For two weeks, in College of the Atlantic's George B. Dorr Museum of Natural History, humans will be the focus, not just critters. The focus on humans will take the form of life-sized images created by Danielle Meier, a COA senior.

These images are illustrations derived from digital photography. To create the 10 ten portraits Meier is exhibiting, original photographs were altered on the computer to create vector images-a form of digital illustration. But the work, says Meier, is much more than a representation of the individuals. It's about love and the power of friendship. The exhibit, "A Study of Friendship and Thyroid Cancer Through Vector Graphics," is a tribute and thank-you to the people-some from Maine and the college, others from her home outside of Louisville, Kentucky-who helped Meier through the thyroid cancer she was diagnosed with at age 20.

That was just a little over a year ago. Meier discovered she had the cancer while a junior at the college. Thyroid cancer is, she was told, one of the most treatable forms of cancer. But the treatments, she was to discover, can be devastating.

To deal with the cancer, Meier's thyroid was surgically removed; several months later, she was dosed with radioactive iodine. These treatments, when successful, create a medically induced depression coupled with intense fatigue. "During my treatment," writes Meier in a statement about her exhibit, "I became very secluded. I became mentally numb and lethargic." Ultimately, the depression was so extreme that Meier had to take the term off.

That was when, she says, "I realized how important people were to me. Friends called me constantly asking how I was doing. Friends sent flowers. I had tried to stop my communication with people, but that did not stop them from supporting me through my illness. If it wasn't for them, I have no idea how I would have been able to finish school."

The project documents these friendships through Meier's illustrations, some text, and the emotions and expression she brings to the work. To emphasize the lack of communication she experienced between herself, undergoing this medically induced depression and attempting to withdraw from all friendships, and her friends, who were so willing to help her out, Meier has eliminated the faces in each of these illustrations. Instead, she is using colors to reflect her the personalities of her friends. 

The project, which runs April 18 through May 1, Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Dorr Museum, will also introduce museum visitors to thyroid cancer and its treatment. Admission to this exhibit is free. More information about thyroid cancer can be found at www.thyca.org. For information about the show, call 288-5015 or write daniellekristim@gmail.com.