80-year-old KC artist partners with doctor who saved her life
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A long-time relationship between a famous Kansas City artist and her customer became a life-saving link during the pandemic.
Now the duo is collaborating on a one-of-a-kind piece of art to commemorate the sacrifice of health care workers who battled COVID-19 for millions of patients.
For nearly seven decades, Irma Starr has perched behind a pottery wheel perfecting her style.
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“It’s from the 17th century and it’s a lost art,” said Starr.
She’s had her hands in clay since she was a student at the Kansas City Art Institute…molding and sculpting art that would one day become a masterpiece.
Her slip-style pottery is showcased in European museums, at the Smithsonian, and even the white house came to Irma in 2002 for an anniversary plate for Bill and Hillary Clinton.
But in 2022, everything stopped.
Doctors told Irma that she had an aortic aneurysm and that her heart could give out at any minute.
“That had to be removed because it was large and about ready to burst,” the potter said.
She was busier than ever with commissioned work and the surgery was complicated.
Just before the scheduled procedure, Irma tested positive for COVID-19 and almost no one wanted to risk open heart surgery on a COVID-19-positive woman in her 80s.
But Dr. Charlie Porter changed that.
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“Her aorta was out of warranty and needed to be replaced and she wasn’t keen on that,” said the doctor.
Dr. Porter hooked Irma up with a cardiologist here at the University of Kansas Medical Center willing to do surgery.
Irma recovered as both a heart and a COVID-19 patient.
“They put me in a separate room cuz I had COVID. I observed this wonderful nurse who took care of me,” she said.
The whole time Irma was in the hospital, everyone who entered the room took time to suit up.
“15 minutes,” Starr said. “Put on a yellow coverall and something else in a plastic mask and gloves.”
As soon as she was out of the woods, the artist and Dr. Porter dedicated themselves to the creative task of thanking healthcare providers who suffered through the pandemic, risking their lives for their patients.
One of her nurses became her prototype for a new Nurse-A-Gnome figurine. It was Charlie’s inspiration. And Irma’s elbow grease and expertise.
“It’s an artistic partnership,” Dr. Porter said. “Kind of wrote this song and she plays the music.”
More than 2 years after the idea was hatched they created a song.
“I think it’s adorable,” Starr said with a laugh.
A fitting gift of gratitude from a doctor and an artist, who together endured a global pandemic, and lived to offer thanks uniquely and tangibly.
“I hope they feel appreciated like they realize they went through something like this they should think that are appreciated by others,” mentioned the doctor.
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“I think they’re really going to look back at covid and say ‘boy I did something really great,’ added Starr. “You know they could have died. They sacrificed themselves.”
There are only about 30 Nurse-A-Gnome figurines available for purchase. You can order them through Irma Starr’s website or come to her holiday open house at her studio in Dec. 15-17th.
