Hi! My name is Donna. I'm a board Certified Nurse Anestetist and this is my webpage to inform others about my project and the motive behind it.

I began collecting these tiny, beautiful drug caps in June of 2018. As a nurse anesthetist, I use many different drug vials, and my artistic side wanted to save the colorful caps for mosaic art. Pre-pandemic, this project was originally going to be some sort of a Monet/Van Gogh replica or more likely my interpretation of a much admired nature scene. But COVID came along to change our world, and this included my art plans.

As a college student I took Immunology- quickly I became amazed at how our bodies work to defend us, for unbeknownst to me our immune cells were working 24/7, 365 days/year! Fast forward to March of 2020, and I began learning about COVID as a nurse, and how the body could defend itself against this new virus. During that process, the colorized scanning electron micrograph images of the virus and our immune cells came across my computer screen, and that triggered a thought- my caps could show how our immune cells fight Covid. It was perfect, I had enough materials (that would have otherwise been discarded from the clinical/hospital arena) to start something artistic and beautiful, while having a scietific and educational purpose.

There was a a point in time when we all found ourselves amoungst so much uncertainty and confusion. Yet through this art I could demonstate and explain some of what was going on, on a deeper level, and it made things seem less uncertian and more calm. I felt this myself while creating it, but more importantly I heard it from the people that latter would stop to look at this art during ArtPrize 2021, I heard many stories that touched my heart. I hope the art impacts more to come when it is shown at Ascension Providence Rochester during Nurses week 2022.

This project was meant for all our vital healthcare providers that continue to work together: nurses, doctors, medcial assistants, pharmacy researchers and cleaning staff. All these wonderful people came together to contributed to help and/or heal those inflicted during the ultimate of all challenges. What would we have done without any of them?

As a nurse myself, that received educational scholarships, that were much needed and appreciated, my goal for this art effort was always to award future nursing scholarhips by it placement on display. That time has come and I hope we may soon generate substantial funds toward this worthy cause. We will always need nurses, but now especially more than ever and this financial assistance for education is vital. Thank you!

https://cphs.wayne.edu/news/nurse-anesthesia-alum-donna-dzialo-99-turns-tossed-out-drug-vial-caps-into-artprize-entry-44474

To reach me: covidtimecapsule2021@gmail.com