Always Eat Dessert First

There was a time in my life when I had only one dress. Every night I washed and ironed it so I would be ready for school the next day. Later, when my mother bought me something new, I had to hide it from my disapproving grandmother, who thought I was going to be spoiled. To this day, when someone asks me, “Is that new?” I always reply, “I’ve had it for a while.”

In my artistic life, I find myself attracted to dresses. In Florence, Italy, where I took my third year in the Ontario College of Art and Design program, I sculpted wire dresses as mobiles, capturing the lyrical quality of the high-low fashion I was seeing on the streets that contrasted with the beauty and abundance of the city’s medieval culture in art and architecture.

In November 2007, during my thesis year at OCAD, I was diagnosed with colon cancer. I had been working on the topic, “Custodian of Memory: The Dress as Autobiography.” During the fall semester I drew various renditions of my wire dresses and then wrote a child’s book of verse dedicated to my grand-daughter with illustrations of some of my favorite dresses – markers of the significant moments in my life.

As I grappled with the diagnosis and subsequent surgery I had to somehow put this disease outside myself. I knew I had to continue school; it would see me through I knew not what. I decided to share my story with friends, urging them to have a colonoscopy and asking them to share with me their stories, memories and feelings about their favorite dress. My request was embraced; I received about three dozen responses. I had touched a unifying chord.

Redirecting my work, I created a women’s wellness initiative that continues with this website: Women Helping Women. After all, the very day of my diagnosis the Globe and Mail ran a story about the inequality of male/female health care. My diagnosis was the result of my first colonoscopy. Although we shared the same doctor, my husband Rod has had several.

If you haven’t done so already, ask your doctor to book a colonoscopy. And follow my new philosophy: Always eat dessert first. Meanwhile, I would enjoy hearing about your favorite dress at stories@sandramcqueen.com. Photos are also welcome.

Click HERE to read my full thesis: Custodian of Memory: The Dress as Autobiography.