ARTWORK BY BONITA SPRINGS ARTIST ACCEPTED INTO MDA ART COLLECTION

Conch Shell on the Beach I

TUCSON, Ariz., Feb. 25, 2008 – Two watercolor creations by Pamela Jablonski of Bonita Springs, Fla., have been accepted into the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s Art Collection. Now in its 16th year, the Collection features artwork by people from across the country with muscular dystrophy and related diseases

Jablonski’s “Conch Shell on the Beach I and II” depict two conch shells on the shore on a bright summer day. Both pieces were done with watercolor pencils.

Jablonski, 65, has been drawing most of her life. She has myotonic muscular dystrophy, which causes muscle weakness and affects several organs in the body.

“We’re deeply honored to welcome Pamela Jablonski’s works into the permanent MDA Art Collection,” MDA President & CEO Gerald Weinberg said. “Her contribution to our Collection will undoubtedly delight all who see it as it travels to galleries and museums as part of special exhibits of the Collection.”

The new additions by Jablonski are on display at MDA’s national headquarters in Tucson, Ariz., and can be seen at www.mda.org/commprog/art/displayall.aspx. Jablonski’s pieces also will be included in MDA Art Collection traveling exhibits.

Conch Shell on the Beach II

The Collection was established in 1992 to focus attention on the achievements of artists with disabilities and to emphasize that physical disability is no barrier to creativity.

The permanent Collection comprises some 350 works by artists aged 2 to 82, and represents all 50 states. Each artist is affected by one of the muscle diseases in the MDA program.

Selected art from the Collection has been exhibited at the Dallas Museum of Art; Cork Gallery at Lincoln Center and the Forbes Collection in New York; Tucson Museum of Art; Bishop Museum in Honolulu; Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center; Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art; Los Angeles Children's Museum; JFK Center at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn.; The Sheldon Art Galleries, St. Louis, Mo.; Duluth Art Institute; Capital Children's Museum, Washington, D.C.; and the Henry Ford Centennial Library in Dearborn, Mich.

MDA is a voluntary health agency supporting programs of worldwide research, comprehensive services, advocacy, and professional and public health education. MDA maintains clinics for area adults and children affected by neuromuscular diseases at Lee Memorial Hospital in Ft. Myers.

The Association’s programs are funded almost entirely by individual private contributors.