org.