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Feb 6, 2012

"It is the function of art to renew our perception. What we are familiar with we cease to see." --Anais Nin

A Survivor's Sunrise Ritual

No two sunrises are ever the same. Debbie Wagner knows this better than almost anyone else. With earnest devotion, she has risen in the darkness more than 2,200 times so she could observe and paint the sunrise. She's rarely missed a morning since December 2005; for Wagner, the daily ritual is sustaining. "As a brain-tumor survivor, I lost so many of the loves I had, like reading and writing and mathematics," said Wagner. And increasingly, Wagner's artwork is taking on personal significance for others as well. Three weeks ago, the family of Justin Tyler Berry reached out to Wagner: "My 24-year-old nephew was killed in a car accident December 12th, 2011 -- the day of his last sunrise here with us," Cox wrote. "I would like to purchase that day's painting, if it is available, and also December 13th, 2011. Both unframed please." A touching story of beauty and connection.