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HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A young girl from Tampa Bay is reaching out for community support to help achieve her artistic dreams after four years of being in remission.
Ellie York, a 12-year-old with a profound love for art, is participating in the Bob Ross America’s Most Artistic Competition. The contest winner will be decided by public votes, and Ellie is hoping to secure enough support to claim the title.
On Wednesday, Ellie dedicated her time to perfecting the final details of her painting for the competition. Her journey with art began long ago, a passion that has grown stronger over the years.
Reflecting on her past, Ellie shared, “I remember it was hard,” alluding to the challenges she faced after being diagnosed with leukemia at the tender age of 2.
York was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 2.
“It was absolutely devastating,” said her mother, Jaclyn York. “It is words no parent ever wants to hear; no parent wants to hear your child has cancer.”
Ellie went through years of treatments battling cancer.
“There was actually a period through her treatment where she received continuous chemotherapy every single day for over a year straight,” her mother said.
Whether she was in the hospital getting treatments or at home, there was always something that helped her be able to escape.
“Art was kind of always one of those things that she could do no matter what,” Jaclyn York said. “No matter how terrible she was feeling in the hospital, she was still able to enjoy and do something that she loved doing.”
From painting on her walls to putting brush strokes on a canvas, her love for art has only grown.
“Happy, I like painting and crafting art, doing stuff like that,” Ellie York said. “I started recently to create more realistic stuff and I like that, a lot.”
To help her showcase her artwork, her mom signed her up for the contest, but the community does need to vote for her in order for her to take home first place.
“It would mean a lot because I’m pretty sure one of the things, some of your art gets to be shown off in a museum and that would mean so much to me,” said the young artist.
Through her artwork, she shows her personality; she is caring, musical, full of laughter, and most of all, she is a fighter.
To vote for Ellie in the contest, click here. Voting is free, all you need is an active email account and a Facebook account. The national competition is raising money and awareness for the organization “Blood Cancer United,” where you can get more votes if you donate.